Homemade Bagels

Okay, someone needs to create a blogger university…lol. I was pinning away last night and I came across a pin for Amy Lynn Andrew’s blog, which was very helpful in walking me through the set up of a wordpress blog. I was able to do the initial set up with no problem, but I'm not tech savvy and I felt like I was drowning. After tinkering around on the wordpress format, I've come to realize that blogger might be better suited for a beginning blogger like myself. So that being said, I will apologize in advance for any funky posts, pictures, or links. Please bear with me as I try to get this blog rolling.

Now, let’s get to the reason this blog exists…my adventures inspired by Pinterest. So, while I was trying to set up my blog during the wee hours of the morning, I decided to also attempt to make my first batch of bagels. Between the dough rising and the baking, I was running back and forth between the computer and kitchen. Yah, I don’t know what I was thinking…maybe it was sleep deprivation? Needless to say, my first adventure in bagel making turned out pretty well. I wouldn’t say it was a complete success because my first batch turned out like bagel rocks, but the second batch turned out pretty damn good!

If you've never made bagels before, I would highly recommend that you watch Susan’s Awesome Bagels video before you start. The link will also take you to her blog and recipe.


Below are some pictures of my first attempt at making bagels. Btw- I would’ve posted pictures of the bagel balls rising on my cookie sheet, but my cookie sheet isn’t in pristine picture taking condition.


Bagels boiling in salted water

Bagels deflate a little after removing from the water.

 

Bagels after 5min in oven on baking stone

First batch: the bagel rocks

Second batch:  Almost right. This was the second batch that I baked in the oven. I reduced the cook time to only 16min for fear of creating more jaw breaking devices and they came out delicious! While it isn’t the nice brown you normally see, the outside had a salty goodness, while the inside was soft and chewy. I will probably try to increase the cook time by a minute or two the next time to get a better outside color.

***Update 9/17/2013***

When the bagels first come out of the oven, the outsides are sort of crispy. However, the next day the outsides are more the chewy consistency of normal bagels. So don't panic if yours comes out a bit crispy on the outside.