It may take some imagination to recognize that these are Bagels. But they tasted great and were chewy like a bagel should be, so I am counting them a success.

I had read that you needed to make a big hole in the middle. After having made a batch I now am a true believer in the big hole. The pictures above show one bagel. On the left is the way that I formed it. Its got a pretty big hole, although it has already shrunk a little as the dough relaxed when I put it down. On the right it’s proofed and the hole has shrunk. Then I boiled it and put it in the oven to bake. The result is a tiny hole in the finished Bagel, shown in the center.

A second lesson from these is that even when bread may not turn out a total success technically it can still be really good eating. These Bagels, although not very pretty, were much better than I expected them to be. I’m looking forward to making prettier Bagels as I gain experience. Continue reading →