Bagels

I am currently sitting in my totally uncomfortable office chair procrastinating putting together my lesson plan for Sunday School about Buddhism.  I really do love learning about other religions and these past 4 weeks of Sunday School have been great.  My handful of students that come are really engaging in what we are talking about and I'll be a little sad when we end this coming Sunday.  However, I am procrastinating because it's only 1:00pm and I feel like I have been here all day.  Also, I am giving the talk for tonight's junior and senior high.  And while I'm not nervous about it, I would love to go home, nap up, shower, and look somewhat nice for the 80 kids I'll be talking to.  Unfortunately, we have no clean clothes at our house right now, so I'm destined to look shlubby.  Ah, like they care.

Anyway, to prolong my procrastination, I will give you what you have been waiting for (Corrie)...bagels!  Corrie had told me a few weeks ago that I should try to make some and Todd jumped on board with that pretty quick. If Todd could, he would have me make nothing but bagels everyday so he would have a never ending supply.  He has done a good job rationing the bagels I've made him, but I see my Friday full of making more and doing laundry.  Back on track, here is the recipe from Emeril Lagasse (yeah, I never thought I would make anything of his.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
• 2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

Directions

Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.

Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)

Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

Remove from the bowl and punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across. Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.

In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil. In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

So, this takes about 3 hours, once you mix it all, let it rise, roll it out, let it rise, boil, bake, boil, bake. I started this process at about 10:30pm. I was up until 2:00am making these and then cleaning up after myself. So Todd, it's a good thing you raved about them the next morning or I might have killed you (or kicked you in the knee, or something else a wife can do/withhold to an unappreciative husband.) And really, these are totally worth it the 3 hours, just start them earlier.

Also, I must shut down a nasty rumor started about me within my own family! Mom, Corrie, all others who may have heard, I do not own a stand mixer. Sure, I may be lazy and copy/paste recipes into the blog, but I mix all those bread products by hand. Bagels, pitas, bread bowls, pizza dough, all by hand. I look forward to and wait patiently for the day when someone finally breaks down and buys me a stand mixer (green or blue preferably, if you are wondering.) One upside, I can tell my arms are getting stronger from mixing all of these by hand. One downside, my right arm is stronger than my left since righty is my go to mixer.

Okay, enjoy making bagels! Or come to my house for some. Just, call a few days beforehand.