A Cook's Diary

[drmoss_ca]

Planning to make bagels from scratch this weekend. I'll prepare the dough balls (using a yokune trick) on Saturday, leave them to mature in the fridge overnight, and boil and bake for brunch on Sunday. Cream cheese and smoked salmon sound good?

[Rufus]

Planning to make bagels from scratch this weekend. I'll prepare the dough balls (using a yokune trick) on Saturday, leave them to mature in the fridge overnight, and boil and bake for brunch on Sunday. Cream cheese and smoked salmon sound good?

What else would one put on a real bagel? The one and only addition I’d suggest is a few capers.

[drmoss_ca]

I've got some fake capers (pickled nasturtium seed pods) which I prefer and free from home grown plants. I use them on pizzas, but I can toss them on the bagels.

[Rufus]

I've got some fake capers (pickled nasturtium seed pods) which I prefer and free from home grown plants. I use them on pizzas, but I can toss them on the bagels.

Where did you buy those fake capers? I love real capers, but I’d like to give your fakes a try.

[drmoss_ca]

You don't have to make bagels this way, and it isn't quite the traditional method, but it does make life a little easier for the baking-impaired. Well, maybe not easier, but perhaps with better results. There are two wrinkles to it. The first is the use of a yukone (a Japanese trick for pre-cooking some of the flour with water to gelatinise it and make your dough more elastic), and the second is to wait 24 hours before boiling and baking the bagels. Here we go:
1. Make the yukone, with 6oz/170g cold water and 3.5oz/100g white bread flour. Place in a non-stick skillet over medium heat (no oil!) and strir continuously with a spatula to remove lumps and cook until you have a porridge or mashed potato consistency. 2-3 minutes. Scrape out onto a cold plate and pat out to make a thin layer to aid cooling. Cover with clingfilm and leave to cool for 30 minutes. If too hot it might kill the yeast in the next step.
2. Make the dough in a food processor with a metal blade. Use 12.5oz/355g white bread flour, 1TBSP sugar, 1¼tsp/9g salt (2.5tsp if kosher salt), 1tsp instant dried yeast. Mix dry ingredients in the food processor, then add 3.5oz/100g warm water and the cooled yukone, put the lid on again and turn on Low until a ball of dough forms. Continue pulsing for 10 seconds until the dough becomes elastic enough until a small piece of it will stretch into a transparent 'window' between your fingers. Total time will be around 90 - 120 seconds. Turn out the dough onto a clean, unfloured surface, and divide into 8 equal pieces.
3. Make bagels (part 1)! In turn, take each of the eight bits of dough and roll it between your cupped palm and the unfloured surface. As you go back and forth, let it catch and stretch a little, just like conventional kneading. You're aiming for round balls without too many cracks, with each being palm-kneaded for about 2-3 minutes. If you made errors in dividing the dough into eight, and corrected them by trimming and combining, it might be necessary to do the fold the edges under again and again trick to make a ball fit for the kneading. All eight bits should be placed on a tray and covered with clingfilm, or in a big plastic box with a lid and allowed to rest for 15-30 minutes in a warm place.
4. Make bagels (part 2)! To form the bagels, use a wetted finger and thumb to poke a hole through the middle of each ball, then gently stretch into a 3.5" diameter ring. Try to do the stretching at the thickest parts of the ring so they end up of uniform thickness all around the ring. No need to get obsessional; these should look homemade, not machine-made. Place on oiled parchment or greaseproof paper on a baking tray and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge for 24 - 36 hours.

And that's as far as I've got so far. Here are my bagels before covering and refrigerating:

Bagels.jpg (133.22 KiB) Viewed 9871 times

Tomorrow we shall boil them very briefly, then bake them. The aim is to get a very elastic small-crumb interior, which should be soft and warm, while the exterior will be brown, shiny and just slightly crispy. Can I do it? Stay tuned!

I know. I can't count. I made ten and not eight.

[drmoss_ca]

Here we go. Boil water in a big pan, adding something to encourage the bagels to be brown and shiny - honey, malt extract, brown sugar (which is what I used). Get the oven heating to 425ºF. When the oven is at temp, boil the bagels a couple at a time, so as to not cool the water. They will puff up a little, and flip them over when they seem to stop enlarging and give them 30 seconds more. Take out and place on kitchen paper to dry while the next couple go in the water. Then take the drained bagels and place them on greaseproof or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. The paper should have had a quick spray with oil. When all are boiled and on the sheet, place in the 425º oven. These took 20 minutes, but if I could count and had made eight, they would be bigger and thicker and would have taken 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before trying to slice and serve. Mine are going with cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers. There's also some soft goat cheese (tastes like Boursin for those who like garlicky cheeses).

Bagels_2.jpg (156.49 KiB) Viewed 9847 times

[drmoss_ca]

And that was well worth the effort! Best bagels I've ever had, which might not be saying much, as I'm limited to aged supermarket stuff. Never had one properly made from a bagel shop that makes them on the premises, and nor am I likely to in rural NS!

[drmoss_ca]

I've got some fake capers (pickled nasturtium seed pods) which I prefer and free from home grown plants. I use them on pizzas, but I can toss them on the bagels.

Where did you buy those fake capers? I love real capers, but I’d like to give your fakes a try.

You don't buy them - you grow nasturtiums (easy), pick off the seed pods and pickle them in vinegar. They taste the same as real capers, but more intense.

[Rufus]

I've got some fake capers (pickled nasturtium seed pods) which I prefer and free from home grown plants. I use them on pizzas, but I can toss them on the bagels.

Where did you buy those fake capers? I love real capers, but I’d like to give your fakes a try.

You don't buy them - you grow nasturtiums (easy), pick off the seed pods and pickle them in vinegar. They taste the same as real capers, but more intense.

Thanks Chris. I didn’t know that the leaves and petals are edible let alone that the seed pods can be pickled. I understand the leaves and petals have a peppery taste akin to that of watercress. My wife and I love watercress in our salads and sandwiches, so we’ll have to incorporate nasturtiums in our diet. It’s amazing what one can learn in a forum dedicated to wet shaving.

[Rufus]

Where did you buy those fake capers? I love real capers, but I’d like to give your fakes a try.

You don't buy them - you grow nasturtiums (easy), pick off the seed pods and pickle them in vinegar. They taste the same as real capers, but more intense.

Thanks Chris. I didn’t know that the leaves and petals are edible let alone that the seed pods can be pickled. I understand the leaves and petals have a peppery taste akin to that of watercress. My wife and I love watercress in our salads and sandwiches, so we’ll have to incorporate nasturtiums in our diet. It’s amazing what one can learn in a forum dedicated to wet shaving.

PS Just checked with SWMBO and she knows all about nasturtiums...hmm

[drmoss_ca]

The leaves are an acquired taste - very peppery, but not unpleasant.

[drmoss_ca]

Una sarten con alubias y huevos:

Alubias y Huevos.jpg (133.85 KiB) Viewed 9821 times

[drmoss_ca]

Not only do RealMen™ eat them, they make them too:

Real_Men_Do.jpg (174.28 KiB) Viewed 9249 times

[fallingwickets]

the bagels (not sure how i missed that) look amazing.

I saw this recipe for korean street toast the other day via a chef john yt video and decided to make it:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/28247 ... eet-toast/

its very easy to make and sooooooooo delicious. the only downside I suppose would be how to make them in bulk as it is a one pan per sandwich affair.

https://ibb.co/jVkN16S

clive

[brothers]

There was a simpler time when I could crank out a dozen or so whole wheat bagels and enter them in the state fair, at my wife's suggestion. Won a few blue ribbons too. I seldom find an occasion to make bagels these days, but so far I've managed to show a couple of my teenage grandchildren of both genders how to make 'em. It's a good recipe that includes the kneading, rising, the boiling, and the baking. They taste and look like a million bucks. The women at the fair used to come up to me and say "did you make those yourself?" Of course I did! They were quite jealous, no doubt!

[fallingwickets]

forget tinder, match.com etc etc....its all about bagels!!

clive

[drmoss_ca]

Some individual-size quiches with smoked salmon, celery, chives and cheddar:

IMG_0855.jpeg (223.03 KiB) Viewed 7420 times

[fallingwickets]

fedex leftovers!!!

[drmoss_ca]

They grow....

IMG_0882.jpeg (161.45 KiB) Viewed 7216 times

[fallingwickets]

looks delicious....not even going to ask

clive