Due to the lack of other options* we decided to try to make our own bagels. Apparently we let them 'proof' too long so they didn't sink in the boiling water and came out a little too fluffy for true bagel-denseness. But they definitely tasted like bread and that was the point of the exercise.
Side note from Cara:
It hadn't even occurred to me that bagels could be made at home. I was astonished when Michael suggested it - after all - wasn't there some sort of bagel magic that only happens in the special bagel stores? It was just another example of how Michael brings all sorts of magic home.
*By this we mean that the Chinese just don't make bread like we think of back in the states. See 'bread' post. Sweet and interesting, but not exactly something on which to spread cream cheese.
3 comments:
There is also the steaming method of pre-cooking the bagels. That might help too.
Good Luck!
KB
Cara and the Bagel Magic: Book One of the Jewish Wizardy School Series by JK Rowling wherein young Cara, with the help of her new friend Michael, discovers this whole world of Jewish Magic where people can do things like... make Bagels! Who knew!?
We've had good luck with the following recipe (the bagels in Champaign-Urbana, IL and Boulder, CO are not even up to the level of those in State College, PA :-( ):
http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/breads/bagels.html
In fact, the whole http://www.ruths-kitchen.com/ site is well worth a visit... If you know any people that homebrew, you can hit them up for the barley malt (it really gives them a nice flavor).
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