return of the bagels
Last week I had a bagel disaster. Yesterday, it was an episode of marshmallow brownies strike back. Today... it's the return of the bagels!
Yes folks, we will see the end of disastrous baking. I was totally dissatisfied with how the bagels turned out at my first try, I simply could not tahan and tried another recipe, this time from the All Recipes site.
Early in the making, and I had already hit a semi-crisis. The leftover yeast I had from last week wasn't proofing - no bubbles, no sizzle, just flat and calm surface. I cried foul and rushed to the nearest Giant supermarket to get some, but they didn't have any in stock. Made a stop at the TTDI dry market and as I had predicted (but I had to try my luck), the bake shop was closed too. I ain't giving up now! Headed to reliable Tesco and bought 2 bottles of yeast (to be on the safe side in case something went wrong again. Don't ask me why I didn't just go there in the first place).
After 1 hour yeast-hunting, I started over again from the beginning. To my horror the yeast didn't proof as well either. Hmmm... could the water be too hot? One last try. This time I let the hot water cool a little more till my fingers could comfortably dip into it. This time I could see tiny bubbles surfacing. I rechecked the recipe and searched other sites for yeast-proofing. After a bit of R&D I concluded that perhaps it's ok to have just a bit of bubbles instead of a whole cup of foam, probably because I'd used less yeast that the last time.
On with the show.
I made sure I added enough flour this time to make a pretty stiff dough, firm yet elastic enough to stretch without breaking. I left it to proof for 1.5 hours (instead of the recommended 1) to be on the safe side. Ahhhh... when my fists punched down the raised dough, it felt right this time - nice and firm! This is going to be good.
Took my time making the bagels, proofed for another 20 minutes and simmered them in boiling water. When the bagels did the right "sink-down-and-float-up" bit, I heaved a sigh of relief. And they definitely have a smoother texture than the last batch!
Now for the final test - in to the oven they went. I watched over them like a mother hen to her chicks. The first sign of browning I pulled them out, turned them over, back in again, waited till they browned again, turned them over, in again... until...
Ta-daaaaaahhhhhh!!!
Aren't these bagels just bee-yoo-ti-ful?
Yes folks, we will see the end of disastrous baking. I was totally dissatisfied with how the bagels turned out at my first try, I simply could not tahan and tried another recipe, this time from the All Recipes site.
Early in the making, and I had already hit a semi-crisis. The leftover yeast I had from last week wasn't proofing - no bubbles, no sizzle, just flat and calm surface. I cried foul and rushed to the nearest Giant supermarket to get some, but they didn't have any in stock. Made a stop at the TTDI dry market and as I had predicted (but I had to try my luck), the bake shop was closed too. I ain't giving up now! Headed to reliable Tesco and bought 2 bottles of yeast (to be on the safe side in case something went wrong again. Don't ask me why I didn't just go there in the first place).
After 1 hour yeast-hunting, I started over again from the beginning. To my horror the yeast didn't proof as well either. Hmmm... could the water be too hot? One last try. This time I let the hot water cool a little more till my fingers could comfortably dip into it. This time I could see tiny bubbles surfacing. I rechecked the recipe and searched other sites for yeast-proofing. After a bit of R&D I concluded that perhaps it's ok to have just a bit of bubbles instead of a whole cup of foam, probably because I'd used less yeast that the last time.
On with the show.
I made sure I added enough flour this time to make a pretty stiff dough, firm yet elastic enough to stretch without breaking. I left it to proof for 1.5 hours (instead of the recommended 1) to be on the safe side. Ahhhh... when my fists punched down the raised dough, it felt right this time - nice and firm! This is going to be good.
Took my time making the bagels, proofed for another 20 minutes and simmered them in boiling water. When the bagels did the right "sink-down-and-float-up" bit, I heaved a sigh of relief. And they definitely have a smoother texture than the last batch!
Now for the final test - in to the oven they went. I watched over them like a mother hen to her chicks. The first sign of browning I pulled them out, turned them over, back in again, waited till they browned again, turned them over, in again... until...
Ta-daaaaaahhhhhh!!!
Aren't these bagels just bee-yoo-ti-ful?
Awww... My babies! (I gotta stop taking pictures of them)
p.s. They taste absolutely divine!
posted by may at 10:26 pm
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