Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sesame bagels

Sesame bagels with slices of gouda.

It is CHILLY here this morning. So chilly that we didn't want to leave our house. Actually, we didn't even want to leave the warm bedroom ;)

So, I decided to bake something to warm up the kitchen. I had never made bagels before, but had been told by countless friends that they are EASY. I had leftover pizza dough from Saturday night--let's try it out.

Now, my reliable source of bagel cooking information, the internet, has some differing views on how exactly to cook them. Boil anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes; cook anywhere from 400 degrees to 475, from 15 minutes to 35 minutes. It was confusing--I think I'll just have to do trial and error. Honestly, for the first attempt, they really were pretty good.

Dough--I just used basic pizza dough recipe. Decent--but not quite salty enough for my liking. I want to try pumpernickel next time.

Boil--I boiled for about a minute. Next time, I'm going to boil these a little longer--my bagels weren't quite as chewy as I'd like them. I'll try five minutes next time and let you know how that goes.



This was a happy accident. I'd picked up a bag of citrus from the bin marked "Navel Oranges" at the farmer's market. I was surprised (and pleased) to find that these were actually grapefruit. The sweetest grapefruit I've had in a long time!


Here's the final product--albeit a bit mishappen, they were nice and crusty. I baked at 400 for around 25 minutes. Next time, I'll try higher heat and a shorter cooking time. Of course, we didn't have cream cheese. Pictured below is goat gouda that paired up quite well.


13 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

great job and goat gouda huh? sounds interesting - is it 'goaty'

Jenn said...

Cool. I've always wanted to try making bagels. I mine would be plain or cinnamon. Mmmm...

tavolini said...

Dog--naw, it's actually quite creamy. A decent melting cheese, very mild.

Jenn--I want to do pumpernickel and get some good smoked salmon for next time--perfect holiday food.

buffalodick said...

I love Gouda cheese(Dutch blood in me!)!! Medium is my favorite- and always pronounce it "Gouwda" not "Gooda" and make the "G" sound like you're bringing up a hairball!

Stacey Snacks said...

These bagels are beautiful!
I wish someone would coax me out of my warm bed with hot sesame bagels!

Marjie said...

I have a recipe for bagels. Let me dig it up and I'll send it over to you. Then, next weekend you can try this again...and probably curse me all the way!

tavolini said...

Buffalo--LOL!! Okay, I am definitely a fan of all words involving "hairball" sounds :D

Stacey--and I'd like some of that broccoli mac and cheese before I go to bed :)

Marjie--You know, I was thinking of trying that salty bread you made a few weeks back--that would probably do well for bagels.

Heather S-G said...

mmmmm, gouda!! Your bagels look really awesome and I melt over a good, toasty bagel w/ butter & cheese...and freshly squeezed gf juice...perfection :)

pinknest said...

I've never made bagels before and yours look so yummy. I like em chewy too, but I guess I don't eat bagels that much!

Anonymous said...

Homemade sesame bagels sound fantastic!

The Blonde Duck said...

That's so cute you made your own bagels!

Alexander said...

I may sound nuts, but I always thought bagels were fried somehow... boiled... huh! You're brave cook, disaster seems to follow me whereever and whenever i bake.

Marjie said...

I'm slow, but I eventually get to everything! Here's a bagel recipe for 8 bagels:

2/3 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/3 cup white flour

Combine in the usual way & let rise 20 minutes.
Divide; roll into ropes to form circles (dampen one end so they'll stick together).
Let rise 20 minutes
Bring 2" of water to a simmer in a NON aluminum pan. Cook the bagels 30 seconds per side.
Drain on a towel & sprinkle the top with whatever you'd like.
Bake at 550F for 8 minutes.

Let us know how it comes out!