Homemade bagels

Not so very long ago we made the decision to cut down on the amount of added chemicals and preservatives we consume. We're not turning fanatic, but we're taking steps. One of those steps is baking our own breads. We love bagels so we found a good recipe and gave it a try. The end result was, in a word, wonderful! 

We chose a very simple recipe: 
3.5 cups flour
1 packet instant dry yeast
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1-1/3 cup warm water

We have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer that, when purchased, was a game-changer to the way we cook. We combined the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl with the dough hook installed, and slowly added the water until the dough ball formed. After that, let the dough rise for an hour, and then formed the bagels. Once the bagels were formed, the tricky part came in to play. 

The bagels needed to be boiled, two minutes per side, and then placed on the baking sheet. The boiling is where the rough texture happens. Once on the baking sheet, give them a little eggwash and bake at 425F for 20 minutes. 

We consider our first attempt at bagels a success. They toasted nicely, smelled fresh and yeasty, and tasted better than store-bought. Six went in the freezer for upcoming weekend fare. 

It's not that we think baking bread together will solve all the problems with chemicals in our food, but it's one small thing we can do here on the manor. If we were twenty years younger, we'd have a large garden but we've settled for container gardening. We can't eliminate one-hundred percent of additives and chemicals from our diet but we'll do it when and where we can. It's one of life's trade-offs, and we accept that. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor