The Perfect Bagel
In covid times, like so many others, I was able to try my hand at baking.. It is one of the few ways I can actually turn my brain off and pull away while also creating room to connect with my husband and our kids, especially after being a business owner. My husband has a way with seasonings and is an incredible cook– which I am forever grateful for.
We joke that I just can’t seem to get away from using my hands and all the parallels between clay and dough. It is now built into my DNA.
Last month, after paging through one of our new Tartine book, I was inspired to try something new– bagels. It seems silly now, but they were so intimidating to me. I have made a variety of different types of breads, muffins, scones, pastas, ravioli, really anything with a flour base, but bagels seemed like a different beast. They seemed more time consuming, scientific, and something I hadn’t heard from many other people trying.
Quickly did I learn how wrong I was.
Similar to making your average loaf of bread, when making bagels you simply mix, knead, wait, knead again and let it rise. Once forming the bagel shapes, they enter a boiling bath for 2 minutes then you decorate with seasonings– I used salt, garlic, and dill. After all the toppings are added they get put onto a baking sheet and thrown in the oven for a final bake.
And to my surprise they were damn good!
You can try your hand at the recipe below!
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