Bagels

The only sort of normal shaped bagel out of the batch

I grew up in a predominantly Jewish community. My dad would wake up early to buy freshly baked bagels almost every weekend.  We had the best bagels at the local shop in town. At the age of 10, I recall being able to eat 2 bagels for breakfast - total carb overload! Being that I am of Asian descent, I still can confidently say I know what a good bagel is. My ideal bagel is crusty on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside with a slight hint of sweetness.   Some people are partial to Brooklyn bagels, but the best that I have ever had came from Queens, NY.  Some people say it's the NY water that makes the bagels taste so good.

So I promised that I would try to overcome my fear of bread...but this latest challenge has left me feeling defeated. I consider myself a connoisseur of bagels, but I certainly do not know how to make them. With that being said, I think it's important to show that there will always be kitchen disasters and recipes that will leave you feeling confused.  Was it the ingredients I used or my lack of experience that messed this up? Or was it just not the greatest recipe? I used the bagel recipe from the King Arthur Flour website. Most of the reviews of the recipe were positive, but maybe I should have paid more attention to the New Yorker who said it was just OK. Everything seemed fine until I boiled the bagels. This is when I realized I didn't form them properly.  They started to come apart at the seam where they are supposed to be joined. AHHH. I still had hope for them even though they were misshapen. They came out crusty, they were a little chewy, but the flavor was lacking. Don't get me wrong, they are good enough to eat, but just ok. I could get a better bagel from the Fairway market or my local NJ bagel shop. They are better than the crappy bagels at Stop and Shop if that is a point of reference for anyone. Below is the link to the recipe.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bagels-recipe

Here are the lessons I learned:
1. I need a lot more practice forming bagels correctly
2. Not to use this recipe again
3. To practice what I preach to my kids...if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Stay tuned for more bread making battles.

First time using non-diastatic malt powder

So far so good.

Boiling in water - coming apart at the seams.

Funny shaped Bagels