Homemade Bagels

I'm moving overseas in a few months, and found out recently that sadly, bagels are not available in the country I am moving to. Now, I do not eat bagels all that often, but now that I know I will not be able to get them there, it makes me want to eat bagels every day for the rest of my life. Happily, I learned that bagels are not that difficult to make from scratch. I did a search on Chowhound and someone suggested this recipe on a homemade bagel thread from a few years back. I couldn't find bread flour at my local grocery store, so I bought some vital wheat gluten, which increases the protein content of the flour so that the bagels are more chewy.

I used my stand mixer to knead the dough, using the dough hook, since I never seem to get satisfactory results when I try to knead by hand. The recipe calls for 6-8 cups of flour - I started out with 6 cups of all-purpose flour and added another cup while mixing the dough. I probably could have done with less, since my dough was really stiff after I added the additional cup (my stand mixer was starting to overheat, and I was a little worried that I was going to burn out the motor). I added 6 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten (1 teaspoon for each cup of flour - I forgot to add an additional teaspoon when I added more flour, but the bagels turned out fine). I used sugar instead of malt syrup - white sugar for the dough, and brown sugar in the water used for boiling. I just made plain bagels, but you can always add whatever toppings you want.

These bagels turned out great. They were best when they were right out of the oven - nice and crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Perfect with a little bit of cream cheese. I stored half of them in a Ziploc bag and half in a brown paper bag overnight - the crust on the bagels in the Ziploc got soft, so the paper bag is the way to go. By the second day the bagels were getting stale - still quite edible but a little too chewy - next time I will freeze half of the bagels right away. I'm quite pleased that now I can have bagels any time I want - now I just need to learn how to make cream cheese. :)

Five-Minute Artisan Bread

I have had a love-hate relationship with homemade bread over the years. I love the taste of homemade bread, but I hate kneading. I just can't get it right. I have tried using a breadmaker, and also the dough hook on my stand mixer, to avoid the whole kneading problem - but I just haven't been able to make bread with the texture that I want.

Then I found this recipe online. Fancy looking bread that you don't have to knead - really? Am I dreaming? I had to try it. The recipe looked pretty easy, and reviews online made it sound like you couldn't mess it up. I tried it for the first time last week. One word: wonderful. This bread is so easy to make, and it is delicious. Baking it on a pizza stone gives it a lovely crust. We were very happy with the flavor. I love that you make a big batch and just store it in your fridge for whenever you want fresh bread. We had our second loaf tonight, and it was even better than the first. The flavor changes a little over time, becoming more sourdough-like the longer it sits in the fridge.

One tip that I have found helpful - since the dough is pretty wet, it can be difficult to transfer to the baking stone. I don't have a pizza peel, so I just put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and put my dough on there to rest. When it's time to put the bread in the oven, I slide the dough and the parchment paper onto the stone. I let the bread bake for three minutes, then open the oven and pull the parchment paper out from underneath the bread.

Naan

We had a South Asian themed dinner one night, and my husband wanted to make naan. Naan is an Indian flatbread and is mighty tasty. We found this recipe and tried it. The ingredients are simple enough, but I am just not a big fan of kneading dough and I am never sure if I have kneaded enough or too much. Yes, I know about the gluten window, but it still doesn't give me much reassurance even when I get the window. I just need to get to know someone who makes a lot of homemade bread and I can learn from them.

Anyway, this turned out pretty good. I thought this naan was a little sweet though, which is not a flavor I am used to tasting in naan. My sister-in-law thought it tasted like Auntie Annie's pretzels - which is a good flavor, but not what I was going for. Regardless, all present really liked it and polished them off. I might try this again but with less sugar.

Honey Of An Oatmeal Bread

I decided to try a new bread recipe this week. This bread was easy because I had all the ingredients on hand. The loaf is very light and sweet. I think it's a good breakfast bread, but I probably wouldn't want it for sandwiches. It is very fluffy and was a little difficult to cut, but the taste is good. I would make this one again.

Buttermilk Honey Wheat Bread

My husband's grandma is downsizing. Last time she did that, we got her TV. This time, we have been blessed with her bread machine. I've tried using a bread machine in the past and was disappointed with the results - but I think you just have to find the right recipe, and accept the fact that your bread will look more like a block than a loaf. I've made this bread once so far, and am making it a second time in the bread machine as I write. It has a nice flavor, is moist, has good structure and a nice slightly crunchy crust. Or as my husband said to me after he ate a slice - "... you've done a very good thing."

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

I have made this bread five or six times now, and it is one of my favorites. It's an easy bread to make for get togethers, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. I've played around with the sugar content a few times - 3 cups of sugar is way too much. I usually use 2 1/4 cups of white sugar. This last time I used 1 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. I can't tell a big difference using brown sugar, but, hey, variety is the spice of life, I say. The last few times I have added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, which made a great bread into a rock-my-world bread. :) Which just goes to show you the truth of the old adage that you can't go wrong with chocolate chips. It's kind of like a stick of butter. Any recipe that starts with a stick of butter is going to be tasty. Artery clogging as well, but I digress. Anyway, I've tried to use mini-chocolate chips but it wasn't nearly as good as the regular sized ones. I always get compliments when I make this one.

Oatmeal Bread

Before we were married, my husband lived with a couple who would make homemade oatmeal bread all the time. They passed down the recipe to me, and I have tried to reproduce it a few times with varying success. I've never watched anyone make bread, so all the subtleties of breadmaking were lost on me. Gluten window? Proofing yeast? Huh? I've been trying to read up on breadmaking, and this weekend I tried the recipe again. I think my main problem the last couple times was lack of patience and a desire to have control over the whole process. If it is supposed to take an hour for the dough to rise, then by golly, I will give it an hour. But no more than an hour! Alas, bread making doesn't work that way. Well this time I exercised patience, and came closer to a nice fluffy loaf of oatmeal bread than I have with past attempts.



Oatmeal bread

1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp margarine

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Add 2 cups boiling water and stir to combine.

Dissolve one package of dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. When oat batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast/water mixture. Gradually stir in about 5 cups white flour until dough stops sticking to your hands as you mix in the flour.

When dough is not sticky, knead for 5-10 minutes. Spray the bowl with non-stick cooking spray (or grease it), and put the dough inside. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled (about one hour). Punch down dough, then flatten it and roll it into two loaves. Place loaves in greased bread pans. Cover with towel and let rise about 45 minutes. Uncover.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.