Dinner--or Dessert--Tonight

[ab_grp]

I took a bagel making class today! That was really fun, and now we have bagels we actually made to enjoy at home.

Ooh, that does sound fun! Making bagels has always seemed like quite a process, so it's great if you got some scaffolded instruction.  Having your own delicious bagels as a result is a huge bonus! Did you pick up any tips you can share? Sometimes little hacks can make a big difference in quality or make the process easier.

[darkstarrynight]

It is a huge bonus! One of the tips was to use barley malt syrup no matter what in the dough, rather than honey or molasses as an alternative. Also, instead of pouring the syrup into a measuring cup and then adding it to the mixer bowl, it was suggested to put the back of the tablespoon into the flour in the bowl to make "tablespoon sized indents" and then just pour the syrup directly into the indented areas for easier clean-up and measuring. Syrup or brown sugar can be added to the boiling water so the bagel dough gets a nice color before they bake. Also, bagel dough only rises about 30% so there is no need to expect it to double in size. We used an egg wash of egg white and water on both sides of the dough after boiling so each side can be dipped into toppings. The class leader also suggested we make our own everything seasoning rather than buying a pre-mixed version.

[ab_grp]

That's a lot of great tips.  Thanks! I really want to try to make some bagels sometime.  We've had a few good ones around here, but they're not the same as the east coast.  I'm going to save your suggestions.

[ab_grp]

We decided to try a garlic noodle recipe that we had been eyeing in the New York Times.  We made a few minor adjustments and added shrimp, and it was fantastic.  Really garlicky! I think that would be really quick to pull together now that we've done it once, so we might add that into the rotation now and then.