"homemade bagels" news and stories

Whether eaten plain or with a "schmear" of cream cheese, Americans chomp their way through whole-wheat, cinnamon-raisin, poppy seed and onion bagels every morning. But while most procure their morning rings of dough from a local bagel shop or deli, a fresh bagel is only a few, simple ingredients away.

The boiled-then-baked rings of dough from the Fresh Loaf are nothing more than bread flour, salt, water, yeast and malt powder -- leading to the question of "why didn't I try making these sooner?"

The dough is made and shaped into circles – the bagel's signature silhouette -- the night before. The next day, they are boiled and baked just in time for the morning pot of coffee.

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I've had a big old food blogger crush on Deb of Smitten Kitchen since the days when she wasn't strictly a food blogger and was still writing over at The Smitten (way back before she made the move to iVillage). Her pictures are always sublime, her writing is both informative and chatty and her food just makes me swoon with gustatory desire. She has totally outdone herself with her latest post about making homemade bagels. I've never felt a burning need to make my own bagels, but having read her post, which included the text of an email from her father, in which he says that her bagels were just like the East River bagels of his childhood, I'm now itching to try my hand at it.

Deb, thanks for all the terrific recipes, gorgeous pictures and continued food inspiration!

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