In the Year of Fearless Baking: Episode #6: Bagels
Bagels have always been one of my favorite food groups foods. It’s something about the shape- the hole in the middle effectively doubles the amount of crust (and I’m a sucker for crust), but it’s also something about the size. Bagels are usually pretty big (usually too big), and the relative hugeness of them gives them a certain autonomy that a bread roll does not. It’s like getting your own personal loaf of bread.
Between Bagelsaurus and Exodus, as of the past couple years Boston is doing pretty well in the bagel category. For that reason, making bagels at home seemed almost silly, until I realized that this assignment could also serve a larger purpose. Namely, the resurrection of a childhood favorite that has gone the way of the proverbial Dodo Bird.
I grew up in Durham, New Hampshire- a smallish town with a big state university in it. While it was home to a bunch of quirky small businesses when I was a child, in recent years most of Durham’s downtown has since been replaced with crappy bars, greasy pizza and tanning salons. The people are great, but otherwise I don’t find it a very inspiring place to visit.
Actually, after my parents moved out of Durham several years ago, reasons for visiting my hometown on my own steam were essentially knocked down to one: buying bagels. The local bagel shop, which was aptly called ‘The Bagelry’, made a truly delicious product. One type in particular, the Oatmeal Bagel, had an absolutely unique flavor that I personally found seriously addictive.
Well, when the shop changed hands and was taken over by a local chain a couple years ago, the Oatmeal Bagel was lost in the shuffle, and I had basically resigned myself to the concept that I would just never eat one again. That is, until last week, when I decided to take matters into my own hands.
And you know something? Making bagels at home really isn’t that complicated. As was the case in my pretzel adventure last week, the dough takes a swim in a bubbling pot of water before baking. I went with this recipe, which is pretty simple and only takes about three hours. To make the oatmeal version, I just substituted oat flour for one cup of the flour called for in the recipe, and topped them with oats. I also added a little molasses to the dough and the water bath.
These are freaking delicious, and also offered a short cruise through my awkward adolescence and straight through my vegan teen years. While they probably will not provide such a Proustian experience to everyone, they are worth making for the gastronomic value alone. Highly recommended.
