Nom-Able

Confession time: food blogging is not my day job. Not only do I not make a dime testing other people’s recipes and posting my photos of them online, but I actually lose about $130 annually keeping this site up for your reading and viewing pleasure. But that’s okay, because I have a day job that can support that habit. That is, until the governor ordered all employees to take unpaid days off; the money I’m losing today, pre-taxes, is exactly the amount it takes to maintain this site for a year.

I’m not complaining, I’m just saying.

Of course, there is an upside to being furloughed today, namely that I got to crack open my brand-spankin’ new copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’ newest book, Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For-From Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes. I received the book from Amazon a few days after it came out, and immediately was drawn to the idea of creating my own homemade bagels. Several other food bloggers have tried making their own bagels with varied amounts of success, and I thought to myself, what the hell, it’s my turn now — and if anyone knows how to make a good bagel, it’s going to be a Jewish girl from Brooklyn, so I’ve got a leg up on all those suckers!

Apparently, the secret to crispy on the outside, soft on the inside bagels is boiling. First, those little guys get boiled — at which point they plump up like a Ballpark hot dog — and then you bake them to a delicious golden brown. The whole process — including mixing, kneading, and rising time, is a large time investment for a morning breakfast, so I hadn’t actually tried the recipe, though it called to me from the moment I got the book.

However, on a furlough day, I had all the time in the world.

It was definitely worth the unpaid day off – the recipe made enough bagels for me to take to work for the next two weeks — all I had to do was slice the suckers in half once cool and then pop them into freezer baggies. Every morning, out of the baggie and into the toaster then went and mmmmm. Now, considering I’d been going to Panera Bread every morning for a toasted bagel with cream cheese at $2.50 a pop, and I now had ten days worth of breakfasts, my day off saved me $25.00.

Okay, it didn’t really make up for the money I lost, especially since later I went to IKEA for a new liquor cabinet, but I like to think it did. At the very least, it kept my mind off of the work I wasn’t doing and the money I wasn’t making, so that when I opened my paycheck a week later and saw the decrease in cash, it was a really nasty surprise.

Wait, I guess that isn’t a benefit of the recipe either.

Delicious bagels, I suppose, will have to be their own intrinsic reward. Oh, and I infused them with love and all that stuff.

Vegan Bagels

From Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For-From Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 c. warm water
• 1 1/4 oz. pkg active dry yeast
• 4 cups flour (Ed Note: I used whole grain for a healthier bagel).
• 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
• 2 tsp salt
• Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
• Oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in the warm water, then add yeast to proof.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine other ingredients.
3. Add the yeast mixture and knead for a good ten minutes or so; the dough should be neither dry nor wet, but nicely tacky. (I used my trusty KitchenAid mixer with dough hook attachment).
4. Place dough in an oiled bowl (I sprayed mine with spray olive oil) and let sit for an hour or so.
5. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
6. Turn dough out onto a dry surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. (Ed. Note: don’t worry if the pieces look small. They’ll plump in the water.)
7. Rol each piece into a ball, then use your thumbs to tuck the dough under until you polk a hole through the center, then work the hole until it’s roughly half-dollar sized.
8. Place the bagels on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, cover with a damp towel, and wait for the water to boil
9. Once boiling, reduce to a gentle simmer and add three of the bagels – they should bob up to the surface in a few seconds; if they don’t, nudge them with a spoon until they unstick. Simmer for one minute, then flip them over and simmer for another minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels.
10. Place all bagels in the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until nice and amber brown, then remove and let sit for 30 minutes.