To fermentation and beyond...the harsh realities of the kitchen

Today was not a good day for me in the culinary arts. Not a good day at all. I guess it started a week ago Sunday when I made the dough. And then I let it chill overnight. And overnight. And overnight again 7 times over. I got busy. I figured chilled is chilled right? Wrong. While it was chilling it was also fermenting. When I took the plastic wrap off the dough it was clear that something was a little off. The whole thing reaked of alcohol. I googled and called Little Chef to no available (don't worry LC, this is all just to add to the drama of the post!). Apparently no one is stupid enough to do this because I did not find any information about over fermenting your dough that quite matched what I had done. Note to others, do not google "my dough smells bad" unless you want a whole slew of moderately x-rated options. And it doesn't seem to be rising in the cute fluted cups. Sadly, I think it headed for trash can. The dough itself tasted awful and no amount of baking will fix it. In addition, the pasta I made was mushy and not particularly memorable. I hate throwing away time and resources, but I hate wasting calories and eating things that are only so so just because. Better luck tomorrow with my lentils and ciabatta.

In true NY bagel baking style

Not ascetically pleasing, but very very tasty! I decided right off the bat that if a true blue New Yorker couldn't find malt, I certainly wasn't going to waste my time. Honey it was. Right off the bat I was having problems. First my bubbly yeast mixture did not collapse when I banged the bowl very firmly (multiple times) against the counter. Then, even though I added a whole extra half cup of flour, my dough was sticky, sticky, sticky and was not passing the windowpane test. Sigh. I felt a slight panic coming on. I shaped all my dough into what I estimated to be 4.5 ounce balls and waited. Then I reshaped into bagels. Then I read the recipe again. What? What!? These have to sit overnight? I had planned to start the week with freshly baked bagels and now it was 9:30pm on a Sunday night. Double sigh. But in my semi-darkest moment, there was some hope. I could not have been more excited when my test bagel floated and the success inspired me to to rise early, in true NYC bagel baking style and boil my tasty delights before the sun rose. Since Phil was getting up at 5:30am the next day, I did as well and boiled and baked away in my dark kitchen. I decided on three flavors: plain, sesame, and sea salt (courtesy of Little Chef!) with rosemary. I ran into problems getting the bagels to hold their shape when peeling them off the sheet to drop in the water, and so my bagels were fairly flat. But the taste was fantastic - I have been assured by two harsh critics that they taste as good as any professional bagel. Success is mine!

the test bagel floats
can you stop the test bagel now? (kinda messed that one up in the drying process)

Chewy Bagels in Portland, Oregon

Right now I'm enjoying a chewy, golden bagel covered in cream cheese, smoked salmon and sliced tomato, and drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil, and I made it. I'm feeling irrationally proud of myself.

I didn't believe that the bagels would work out. First, I couldn't find high gluten flour and had to substitute King Arthur organic bread flour. Then, I couldn't locate malt powder and had to substitute raw honey. And the final straw was when the super stiff dough so overwhelmed the tenacity of my little Kitchen Aid that the poor machine sputtered to what may be it's final finish.

Then, it was difficult to shape an attractive bagel. Like Glenna, I resorted to poking holes in my bread balls, because the traditional method yielded lopsided loops. The poke-method bagels did turn out a bit prettier, although several still puffed up asymmetrically. I guess practice is key to shaping any kind of loaf. It was fun though, making rows of bagels, and I loved seeing them lined up neatly in my fridge, awaiting the boiling and baking.

But I forgot to mention that I had to wait several hours for my test bagel to pass the float test. My dough was that stiff (or our apartment's that cold)! Did anyone else encounter this issue?

Once I boiled the bagels, I covered them in a mixture of nigella seeds and red sea salt. The resulting taste is salty, tart and nutty: yum. I experimented with different boiling times, and found I like my bagels boiled for about 2 minutes per side and then baked for about 12 minutes to achieve a really chewy, golden brown crust. The insides are porcelain white and soft, and just as good as any professional bagel I've eaten.

The bagels are yummy, but what's even more satisfying than the eating is the pleasure of mixing and shaping and creating something beautiful out of flour and water. And I love seeing all of your pictures. Mine will come soon...

--Rhi

NY-made Bagels and Mission for Malt.

Our struggle began in our effort to find malt. I tried Zabars, Westside Market, Citarella's, Fairway, Gourmet Garage, Food Emporium, Whole Foods. No malt. I even emailed Steven Shaw, founder of egullet and one of my favorite food writers. He emailed me back 6 times with suggestions...The ultimate choice that worked...I went in to my old bagel shop (who asks to remain nameless!) and begged for malt. They were very kind and offered me some...If I promised to bring them one of the bagels. I said yes, as long as they promised to eat one. They declined!

We made them, I even helped. DELICIOUS. Tasted like real bagels. Unbelievable when they first came out, so light and doughy-fluffy. We loved them. The only battle in the kitchen was one I opted for the less traditional style of bagel forming and Jonathan insisted on the traditional style of making a long stick and then forming a circle. (I just made a ball, then poked a finger in the middle to form a hole). In the end it tastes the same.

Awesome creation!

With Your Leftover Poolish...

If any of you are like me, you ended up with too much poolish. Well, worry not, because you can make a delicious sandwich bread with this that will tide you over until bagel time.

First, put 1/2 tsp of yeast, 1 Tb salt and 3 C warm water into the bowl of your standing mixer.
Dump your leftover poolish into the bowl, and add 3 C flour (I like to mix white and white whole wheat). Mix well.
Start to knead (by hand or in the mixer), incorporating 1-2 more cups of flour. The poolish makes the dough pretty wet, so you'll want to add flour bit by bit until the dough is smooth and tacky.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and set aside until it doubles, roughly 2 hours.
Divide the dough into two pieces, and shape each piece into a loaf (stretch into an oval and then roll up, pinching the seam). Place each loaf in a lightly oiled or buttered loaf pan and let rise for another 2 hours or so--until they double.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. When the oven is hot, give each loaf a nice slash down the middle, turn the oven down to 400 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes. The loaves should crest the pan and be golden.
After 45 minutes, slip the loaves out of the pans and put them back in the oven for five minutes.
Take out and cool 1-2 hours before slicing.

This bread is delicious and flexible (I put the dough in the fridge before the first rise; let it come to room temperature and rise when I had time to shape it; and then left the shaped loaves to proof overnight in our chilly apartment, baking them in the morning). I just gobbled a huge piece as a mid-morning snack, and am already leering at it, thinking of lunch.

-Rhi

Time to Celebrate!

So it was the first snowstorm of the week and what better way to celebrate than to bake Greek Celebration Bread! I had opted to go with orange zest and think it compliments the almond quite nicely. This week I was delighted that I actually developed a kneeding strategy and was able to get my dough supple enough to pass the windowpane test! Then of course I promptly dropped my well oiled ball of dough on the floor (which luckily I had just mopped in my presnow giddiness!). Little did I know that I was going to be out of work for a week, but I was anticipating some good cooking over the next few days (orecchiette and roast cauliflower, roast chicken, stock, white chili, cornbread, lemon risotto, and chocolate chip cookies). The bread was an amazing start to my cooking adventure throughout Snowmaggedon and Snoverkill. Of course, I let it rise for the double the time because Phil and I went out exploring in the snow and it was just too pretty to come in! And speaking of Phil- I have to give my husband a little pat on the back via this blog because he is an enormous help in the process by doing the bread dishes! And of course, loving the bread. ;)

blubbling poolish!

orange zest in all it's glory
whoops - stayed away a little too long...try tripled in size




Ta-da!

Greek Celebration Bread at the Lee Household

Jonathan did it again. He's two inches taller whenever he bakes, because it makes him so happy! This week was a lot easier and tastier (Jonathan says) than the Anadama bread (which was delicious, but at the end of the whole process, at 10:3o pm, J had said "the thing about making bread, is that, after all that hard work, it still tastes like bread.") But today we were satisfied! Here are some photos! (By the way, as you can see, the bread deflated during the final resting period which showed that it was undercooked - still delicious though!) I'm loving this project because, even though it was my idea, J does all the hard work (I do buy the ingredients though!).