Bagels, bagels, bagels...

Yes, it's a recipe. No, it's not a bike post. Yes, I'm still sick (though recovering) and haven't gotten squat done on bike work.

I suck.

But, my bad working karma has paid me back: it's going to snow on Monday, according to NOAA. The same day I'm *hoping* I'll be well enough to ride at a mellow pace.

Lovely.

So if you, like me, will be spending some time indoors this coming week, make yourself some yummy warm bagels to keep you warm and happy.

Making bagels is really easy. Do you think random stoners can get jobs getting up at 4am to make the bagels because it's, like, hard? Well, ok, to be fair, in my experience, all of my friends who get that job end up getting fired in about 4 days, but bagels really are easy.

Bagels ala Walt
-1 tsp yeast
-1.5c H20, warm
-2 tbsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
-4 c flour

Optional:
-10 cloves crushed garlic

Directions:

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water in a big mixing bowl. Give it 5 minutes or so to proof up (ie, for the yeast to have a huge sugar-orgy). Mix in all the other ingredients. If you have a stand mixer, have it mix on the slowest speed for 7 minutes. Otherwise, knead by hand for 7 minutes (think of it as training for rock climbing or keeping your hands from getting pumped on those long downhills).

Now cover up the bowl and let the dough stand for about half an hour.

Pull out fist-sized pieces of dough (you should end up with about 6 pieces) and roll them out with your hands into long strips, then make circles and squish the ends together. Put them on a baking sheet (with parchment paper on it) and cover them up. Let them sit for another 20 minutes or so.

Boil the bagels. It's that easy. Get some water boiling, and toss the uncooked bagels in. Flip them over after 30 seconds or so. Total boiling time should be ~1 minute.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425. Put the freshly boiled bagels on the baking sheet and bake them for 15-20 minutes. When they're just *slightly* brown on top, they're done.


Edit: If you're bored waiting for the bagels to rest: you can go take this quiz on what kind of cook you are. I'm type "e", for what it's worth.