About Bagels-- General Directions 3 B

* Exported from MasterCook *

ABOUT BAGELS -- GENERAL DIRECTIONS 3 B

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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Shape using any of the following methods:

HOLE IN THE MIDDLE METHOD: Roll each piece of dough
into a ball, poke a floured finger through the center
to form the hole, and then shape top and smooth sides.
Moisten your finger with water, if necessary to
smooth. Pull gently to enlarge hole. The resulting
bagel is smooth and there is no joint.

OR, press the round on your floured board. Using the
index fingers of both hands, poke a hole an pull dough
until the hole is large, and then round out the bagel
and smooth the top and edges.

THE HULA HOOP AROUND THE FINGER METHOD: Create a
circle without a joint by flattening a ball of dough
slightly into a round shape, folding the bottom edge
under and smoothing it until it looks like a mushroom
top. With a floured index finger, make a hole in the
center of the circle from the bottom up. Twirl the
circle around your index finger, or two fingers, like
a hula-hoop, to widen the hole. Pull out and shape the
round.

THE ROPE METHOD: Roll each piece of dough into a rope
by rolling it on the bread board or between your
hands. Wrap the rope around four fingers, overlap and
join the ends, and turn the circle inside out. Until
you get this hand movement down pat, you may have to
moisten the ends to hold them together. Initially the
length may be lumpy and the joint will show. It takes
practice.

OR, roll dough into 30" lengths, cut each length into
thirds (each 10" long) and join the ends. If you
become proficient at this hand-made method, make 10"
marks on the edge of your bread board so your bagels
will be a consistent size.

BAGEL CUTTER METHOD: Roll dough out to a flat shape
about 1/2" thick. Cut with a bagel cutter and smooth
the tops over the sides so they're rounded, using a
little water on your fingers to smooth, if necessary.
Knead scraps again, reroll and cut into as many more
bagels as there is dough. If you don't have a bagel
cutter, use a wide champagne glass to cut out the
outside. Cut the inside hole with the edge of a
cordial glass or the small end of a measuring jigger.
Any leftover dough can be rolled into two strips and
made into a bagel twist (separate recipe), sealing
ends with a dab of water so they don't untwist while
boiling and baking.

Place shaped bagels on the greased baking sheet for
the second rise, spacing them at least an inch apart
to allow for the second rise. Proceed to Step 3:
Second Rise.

STEP 3: SECOND RISE

During the second rising of the dough, the bagels will
puff up on the greased baking sheet. cover them with a
length of plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick vegetable
spray or a very lightly dampened cloth such as a tea
towel. Place them in a draft free location and let
them rise at room temperature until puffy, about 20
minutes.

NOTE: Bagels can be refrigerated at this point,
should you decide to boil and bake them later, or the
next morning. Leave them covered so they do not dry
out. Remove from the refrigerator and allow to warm
slightly while you boil water and preheat the oven.

The second rise can be speeded up by using the
microwave. Fill a 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup
with water and bring the water to a boil. Place in a
corner of the microwave. Place the baking sheet of
covered bagels in the microwave and close the door,
but so not turn on the microwave. The bagels should
rise in a bout 6 minutes. (It won't matter if the
sheet is metal because you don't turn on the oven.)

Or, spray shaped tops of dough with water. Place
bagels on a microwave-safe surface and heat in the
microwave on LOW or DEFROST setting for 3 minutes;
rest for 3 minutes. Repeat heating and resting until
bagels are puffy.

Proceed to Step 4: Boil or "kettle".

CONTINUED IN ABOUT BAGELS -- GENERAL DIRECTIONS 4

The Best Bagels are made at home by Dona Z. Meilach

ISBN 1-55867-131-5

Carolyn Shaw April 1996 From: Homenet Cook



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