hot bagels

Have you ever made your own bagels? It's really much easier than you might think, and they taste like no bagel you have ever had before. We are talking bagels so warm and so fresh they will make you think twice before putting that $3.50 bag of Sara Lee's in your cart. It only takes about 20 minutes to make and they are all done in about 1 hour.  Here is how:

1.5 cup water

1.5 TBSP yeast

3 TBSP sugar

1/2 TBSP salt

4 C. flour

Put yeast and sugar in water and let grow. Add salt and flour; mix well. Let set for 15 minutes. Pinch off 10 to 12 balls. Poke thumb through center. Let rise 20 minutes. Biol in water with 2 tablespoons sugar or honey for 2 minutes. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 400 F.

You can experiment with different kinds of flour (wheat, oat, spelt) or throw in some flax, pumpkin seeds or wheat germ. Or you could go the other direction and dip the tops in cinnamon & sugar. Either way you can't go wrong with these babies.

Spread a little bit of that strawberry freezer jam you made in the spring and you won't believe how amazing your cooking skills are. Make them on a cold day like today and they'll be your new best friend.

Enjoy!