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Chocolate Swirl Buns

November 22, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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These chocolate buns look like little caterpillars, don’t they? My bread kneading skills have improved after several failed attempts, and I think I’ve figured out how to achieve a pretty soft and fluffy texture. However, my shaping skills are still not quite there yet. I still have a long way to go before I can create good looking food. At least I can take heart in the fact that they taste good.

As you can see, I experimented with a few different shapes. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing but I figured it’d be edible anyway. The recipe for the bread is one that I’ve used several times now, and it has always worked for me. I think it’s an incredibly versatile one that can be used for both savory and sweet fillings – the last time I used it was for my hot dog buns.

The chocolate filling I actually made for this batch is actually a departure from the recipe I based it off on. I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour, and replaced the cocoa powder and butter with unsweetened chocolate. I intended on subbing it with an equal amount of unsweetened chocolate, i.e. 28g of unsweetened chocolate for 18g of cocoa powder + 10g of butter but I totally had a brain fart and added in 80g of unsweetened chocolate instead. The texture was fine, but as I tasted it, I grimaced at how bitter it was and added more sugar to it. Unfortunately, I didn’t measure how much I added in – so I recommend just following the recipe I posted below.

Chocolate Swirl Buns
Adapted from Christine’s Recipes
Makes 10 buns

Tang Zhong

25 gm bread flour
125 ml water (feel free to use milk or 50:50 milk/water; I used all milk)

Mix bread flour and water in a saucepan; continually stir over medium-low heat until your whisk/spoon leaves trails in the mixture. Take off heat and let cool.

Bread
350 gm bread flour
55 gm caster sugar
5 gm salt
56 gm egg (1 large egg)
7 gm milk powder (to increase fragrance, optional – I omitted)
125 ml milk
120 gm tangzhong (refer to this recipe for making tangzhong)
5 to 6 gm instant yeast
30 gm butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

Chocolate Filling
Adapted from Happy Home Baking
20g cake flour
50g sugar
1 egg white (reserve egg yolk to be used as egg wash)
80ml milk (warmed)
18g cocoa powder
10g butter

Combine all dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tang zhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until you get a dough shape and gluten has developed, then knead in the butter. Mind you, it’d be quite messy at this stage. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth, not sticky and elastic. (Tip: you might like to test if the dough is ready. Stretch the dough with two hands. If it forms a thin “membrane” that’s very elastic in texture. Use a finger to poke a hole. If the hole is a circle, not an irregular tear-off. That means you have successfully kneaded the dough to a perfect stage. Yet, don’t over-knead the dough. Otherwise all the tissues inside would be broken apart.) The time of kneading all depends on how hard and fast you knead.

Knead the dough into a ball shape. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. Let it proof till it’s doubled in size, about 40 minutes (Note: the time will vary and depends on the weather. The best temperature for proofing is 28C.)

While waiting for dough to rise, make chocolate paste. Mix sugar and cake flour into the egg white until smooth. Place milk in a saucepan and heat till just simmering. Add coca powder into the milk and stir till cocoa powder is incorporated into milk. Add egg white mixture into the cocoa mixture and stir over low fire till mixture thickens. Add in butter and stir till incorporated. Leave chocolate paste to cool. Keep refrigerated before use.

Once dough has doubled in size, transfer to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide the dough into ten equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.

Knead each portion into a flat circular shape and place about two tablespoons of chocolate filling inside. Place rolls on a tray lined with baking paper, covered with cling wrap or a wet towel. Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until double in size.

Brush whisked egg on surface of rolls. (I omitted this) Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Chinese Bakery Hot Dog Buns

September 12, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads, Savory
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Considering the dearth of posts lately, I don’t fault you if you think I have succumbed to the stresses of school and ceased to bake. I actually have been baking.  I don’t know why I have such a persistent obsession with Chinese breads lately. Perhaps I got burnt out on making American desserts? And bread is just so much harder to actually excel at. I’ve been baking the same recipe over and over again: this Chinese sweet bread recipe from Christine’s Recipes. However, I’ve found the bread exceedingly frustrating to perfect. It employs the tang zhong method, which is a starter roux that helps the bread stays soft. However, not owning a kitchen scale, stand mixer, a non-stick pastry mat OR a bench scraper has been very trying. For one, I can’t get my ingredients down to the precise weight, which is crucial in a proportion-sensitive endeavor like baking bread. Also, hand-kneading an extremely sticky dough is near impossible, since the dough just sticks to my hands stubbornly.

However, I recently acquired both a kitchen scale and a non-stick mat (I used Matfer Exopat) and I was determined to make this attempt the best. I did some research, and apparently Chinese-style breads benefit from more kneading than you think it needs. Besides, I’d probably get too tired before I end up overkneading the dough and breaking down the gluten chains. I spent at least 30 minutes wrestling with the extremely sticky dough, training my forearm and grip strength and eventually got it to reach an elastic, bouncy texture that none of my breads have reached before. And boy, was it rewarding. This bread has the finest crumb of all the breads I’ve ever made, and it’s also quite shreddable.

I did encounter some problems with the finished goods, though. But I’m going to tell you what I did wrong so you can avoid these mistakes.

  • Pat your hot dogs dry before wrapping it in the dough. My hot dogs slid out of the bun after baking. I did like how the hot dog juices had moistened the inside of the bread, imparting a salty dog flavor to it, though.
  • When rolling the bread dough into long tubes to wind around the hot dogs, try to make the tubes thicker in the middle, tapering narrower towards the ends. It will be more aesthetically appealing.

Chinese Bakery Hot Dog Buns
Adapted from Christine’s Recipes
Makes 8 buns

Ingredients

Tang Zhong

25 gm bread flour
125 ml water (feel free to use milk or 50:50 milk/water; I used all water)

Mix bread flour and water in a saucepan; continually stir over medium-low heat until your whisk/spoon leaves trails in the mixture. Take off heat and let cool.

350 gm bread flour
55 gm caster sugar
5 gm salt
56 gm egg (1 large egg)
7 gm milk powder (to increase fragrance, optional – I omitted)
125 ml milk (I used water instead)
120 gm tangzhong (refer to this recipe for making tanzhong)
5 to 6 gm instant yeast
30 gm butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)
8 sausages (I used Sabrett’s skinless beef frankfurters)

Combine all dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tang zhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until you get a dough shape and gluten has developed, then knead in the butter. Mind you, it’d be quite messy at this stage. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth, not sticky and elastic. (Tip: you might like to test if the dough is ready. Stretch the dough with two hands. If it forms a thin “membrane” that’s very elastic in texture. Use a finger to poke a hole. If the hole is a circle, not an irregular tear-off. That means you have successfully kneaded the dough to a perfect stage. Yet, don’t over-knead the dough. Otherwise all the tissues inside would be broken apart.) The time of kneading all depends on how hard and fast you knead.

Knead the dough into a ball shape. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. Let it proof till it’s doubled in size, about 40 minutes (Note: the time will vary and depends on the weather. The best temperature for proofing is 28C.)

Transfer to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide the dough into four to six equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.

Knead each part into a long tube, about 41cm in length (it depends on how long your sausage is). Roll to enclose the sausage, with seals facing down. Place rolls on a tray lined with baking paper, covered with cling wrap or a wet towel. Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until double in size.

Brush whisked egg on surface of rolls. (I omitted this) Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Lime Pull-Apart Bread with Lime-Yogurt Icing

August 14, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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One of my favorite things to do when I have an entire day to myself is taking on a laborious recipe. Like bread-making. Especially this pull-apart bread. It’s got three different components – the yeast dough, the lime-sugar filling and the frosting and definitely requires quite a bit of hands-on work. However, the end-result was so yummy and good-looking that every slice I peeled off felt like a job well-done.

Pull-apart breads are so fun to eat. Every layer beheld a new punch of citrusy, limey sugary goodness combined with the soft fluffiness of the sweet bread. I did have to improvise quite a bit in order to create this loaf. Firstly, I only had unsweetened soy milk on hand, so I substituted that for regular milk. Fortunately, it didn’t impart any distinct soy flavor to the loaf. Secondly, I didn’t have lemons around, so I omitted the lemon zest for the sugar filling and used as much lime zest my three limes would yield. Thirdly, I didn’t have cream cheese for the frosting, and figured that Greek yogurt would work fine – and also a lot less calorific. I also had 1/4 cup of lime juice sitting around that I wanted to incorporate into the loaf somehow, so I brushed it with the melted butter onto the layers of the loaf. It might’ve made my bread a little bit soggier than it would have, but I can’t be sure since I didn’t make it without the lime juice. However, it definitely prevented the bread from drying out in the second rise and while it was baking. Oh yeah, I also didn’t have a rolling pin to roll out the layers – but a wine bottle works fantastic.

If you’ve read enough of this blog, you’ll notice that I don’t post up a lot of in-progress photos. It strikes me as uncanny that so many food bloggers do so. I usually get my hands pretty dirty in the process of baking, and having to wash my hands every so often to snap a couple of pictures would be quite cumbersome. However, this picture of the granulated sugar and lime zest was too pretty to pass up.

Lime Pull-Apart Bread with Lime-Yogurt Icing
Adapted from Un Gamine dans la Cuisine
Makes one 9 x 5 loaf

Sweet yeast dough
About 2 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (2 1/2 fluid ounces) whole milk (I used soy milk)
2 ounces unsalted butter (4 Tablespoons)
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lime paste filling
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons finely grated lime zest (5-8 limes)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (1-2 lemons) (I omitted)
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup lime juice (this was my own addition)

Tangy yogurt icing – for the original cream cheese icing, click to the original recipe link)
6 tbsps Greek yogurt
1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounces) powdered sugar (I used granulated sugar, it turned out fine)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Mix two cups (nine ounces) flour, the sugar, yeast, and salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or in the microwave, combine the milk and the butter and heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and let rest a minute until just warm 120 to 130°F. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the milk and melted butter into the flour and mix with a rubber spatula until the flour is evenly moistened. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) of the remaining flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Add 2 more tablespoons flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about one minute. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour only if the dough is too sticky to work with. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place (about 70°F) for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size. An indentation made with your finger should keep its shape.

Meanwhile, make the lime sugar filling. Mix the sugar, lime zest, and lemon zest. It’ll draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.

Gently deflate the dough with your hand. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20″ by 12″ rectangle. *Be sure to flour the dough slightly. This will make it much easier to work with.* (If using lime juice, mix it with melted butter.) Use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter evenly and liberally over the dough.

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12″ by 4″. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well. Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12″ by 4″ rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.

Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4″ by 2″.) Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 °F) until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes. When you gently press the dough with your finger, the indentation should stay. While dough is rising, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan.

Bake the loaf until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. *Mine took about 5 minutes longer. I made a foil tent to keep the crust from getting too brown.* Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the yogurt icing. Beat the yogurt and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the lime juice. Stir until creamy and smooth.

Carefully tilt and rotate the pan while tapping on a table to release the loaf. I simply ran a knife along the edges and it came out perfectly. Using a brush, cover the surface of the loaf with the cream cheese icing. Allow the icing to seep into the cracks and holes.

Enjoy this cake while it’s still slightly warm or at room temperature.

Notes: If you’re using the yogurt icing, I recommend applying it just before eating, or use it as a dip to thoroughly coat each piece. The yogurt icing is more liquid that the cream cheese icing, and would make your loaf soggy if left to soak.

Strawberry Toast + Oatnut Bread

August 4, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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It’s summertime, and berries are at their peak. Sweet, succulent and juicy, strawberries are a fantastic way to cool you down and satisfy your sweet tooth. I was grocery shopping, and I was lured by the strong scent of the strawberries. Nothing beats the smell of ripe strawberries; which incidentally, taste nothing like strawberry-flavored candy. Growing up, berries weren’t something I ate with any frequency because they don’t do well in tropical Singapore. I was probably quite surprised when I had my first strawberry, wincing at its tartness and its complete departure from strawberry-flavored things.

I came up with the idea for this meal by cobbling together what I had in my fridge: strawberries that needed to be eaten, a large tub of Greek yogurt, and oatnut bread that I made a couple of days ago. You could use whipped cream cheese or whipped cream on your toast, but Greek yogurt offers the same creaminess and tang with much less fat and a lot more protein. This dish is basically a healthier version of the strawberry shortcake.

This bread was made with white whole wheat flour, oats, and walnuts. It’s a firm and hearty loaf that will stand up to spreads and drippy fillings, so it would be good for a sandwich. The original recipe called said vital wheat gluten was optional, but I didn’t have it. Whole wheat flour can be a little tricky in yeast breads, but don’t be discouraged. It might not taste or feel like the soft, fluffy prepackaged loaves you get in the supermarket, but it also doesn’t have a ton of unpronounceable additives.


Strawberry Toast
Makes a slice

1 slice of bread
2 strawberries, sliced
1 tbsp of Greek yogurt

Toast bread, if desired. Spread Greek yogurt on bread. Layer strawberries. Eat!

Oatnut White Whole Wheat Bread
Adapted from Baking Bites
Makes 1 9×5 loaf

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (100-110F), divided
3-4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats (whole rolled oats, chopped)
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (optional)
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the yeast (about 1/4 oz.) and 1/4 cup warm water. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.
Stir in remaining water, 1 cup of flour, the oats, vital wheat gluten (if using) and honey, and mix well. Add in salt, pecans and an additional 1 1/2 – 2 cups flour. Stir, adding remaining flour gradually, until the dough comes together into a ball a begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (this can also be done in an electric mixer with the dough hook attached).
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead, adding flour a tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes.
Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
After dough has risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface again. Gently deflate dough into a rectangular shape. Fold up the two long sides of the rectangle and pinch the seam together. Place seam-side down into prepared loaf pan. Again cover the bread with a piece of plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
While the bread is going through its final rise, preheat oven to 375F.
Bake loaf for 35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bottom reads about 200F.
Cool loaf outside of pan on a wire rack completely before slicing.

Notes: I ended up using about 2.5 cups of flour total.

Cinnamon Rolls

August 2, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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Cinnamon rolls isn’t really by any measure a healthy breakfast, but somehow this carbohydrate bomb managed to enter the canon of breakfast foods. I suspect it’s because it’s so fun to eat. Who doesn’t like eating the cinnamon roll by unwrapping it toilet paper-esque? Okay, my metaphors and similes haven’t been very appetizing but my words embody my feelings towards cinnamon rolls – nay, the whole plethora of desserts!

They are so fun to eat, and the soft fluffiness of the bread and caramelly cinnamon-sugar glaze simply brings you to a state of unadulterated, comforting pleasure. Furthermore, its inherent playfulness makes eating a tactile experience as well. Ok, I’m done with the romanticizing. Onto the recipe now. Some things to note: the roll without the glaze isn’t terribly sweet, so if you want your desserts to be unabashedly sweet, be sure to use the glaze or up the cinnamon-sugar mix. This recipe is also really easy for a yeast-bread one, since you can make it the night before and bake it in the morning for a freshly-baked and oh-so-sinful breakfast.

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Cookie Madness
Makes 1 dozen rolls

2 large eggs
1 package active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons – Domino Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter

Filling:
1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, melted
1/3 cup –Domino Brown Sugar (I used dark)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Domino® Granulated Sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Icing:
2 teaspoons melted butter
3/4 cup – Domino® Confectioners Sugar
2 to 3 Tablespoons – milk

Beat eggs in medium size bowl. Add 3/4 cup warm water and yeast, stirring to dissolve yeast. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar. With a pastry blender or fork, blend in butter, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Gradually blend the mixtures together; it will be loose and a little sticky. Gather dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight. When ready to bake, roll dough into an oblong shape (I made a rectangle of which was about 12 by 14) on a well-floured surface, about 1/4 inch thick.

In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll the dough up to form a jelly roll. With a serrated knife, cut the roll into 1-inch slices. Place on a greased baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm place about 30 minutes. Generously sprinkle with the granulated sugar (I skipped this step). Bake in a pre-heated 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes. Allow rolls to cool slightly on wire racks placed over wax paper.

To make Icing, mix the melted butter confectioners’ sugar and milk together until smooth. Drizzle icing over rolls and serve.

Tip from Domino:
Rolls can be wrapped in aluminum foil and individually frozen. To serve, heat in a pre-heated 350°F oven 5 minutes.

Tip from Cookie Madness:
You can freeze the spirals of dough. Just cut the jelly roll into rounds, arrange however many you need for the occasion, then put the remaining dough in the freezer to solidify. When dough spirals are firm, put them in an air-tight freezer bag. The next time you want to make cinnamon rolls, arrange the frozen dough spirals in the pan the night before, let them rise overnight, then wake up and bake.

Curry Rolls

May 18, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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I’m always inspired by bread baskets I get at restaurants. More often than not, they serve a crusty artisan bread with butter or olive oil. However, there’s always the odd place that realizes that the complimentary bread basket is a great way to go above and beyond. I got an extremely outstanding bread basket at Public, and the one most memorable bread was their chipotle and cranberry roll. The bread flavors are apparently experimental and vary from day to day, so I’m glad that I was there that day. And that bun was what really inspired me. The bread was soft, sweet and fluffy, but had a hint of spice from the chipotle. And that’s what inspired my curry buns.


A basic sweet dinner roll recipe with curry powder, they turned out amazing. Extremely soft and fluffy and sweet, and also harbored a slight hint of curry. They taste delicious on its own, but might be interesting with fried Spam (mmmm fried Spam) or as a way to sop up stew sauces.


I used some egg wash to give it a glossy coat, but I didn’t have a pastry brush, so I did what I could with a fork. Alas, the plight of a college baker. Also, I kinda haphazardly shaped the balls. I’m pretty sure there’s a proper technique to it but I did whatever I felt like.

Curry Rolls
Makes 16
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons curry powder.
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

Directions

1. Nuke water and milk in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds and mix sugar in till dissolved. Add yeast to mixture and let yeast bloom.
2. In the yeast mixture, mix in the salt, curry powder butter and egg. Mix flour in half cup at a time. Knead dough for about 10 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. If you can stretch a small amount of the dough until it becomes a translucent sheet (just about 1.5 inches wide is fine), then it’s ready.
3. Let it rise for about 60 minutes in a bowl covered loosely with a kitchen towel, until the dough doubles.
4. Punch it down, divided it into 16 balls and let it rise for another hour. (I realized it’s easiest to section the dough by using a pair of scissors.)
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 375 F.

Bagels

May 4, 2011
Breads - Yeast Breads
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Bagels are one of the many specific things that I have cravings for. I have never actually had a bagel before I came to New York City. My first encounter with bagels were in the dining hall, where they mostly looked quite unappetizing. However, bagels have grown on me since then, and my favorite varieties include pumpernickel and poppy seed. (Did you know poppy seed is contraband in Singapore?) As with any baked item that I like to eat, I like trying to replicate them too. To be honest, this is probably the best picture of the bagels I took. The rest are not quite as pretty:

Craggy, and malformed by the cooling rack and my use of chopsticks to lift the bagels instead of a slatted spoon. Sigh. I thought I could do it Chinese-style like so:

This is Hum Jin Peng, or 咸煎饼. It’s like a donut with red bean filling or five spice flavoring.

But obviously that didn’t bode so well for the soft dough. This batch was actually my second attempt. In my first attempt, I used half whole wheat flour and my dough did not rise at all. I ended up with a slab of tough, unusable dough that I made into “flatbread” and spread some dulce de leche on, but it was otherwise the most unappetizing failure I’ve ever made.

Fortunately, despite the looks of this batch, they actually came out pretty well. They were chewy and had a nice crust, and definitely went very well with my smoked salmon. You might notice my lack of cream cheese, but I am generally averse to slathering fat — fat that I can see — onto my food, but I am perfectly happy with eating cake when I can’t see the stick of butter that went into the frosting.

Bagels
Makes 6 3-inch wide bagels
Adapted from Allrecipes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:
1. In large bowl, combine 3/4 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (12-15 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Cut into 6 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1/2 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering.
5. When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.