First Batch

Well, the first batch is under our belts, and they definitely tasted like bagels. They're a little small, and a little doughy, but they're definitely bagel-esque. And edible. So, considering we went in with zero knowledge and took a couple of short cuts, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Some mistakes we made/shortcuts we took:

1) Due to a late start, we only let the dough rise for an hour instead of two.
2) After shaping the bagels, we boiled them after 10 minutes instead of letting them rise overnight.
3) I think we either boiled them too long or not long enough, leading to a very doughy product.
4) They were really small. Pizza Bagels small.*
5) We boiled multiple bagels simultaneously, a strict no-no according to wikihow.com

Another major problem: This batch tasted much better with butter and jam than cream cheese. My friend Jeff says that this is probably because they're a little too salty.

We did, however, divide the batch in half and let that other half rise overnight. This morning, I made the second half of the bagels, strictly adhering to the recipe. The results? About the same. Maybe one or two got to about 3/4 bagel size, but they were still doughy, small, but tasty.

Did I mention we took pictures? Also, for Ted: What should we be working on for the next batch?


Byeeeeeeee.


*At first, I was worried that this was because we didn't let the dough rise, resulting in a heavy product. Not the case. I had one of my bagels for breakfast this morning, and it was in no way filling. I think the recipe makes a smaller bagel.