Whole Wheat Bagels

I got totally impatient and didn't let the dough rise long enough, but they were oh so good!


Here is the recipe I used:

Whole Wheat Bagels
Makes 8

1 cup and 2 Tbsp warm water
1 Package active dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp sugar

Combine in the bowl of a mixer until yeast dissolves.

Stir in:
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour (could use bread flour for white bagels)

Gradually stir in 2-3 cups bread flour.

Knead by hand or with dough hook until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise, covered, for 20 minutes. Punch dough down and divide into 8 pieces. Roll and form into bagel shape. Let rise, covered, for 15 minutes, until puffy.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Boil:
4 quarts water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Drop 4 rings at a time into the boiling water . Turn bagel over after it surfaces for an additional minute. Place on an ungreased baking sheet coated with cornmeal. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

You can obviously change the recipe to what you like, cinnamon raisin, onion, garlic, sesame seed. I can't wait to try something new!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Thank you to all our previous, current, and future service members. You are our heroes.

Strawberry Pie

My big helper!


Ok, so it doesn't look that great. However, it was SO AWESOME!!! Obviously could have used more dough on top. Will make it prettier next time. This pie was eaten in about a 24 hour period. It was THAT good =)

Cheese Breads and Pizza

Yummy cheese bread.

Pepperoni and Tomato pizza, before

Pepperoni and Tomato pizza, after

Cooking

I went to see My Sister's Keeper the other night. Yes, a movie! Yes, without children!!! Anyway, I am getting sidetracked. There was a preview for the movie Julie & Julia. I had never heard of this. Julie decided to try all the recipes in a Julia Child cookbook in 365 days. Needless to say I am quite intrigued.

I don't have any hobbies right now. Who can with a toddler and a demanding infant? I spend way too much time online, especially on Facebook (oh, and I will NOT be twittering... way too much for me I think!!). I need a real hobby. Lately I have been cooking a lot of bread recipes out of my Joy of Cooking cook book. My breads are turning out quite nicely, especially the milk bread and cheese bread. Last night I made homemade pizza dough and my pepperoni pizza was GREAT. I will never do takeout again!

So I'm wondering, if Julie can learn to cook like Julia Child, maybe I could do something similar? Obviously I won't be turning it into a book like she did, but just to expand our tastebud horizons. We eat so many of the same things over and over again. I hardly ever cook vegetables because I don't know how. Maybe now is the time to learn? Maybe seeing me cook will get my children interested in cooking and *gasp* expand what Jordan eats (I cannot imagine how toddlers can think it is ok to eat chicken nuggets EVERY DAY).

I'll keep you all posted and will take pictures. I already have pizza pictures!!