Special Guest
This is the recipe we have all been waiting for! No more reason to eat those mushy dough balls served all over town. They said it was the water, they said it was the altitude, guess what, it was just low standards. Go figure! Created by my dear friend Robert "Bagel Bob" Shlaer, this is the result of hundreds of carefully documented trials, extensive research into ingredients, and pure devotion. I am so excited to share this with the world!
If you would like the full 10 page document in PDF form (which is very informative) please email me and I will forward it with you. Bob is interested in people's results!
P.S. Santa Fe Homebrew Supply on Cerrillos sells all the malt products, so you have no excuse!
Ingredients
540 grams High Gluten Flour (about 4 cups)
320 ml water (10.75 fl oz) (1.25 cup + 1 Tbsp) at 120 deg F
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp diastatic malt powder
1 Tbsp dry malt extract, dark
1 Tbsp dry malt extract, amber
1 Tbsp malt syrup, dark
2 tsp baking soda in 5 cups (boiling) water
Procedure
Place the dry ingredients (keeping the yeast separate from the salt) in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and run for 5-10 seconds to mix. Dissolve the malt syrup in the water, and with the processor running, pour the water quickly down the feed tube. Process for 30-45 seconds, until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough and knead by hand for 2-3 minutes. Cut into twelve equal pieces, roll out each one into a snake about ten inches long and pinch the ends together to form a ring. Dust a jelly roll pan with semolina flour, place the rings on it, cover with plastic film, and refrigerate for 12-18 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and in a 2 qt saucepan, place 5 cups of water and 2 tsp soda, then bring to a boil. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and poach each bagel for 20 seconds, poking it down if it floats, remove, and put on a rack to drain. Arrange the bagels on a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment paper, (they will stick firmly to almost anything else,) place it on a middle rack in the oven, and spray the oven with water before closing. Spray the interior of the oven with water again after 5 minutes. After another 9 minutes of baking (14 minutes total at this point) rotate the sheet and turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake another 15 minutes (total baking time 29 minutes) to a dark reddish-brown crust, then remove the bagels and put on a rack to cool.
