The Making of a Bagel Snob

Last weekend I took a very necessary get-away to one of my favorite local resorts... the home of my favorite New Hampshire residents- Reuben, Karen, and Josie. R & K are my brother and sister-in-law's best friends from college, and now they are my "fam away from fam" here in New England. These two are quite the foodies, with Reuben co-owning a happenin' burrito joint, and Karen roasting her own coffee, baking homemade breads, and canning food like it's going out of style. Spending time with Reuben, Karen, and their 6-month-old, Josie, is always relaxing and delicious, and this past weekend was no exception.

"I wish I had teeth so I could eat bagels!"

 Karen decided to wow me once again with her baking skills... she made homemade bagels! (Who does that?!) Lots of commercial bagels are nothing more than circular bread, and there really isn't anything exciting about that. True bagels are boiled before they are baked in the oven, creating that nice, shiny, chewy outside. Karen followed this recipe, which I will highlight below...

All of the hard work was already done... just like magic!

Because Karen is awesome, two days prior to my arrival, she made the homemade dough and let these bagel beauties rise. (I honestly don't know exactly what she did to make the dough, and I don't really care to know, because leaving it a mystery is much more intriguing.) So the bagel dough lying neatly on this tray is what I saw on Saturday morning, ready to go! Next, we boiled them in a magical potion for a minute!

Boil the bagels in water and baking soda. Because it's magic.

During boiling, the bagels puffed up a little, and then we pulled 'em outta the water and topped them with fun things... like kosher salt, cinnamon and sugar, and a great grainy mix. Dog Moose (one of the Top Three Best Dogs in the World) wanted in on the action, too...

Even Moose was excited for Bagel Saturday!

"Seriously, give me a bagel. Staring and smelling is just annoying."

 After we topped them, we stuck them in the oven for about 10 minutes. That's it. And when that oven door opened, out came the most fantastically chewy, tender, flavorful bagels I've ever tasted! I LOVED THESE BAGELS! Our unanimous favorite flavor was topped with cinnamon, sugar and salt... and we spread them with some homemade cream cheese. It tasted a bit like a yogurt. (Serious points to Reub and Karen for attempting a homemade cheesy spread of their very own!)

I don't want you anymore, Panera. Not with these in town.

So, it's official... I'm now a bagel snob. I will never again eat another bagel unless it is freshly boiled and baked minutes prior to me eating it. Don't waste my time, Panera... I don't need you!
I really can't say I will try this recipe on my own... I worry it might be too challenging for a baking non-enthusiast to do alone (without Karen) and it just won't be as good... so this bagel moment remains a delicious memory. A chewy, sweet, salty, warm memory. I'm okay with keeping it that way!