Wildish

Dan and I woke up this morning hungry and low on supplies, so we figured we should make some bread. In the end we decided to make a variety of bagels; poppy seed, garlic and cinnamon sugar spice. All you need is one batch of dough and a small amount of each kind of coating to make a selection of flavours.

While we worked we discussed how much improving our food preparation skills has added to our quality of life and how it could do the same for others. It doesn’t take nearly as much money to make home made items and the results are way more satisfying. In the end you use less packaging and enjoy the freshest product tailored to your individual tastes. It seems strange to me that bread is something we buy from big factories now, when it is often synonymous with home and a metaphor for the general necessities of life. It’s true that many of us don’t have the time to make bread every day, but I hope that the general public picks up more of an interest in making things like this at home or supporting small bakeries more often.

I was in Montreal a year ago and one thing (among many) that I found absolutely wonderful was that no matter where you were in the city there seemed to be a bakery close by. I visited a few, I could not resist the butter croissants and delicious coffee. The bakeries were beautiful, so much attention to detail and the warm aroma of baked bread. I hope that it becomes more of a trend to visit local bakeries here in the east, if there were more locations this would facilitate people getting in the habit of picking up their bread fresh daily.

Having said that, there are some great bakeries in Halifax that I feel you should be aware of (if you live in the area like I do). Juliens at the hydrostone is one of my favourites. They make a fantastic Brioche and I love their almond croissants. Boulangerie La Vendeenne at the farmers market makes great organic products, they have loyal following of fans. Mary’s bread basket at the brewery makes a great corn bread. I’m sure there are other good places I’ve forgotten to mention as well.

Dan’s Bagel Recipe
3 cups of flour
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons of instant yeast
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 to 1 1/4cups of warm water (approx)

If you have a stand mixer it’s really easy. You put the flour in, you sprinkle the salt on and stir it together, so it doesn’t kill the yeast. Then you add the yeast, butter, egg and water and let it knead for about 20 minutes.  If it seems dry add a bit of water, and if it seems wet adjust with a bit more flour. This can also be done by hand if you don’t have a mixer or bread machine, it’s just a little more time consuming. The dough is properly kneaded once it is springy and if it passes the window pane test. If you can take a small piece of dough and gently stretches to the point where if it is held up to a  light the light will pass through, translucent and thin (even though it refers to glass it won’t be transparent).

Take out the dough and let it rise about 40 minutes. Then punch it down a bit and cut it into a dozen pieces. Shape these in to a ball and pinch through the centre with you thumb and index finger to make the bagel shape.  Let these rise again for another 15 to 20 minutes. While it is rising make your spice mixes and put a large pot half full of water on the stove top and bring to a boil. We usually a tablespoon or two of honey to the liquid, but you can use any sugar in the water.

Poach the bagels for about 15 seconds on either side. They will look a bit wet, but not as if they’ve absorbed water and turned sticky. Shake off any excess water or let them sit on a wire rack for a minute and dip them in your spice or sugar mixtures. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400f until golden brown. They will puff up a bit more as they bake.