The Spice House packaging is very nice as well. The main reason I prefer them though, is that I don’t get a bunch of annoying political emails. Bill Penzey’s screeds are annoying and tiresome.
Or, as rational people might say, sensible (even if obessesive) compared to drinking disinfectant.
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Of course, rational people might know how to spell, were they not so moved by crackpots leading us into the abyss.
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Those screeds are exactly why I support Penzey’s!
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Wow! Those look fantastic!
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+1 on what @digga says. Perfection!
@Thimes, mind if I ask for a pointer to the recipe you use? It’s fine if it’s the name of a cookbook—I’d be delighted to know where to look for info.
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Thimes, those are magnificent!
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Yes, truly magnificent.
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Thanks everyone. Happy to share - they aren’t really that hard to make, just takes time (like all breads).
I use the recipe from Modernist Bread - it makes 7 bagels (strange number but we eat them all for sure).
Water 305g (1 1/2c)
Instant yeast 1.5g (1/2 tsp)
Bread Flour 625g (4 2/3c)
Sugar 25g (2 Tbs)
Vegetable Oil 17g (2Tbs)
Fine salt 13g (2 1/8 tsp)
Malt Syrup 12g (2 tsp) - I don’t have the syrup so I’ve been using 6g malt powder - no idea why I have that, but internet says you can sub some brown sugar too, but I don’t remember how much)
Essentially - mix it all together and knead until full gluten development. Even in my kitchenaide that takes about 15-20 minutes, though the recipe says 8-10 min). I think it is because it is such a low moisture dough (48.8% hydration, which is low). But if you don’t get to full gluten (window pane) you don’t get that chewy outside.
Let rise for 1 hour
form into 7 dough balls (140g each) and let rest for about 20 minutes
form into bagels and let rise in fridge overnight, uncovered, on a parchment lined baking sheet liberally dusted with corn meal. This helps form the skin on the outside. about 12 hours Alternatively, you can let rise at room temp for about an hour - but I don’t think you get as good an exterior - but does save the overnight rise. So . . . .tradeoffs.
Remove from fridge, let warm a little - about an hour at room temp.
Boil for 30 seconds per side. The recipe calls for lye but I’m not going down that road, so I use 1 Tbs baking soda for 10-12 cups of water.
Bake at 425 (convection) for 10-12 minutes.
They are so hard to let cool, but if you eat them while they are still hot they don’t have the right texture - so you do have to let them cool a little while.
Voila - bagels. I will say, you do need to make the hole bigger than you think. It will close up during boiling and then again once in the oven. My first few batches were a little more ball shaped than bagel shaped. But they still tasted great.
Go for it! What else do you have to do 
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Thanks.
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This post is my vote for Greater Boston understated post of the year.
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Branch Line in Watertown had been doing takeout through their sister restaurant Shy Bird in Cambridge. They changed and you can now pick up at Branch Line. Their rotisserie chicken is superb. Also love the pea salad. Fries were a bit soggy after steaming for a bit in a closed takeout container but a few minutes in the oven restored them to crispy life. Orders are brought out to separate tables on their terrace so social distancing is good. 20% crisis operations surcharge added, but seems reasonable under the circumstances.
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Blue Ribbon Barbecue emailed me about a tea-brined smoked pork tenderloin on their “Stay-At-Home Cooking Menu” which I would be all over (along with Cape Ann Fresh Catch) if I were there with you instead of stuck in the desert. Not that there isn’t good food here but There Is No Place Like Home. Hope all of you are keeping well!
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Ordered from Toro tonight–such a treat that they are now offering delivery! The paella is a standout and very shareable. It also keeps well when refrigerated. We highly recommend ordering!
What we enjoyed for delivery : Valenciana Paella, Maíz Asado
Where to order : Caviar
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Thimes, you might be interested in this week’s (Friday) Isolation Baking with Jeffrey and Gesine video on Youtube. The King Arthur baker will demo bagelmaking, and Gesine will make doughnuts. It will be their seventh installment. I’ve learned something from each one.
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Last Friday night we ordered from Sycamore for the first time (they just started the take out thing last weekend). They had 4-5 snacks, 2 salads, 1 soup, 2 pastas, one fish, one steak entree, and 2 desserts. Starting this weekend, they will have cocktail mixers as well. They did a nice job, everything was paid for upfront, you were given a pick up time, and they had one person come in at a time for pick up. We got spicy feta spread w/pita chips, asparagus salad, chorizo and chickpea soup, Berkshire pork bolognese, fantastic cookies, and a cheese plate (which we ate on Saturday). It was all great, and, when you’re not sitting at the bar having 3-4 drinks each at $15 a whack, the bill was a lot more reasonable.
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The stock up thread reminded me that we took a ride out to BT’s to kill some time last week. The bbq was as good as ever but the pickup experience wasn’t great. Ordering was via their normal online tool on their website, so no problem there. You can’t order ahead for a specific time, just ASAP and they give you a quoted time. We ordered on the way out as it was mid afternoon and didn’t want to order too early. The quoted pickup was about an hour out so we stopped to pick up an order at Treehouse first (more on that in a sec). We arrived at BTs after our quoted pick up time but the order was not ready. At the window they said they would call the name over the loudspeaker and it would be up shortly. I hung back as there were a lot of unmasked motorcyclists rolling up for orders. Finally after about 25 min I checked in, and was told it was coming up “now”. 15 min later I went up again and asked them just to cancel the order. “One second” I was told and then the bag which had been sitting right by the window the entire time was located… We had planned on eating the food hot at the ball field next door (an idea several other picnic-ers had), but brought it back for reheating as it was already cold.
Treehouse on the other hand was unsurprisingly running like clockwork. Their website opens for daily orders at 9:30a until sold out (which can happen quickly some days). They offer pre-arranged mixed cases and single variety cases. No mixing and matching single cans as under normal ops. You must pick up that same day or your order will be cancelled. Upon arriving at the brewery there is ample staff in the lot directing cars to a line to wait in queue. It took about 10 min until we got to the front, where order# and ID are checked through the car window. Your order is brought out on a freshly sanitized hand truck and left by your trunk for you to load.
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SRV, Toro and Puritan and Co. are all starting curbside pick-up. You know I would be at the front of the line for SRV were I not in AZ.
We are getting takeout tonight from a small Japanese place which converted its menu to various donburi options as being better suited to takeout than its normal menu. Strange times here as only in the Tucson area (where I am) has the curve been flattened. Elsewhere in AZ it’s still climbing but they are reopening anyway. No eye roll big enough.
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Blue Ribbon BBQ is offering a Stay-At-Home-Cookin’ menu from the catering dept. They have vacuum-sealed meats, sides (in the regular plastic takeout containers) and desserts. I grabbed a couple of pints of pulled pork, an order of smoked meatloaf w/gravy, and a peach cobbler and a cherry cobbler. I called the catering dept. yesterday. Service was super friendly and they would deliver it to any of their locations. with a day’s notice for pickup after 2, with payment online. I chose Arlington and they had a table at the door and took my name and got my order. It was all outdoors and safe and friendly and it’s nice to have a couple of easy dishes stashed in the freezer.
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