I've noticed lately, bagels don't go moldy like brad does, or not as quickley. Does anyone have a link for easy-make bagels? For baking I have a microwave, a dutch oven with pan lifter insert, and the same arrngement in a small pressure-cooker. Thanks for any tips, Tim

-- Tim Johnson (timca@webtv.net), September 14, 1999

Answers

Tim:

I don't know brad, but bagels, if you buy them commercially, will be full of preservatives. They have a hard skin and minimal surface area. Making real bagel is difficult. I have a recipe, which I can't find. Just go to Alta-Vista.com and you will find many.

Best wishes,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), September 14, 1999.

Try this link:

http://www.ichef.com/ichef-recipes/Breads/13736.html

-- yerfdog (yerfdog@qwestinternet.net), September 14, 1999.

Tim,

You can also freeze bagels almost indefinitely. I'm talking about from your local bagel place. Lenders are already frozen...

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), September 15, 1999.

Tim,

Homemade bagels have a minimum ingredients - flour, salt, water. They are time-consuming but not too difficult to make. The dough is first shaped, and then placed into a pot of boiling water for a short time, then baked. That's what imparts that chewy texture. Anyway, they don't have the additional ingredients that preserve bread. Some additions that will make bread stay fresh longer are oil, butter, milk, dough enhancer, lecithen, salt. You can bake bread, biscuits, and such in your dutch oven - add one or more of these ingredients to increase shelf life.

Do you have a dutch oven cookbook? If not, try to find one with recipes for bread included. A good one is "Cooking the Dutch Oven Way" by Woody Woodruff. I picked up a copy at Lehman's, and Amazon probably carries it. It even has recipes for cakes and pies, pizza, etc.

-- Jill D. (jdance@mindspring.com), September 15, 1999.

Jill:

You may be right, but that isn't my idea of a real bagel. I've done it a few times. I just don't like dealing with the lye.

Best wishes,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), September 15, 1999.

Bagels don't go moldy, it's because the stuff is so bad, that bacteria don't even want it!!!

-- bbb (bbb@bbb.com), September 15, 1999.

Z:

Lye? In homemade bagels? Huh?

-- Jill D. (jdance@mindspring.com), September 16, 1999.

Lye?

Are we talking bagels or lutefisk here? ;-)

-- winter wondering (winterwondering@yahoo.com), September 16, 1999.