Supper Club VI: Shots, Bagels, Smoked Salmon, Etc.
Supper Club started off with a shot for everybody who chose to partake. First we used up the last of a bottle of pear Slivovitz that was gifted to me by a friend who was moving to Israel for a few years. It even had Hebrew on the label! Everyone else got some peppermint schnapps. My sister said a Shehecheyanu and we were off and rolling.
New York style bagels are delicious, but chains such as Einstein's and Bruegger's have so thoroughly penetrated America's taste buds that New York style bagels are now very difficult to find, even in Manhattan. The difference is that New York style bagels are immersed in boiling water, while the chains steam them. This makes the difference between nice hard bagels and much softer ones.
In Cleveland I've found a few places that make acceptably hard bagels, but the memory that has always dominated my bagel preferences is the ones my mother made when I was a kid. At the best of times she only made them rarely, and as best as my sister and I can recall she hasn't made them at all since tigerlily_blue's high school graduation. Fortunately, Mom still had the recipe and was happy to give it to us.
Bagels
From the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook
Makes 12 bagels.
4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (120 degree F to 130 degree F)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup semolina or cornmeal (we used corn meal)
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Add the water, sugar, and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Divide dough into 12 portions and shape into smooth balls. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Working quickly, punch a hole in the center of each ball. Pull center of dough gently and evenly to make a 2-inch hole. Place on lightly greased baking sheet; cover and let rise 20 minutes (start timing after the first bagel is shaped).
4. While bagels are still rising, in a 12-inch skillet bring 6 cups of water to boiling. Preheat broiler.
5. Broil bagels 5 inches from heat 3 to 4 minutes, turning once (tops should not brown). Turn off broiler; preheat oven to 375 degree F.
6. Lower 6 bagels, 1 at a time, into boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 minutes, turning once.
7. Remove bagels with slotted spatula; set on paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.
8. OPTIONAL: Dip in beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. (we skipped this step)
9. Sprinkle clean baking sheet with semolina or cornmeal. Place bagels on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
tigerlily_blue made two batches of these on Friday night while I prepped other ingredients. The first four steps went flawlessly. After that things became challenging. The broiler burned a few of the bagels. We're not sure if that's because the bagels were too close to the broiler or because the oven temperature was slightly off. Boiling went well, but then baking burned a few more bagels. Add in 3-4 bagels that simply didn't rise and were essentially flat, and they sure looked like a failure.
Fortunately, you can't judge a bagel by its visual aesthetics. We had two of the burned ones for breakfast on Saturday morning and the texture, density and taste were flawless. The burns turned out be more like darkly baked areas than burns and took away nothing from the taste. The 18 bagels I'd bought Friday morning "just in case" were relegated to the freezer.
To serve, we sliced the bagels in half and served them with:
- baby dill pickles (just from the store, nothing fancy)
- red onions (one bowl diced, one bowl sliced)
- capers
- cream cheese
- tomatoes (sliced)
- and 2 1/2 pounds of smoked salmon. I got smoked salmon because the only decent lox in town is very far from my house, whereas I can get good smoked salmon close to my house for cheaper. Since the difference between the two is pretty close to subtle, I decided it was a fine substitution.
All of the bagels and smoked salmon were consumed. Substantial dents were made in the other fixings. The attendees were very appreciative of the home made bagels. The first course was a big win, and it was time to bring on the soup...
New York style bagels are delicious, but chains such as Einstein's and Bruegger's have so thoroughly penetrated America's taste buds that New York style bagels are now very difficult to find, even in Manhattan. The difference is that New York style bagels are immersed in boiling water, while the chains steam them. This makes the difference between nice hard bagels and much softer ones.
In Cleveland I've found a few places that make acceptably hard bagels, but the memory that has always dominated my bagel preferences is the ones my mother made when I was a kid. At the best of times she only made them rarely, and as best as my sister and I can recall she hasn't made them at all since tigerlily_blue's high school graduation. Fortunately, Mom still had the recipe and was happy to give it to us.
Bagels
From the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook
Makes 12 bagels.
4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (120 degree F to 130 degree F)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup semolina or cornmeal (we used corn meal)
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Add the water, sugar, and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Divide dough into 12 portions and shape into smooth balls. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Working quickly, punch a hole in the center of each ball. Pull center of dough gently and evenly to make a 2-inch hole. Place on lightly greased baking sheet; cover and let rise 20 minutes (start timing after the first bagel is shaped).
4. While bagels are still rising, in a 12-inch skillet bring 6 cups of water to boiling. Preheat broiler.
5. Broil bagels 5 inches from heat 3 to 4 minutes, turning once (tops should not brown). Turn off broiler; preheat oven to 375 degree F.
6. Lower 6 bagels, 1 at a time, into boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 minutes, turning once.
7. Remove bagels with slotted spatula; set on paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.
8. OPTIONAL: Dip in beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. (we skipped this step)
9. Sprinkle clean baking sheet with semolina or cornmeal. Place bagels on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
tigerlily_blue made two batches of these on Friday night while I prepped other ingredients. The first four steps went flawlessly. After that things became challenging. The broiler burned a few of the bagels. We're not sure if that's because the bagels were too close to the broiler or because the oven temperature was slightly off. Boiling went well, but then baking burned a few more bagels. Add in 3-4 bagels that simply didn't rise and were essentially flat, and they sure looked like a failure.
Fortunately, you can't judge a bagel by its visual aesthetics. We had two of the burned ones for breakfast on Saturday morning and the texture, density and taste were flawless. The burns turned out be more like darkly baked areas than burns and took away nothing from the taste. The 18 bagels I'd bought Friday morning "just in case" were relegated to the freezer.
To serve, we sliced the bagels in half and served them with:
- baby dill pickles (just from the store, nothing fancy)
- red onions (one bowl diced, one bowl sliced)
- capers
- cream cheese
- tomatoes (sliced)
- and 2 1/2 pounds of smoked salmon. I got smoked salmon because the only decent lox in town is very far from my house, whereas I can get good smoked salmon close to my house for cheaper. Since the difference between the two is pretty close to subtle, I decided it was a fine substitution.
All of the bagels and smoked salmon were consumed. Substantial dents were made in the other fixings. The attendees were very appreciative of the home made bagels. The first course was a big win, and it was time to bring on the soup...