I've always wanted to try making my own bagels at home. From reading recipes, they didn't seem too much more difficult than making bread, and surprisingly similar to make homemade pretzels. What was stopping me was missing some of the key ingredients like nondiastatic malt powder, which I happened to find on a random shopping trip to a kitchen store.

I used a King Arthur recipe that included using an overnight starter, which I subbed my regular live-in the fridge starter for, so the bagels would have a more assertive tangy flavor.

The dough was easy to bring together, let rise, and divide. My experience from that doughnut class a couple of years ago was handy for making the dough balls into shapes with central holes.

The bagels started to get a bit lumpy, bumpy as they went through the bath stage.

And after they finished baking, there was still a bit of unevenness to the outside look and texture.

But boy, they were mighty tasty!! The real problem was that I made 12 bagels and with just the two of us eating them, they went stale pretty quick. Toasting salvaged some of them, but regretfully some had to go to the birds and squirrels.

After reading tips online, I think next time I might bake half the dough and leave the rest in the fridge for a few days. I also read that more practice with technique can help to perfect the appearance of the finished product. So look for some more bagel making soon!