Home is where the bagel is.
To say that it’s been a while is a gross understatement. Since my last post, I’ve switched jobs twice, moved to Florida – and here, I will go on a tangent: to those thinking of making that move, with dreams of sand, sunshine, margaritas, perma-tans: don’t do it.
There’s a reason Florida has face-eating zombies, crocodiles in their sewers, questionable election ballot procedures, this, hurricanes, etc. etc. etc.
I had accepted a job offer to open and head up a public relations and social media department for a private equity firm’s hospitality portfolio – my dream job, or so I thought. I thought that by leaving New York, I would finally be able to leave behind the rat race; that I would finally have time to take a deep breath. That never happened.
I found myself doing 90 hour weeks to make up for what others weren’t doing. Call it the control freak in me; if someone trusted me enough to take such a huge undertaking, I wasn’t about to drop the ball, even when others didn’t seem to give two flying fucks. But after a year in, that same sickness- that same lack of motivation from my team members- sank in. Florida grew to feel like a bad trip that the hubby and I couldn’t escape.
But escape we did – back to Austria. The job opportunity that I had hoped and wished for back in 2011 finally materialized.
But with it – we are back to what I complained about on my blog’s very first post: that feeling of discontentment; of missing the familiar; of wanting something that just can’t be found.
This time, it’s bagels. I never really appreciated bagels until I left New York. And now that I am living in a little Austrian village where they have every delectable bread or pastry imaginable except a bagel, I see how wrong I was for never giving the bagel a second glance.
I’m sorry, dear bagel, for taking you for granted for so many years. And while I’m at it: I’m sorry, New York, for not appreciating you while I was there. Forgive me?
CINNAMON RAISIN BAGEL
Ingredients:
12 grams fresh yeast
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ¼ cups of warm water
500g bread flour or “griffiges” flour
3 teaspoons of salt
1.5 tablespoons cinnamon
2 cups of pre-rinsed sultana raisins
Pot of boiling water
1 egg white
Preparation: 1. Mix the brown sugar in a half cup of warm water, then mash in the fresh yeast. Let it stand for 15 minutes until it’s fluffy.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
3. Pour the rest of the warm water into the well and mix. If the dough looks too dry, add some more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is moist and firm. Let it stand for five minutes to let the flour absorb the water.
4. Add your sultanas to the mix, then knead the dough for about 10 minutes on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball.
5. Brush a large bowl with oil and place your ball of dough inside. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it’s doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 10 pieces for medium-sized bagels. Roll each piece into a small ball. After it looks smooth, stick your finger in the middle and start stretching the dough into a ring. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
7. Place the rings on a sheet lined with baking paper. Cover with a damp towel and let them rest for another 10 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 210 degrees Celsius with forced fan; 220 without.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat. Lower the bagels into the water 3 at a time. Give it a couple of seconds and you will see them float to the top. Let them sit for 2 minutes, then flip them over and boil another 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining rings.
9.Transfer the boiled bagels back to your baking paper lined sheet. Brush both sides of each bagel with egg white.
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack. I love my bagels toasted with a schmear of plain cream cheese. Or, when I feel like being especially indulgent, with a little jam on top of the cream cheese.
Let Them Eat Keksle 
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