The Classics -Voting is open!

First off, THANK YOU ALL WHO VOTED!!! We've made it past the first challenge of Project Food Blog and are now into the second round! You all rock!!! Voting for this challenge begins Monday, the link to vote will be posted here at that time, or you can always click on the Project Food Blog button at the top of the left column of this page. Please vote to help me get through to the next round! Voting is open now!


For this challenge we have to tackle an ethnic dish outside our comfort zone. I know most are probably tackling sushi for the first time, or maybe a big bowl of Pho... I thought about doing both of those but I just kept thinking about how John and I eat bagels out ALL THE TIME... and I have yet been able to tackle them at home! Maybe you don't consider Jewish bagels a very ethnic dish... or maybe you didn't know bagels were Jewish at all! According to the New York Times:

What’s Jewish about a bagel?

The short answer is: Sure, there are non-Jewish boiled and baked ring-shaped breads in Italy, Greece, Finland and Poland (among other countries), but the bagel is the Jewish version and as such it has accumulated a rich folklore and history that it cannot shake off easily.

Now onto a little background on me and my love of bagels. I grew up in northern NJ and the best place in town was Sonny's, a wicked good Jewish bagel bakery that my family frequented on a weekly basis. (My mom just told me that it was just voted best bagel shop in NJ! But we already knew that)

Did I mention that I LOVE bagels?

To prepare for the challenge I scoured the internet for what seemed like days to find the best and most authentic recipe possible. I even sent emails out to old friends who at one time worked in Sonny's to see if they could give me the secret!! I really wanted to try a version featured on Mags blog (she's awesome, I love her) but I was lacking the malt powder her recipe called for. In truth I think this is the true secret ingredient to make a good bagel (since my bagel shop friend also mentioned a form of malt), and without it I knew it wouldn't be up to par.

I knew I didn't have enough time to order the malt powder online since this post had to be up in a few days. After visiting multiple stores and calling ahead to a few more I found malt syrup lurking in the organic section of Pittsford Wegmans! Next was to find an authentic recipe that used the syrup instead of the powder!

The process sounds much more complicated than it really was. The instructions are long and detailed, intimidating to say the least! I forged on and after mixing, kneading, rising, shaping, boiling, and finally baking, sweet glorious bagels made their way out of the oven!! Want to give it a try yourself? I highly recommend it! For the holy grail of bagel recipes, click here for the deliciousness.

Just look at how crusty and chewy those things are. This isn't just bread in the shape of a bagel, these are the real deal! And yes everyone, that secret ingredient of malt syrup is the best secret I've ever found out.

Now onto the next task... figuring out how to make them into gingerbread flavored bagels... stay tuned!

And if you liked the post, please go vote for me!