Bagels - TWD: Baking with Julia

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia - Nineteenth Installment.  The recipe is Bagels.

These turned out really well - the family suggested I make these again very soon. I had made this recipe when the original series was on TV, so this was my second try at it. It's surprisingly easy. We enjoyed them with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Yum.

Before boiling

I held the raised dough in the fridge overnight, and that worked fine. I love the transformation in the boiling water.

After boiling

I also used my pizza stone and the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven.  I might bake them a little longer next time - they browned a lot on the top, but less on the bottom.  The bagel surfaces weren't as smooth as I would have liked, so I think I could use more care with the shaping to really get that surface tension right, so they're less lumpy.


I actually planned ahead and allowed enough time to do this without going nuts or staying up until all hours! I can be unrealistic when it comes to time estimation, so I'm happy if one side effect of having baking deadlines is that I learn better time management as a side effect of all the baking :-)  Now if only I could master the layout of the blog post with the photos.....

Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Loaf - TWD: Baking with Julia

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia - Eighteenth Installment.  The recipe is Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Loaf.

They looked very pretty, even though this photo is a bit "brown on brown".  Still honing my food photography skills....

This bread is delicious, and great for the changing seasons here in Massachusetts. I had written "great" next to this recipe in the book, but I don't remember when I made them previously.  I think I may have bought the mini loaf pans in order to make this recipe. I do remember being skeptical of a yeast bread with pumpkin, but really like the result, just like last time.

One thing this Baking with Julia project is reinforcing for me is that baking projects are more fun when I really pay attention.  After last time's inattentiveness, leading to over-browned bread, I was determined not to get distracted and miss something.  

This was fairly easy, and I liked the flexibility of the built-in time in the fridge.  I'm so glad people commented in the P&Q warning about it needing overnight rising, because I hadn't read the recipe ahead of time. 

Raised and ready to go into the oven