So, less writing and more photo sharing... here is the bagel update:
i hope your oven is set to 400 degrees and you have a boiling pot of water w/ baking soda.
This is what my dough looked like when I woke up this morning. It was very light and airy. Perfect!
I lightly floured the counter and rolled it out like this. I then cut them into 2 inch thick pieces. The dough should be very easy to work with now - moist but not at all sticky - and also very bouncy (yes, i'm so technical).
I rolled the pieces into balls and used a bento cutter to make the hole. If you have a real bagel hole cutter, please use that. This is just silly business and makes the saying "necessity is the mother of all inventions" ever more true.
In my boiling water w/ baking soda, I boiled the bagels for about 35-45 seconds. I didn't use a timer but rather my acute sense of time.
Once done, I placed them on my baking sheet greased with canola oil. They're looking rustic... and by that I really mean, unique.
This is what they looked like after 10 minutes in the oven. Not the most refined looking bagels but trust me, they were delicious. If you've never had a fresh baked bagel - like right out of the oven before - you must go find yourself one. At least ONCE in your life - you should know what a fresh baked bagel taste like.
