INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

First, pour three cups of hot water into the mixing bowl. The water
should be hot, but not so hot that you can't bear to put your fingers
in it for several seconds at a time. Add the sugar or honey and stir
it with your fingers (a good way to make sure the water is not too
hot) or with a wire whisk to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast over the
surface of the water, and stir to dissolve.  Wait about ten minutes for
the yeast to begin to revive and grow.  This is known as "proofing" the
yeast, which simply means that you're  checking to make sure your yeast
is viable. Skipping this step could  result in your trying to make
bagels with dead yeast, which results  in bagels so hard and
potentially dangerous that they are banned  under the terms of the
Geneva Convention.  You will know that the  yeast is okay if it begins
to foam and exude a sweetish, slightly  beery smell.  At this point,
add about three cups of flour as well as the 2 tsp of  salt to the
water and yeast and begin mixing it in. Some people  subscribe to the
theory that it is easier to tell what's going on  with the dough if you
use your hands rather than a spoon to mix  things into the dough, but
others prefer the less physically direct  spoon. As an advocate of the
bare-knuckles school of baking, I  proffer the following advice: clip
your fingernails, take off your  rings and wristwatch, and wash your
hands thoroughly to the elbows,  like a surgeon. Then you may dive into
the dough with impunity.  I  generally use my right hand to mix, so
that my left is free to add  flour and other ingredients and to hold
the bowl steady. Left-handed  people might find that the reverse works
better for them. Having one  hand clean and free to perform various
tasks works best.  When you have incorporated the first three cups of
flour, the dough  should begin to become thick-ish. Add more flour, a
half-cup or so at  a time, and mix each addition thoroughly before
adding more flour. As  the dough gets thicker, add less and less flour
at a time. Soon you  will begin to knead it by hand (if you're using
your hands to mix the  dough in the first place, this segue is hardly
noticeable).  If you  have a big enough and shallow enough bowl, use it
as the kneading  bowl, otherwise use that clean, dry, flat countertop
or tabletop  mentioned in the "Equipment" list above. Sprinkle your
work surface  or bowl with a handful of flour, put your dough on top,
and start  kneading. Add bits of flour if necessary to keep the dough
from  sticking (to your hands, to the bowl or countertop, etc....).
Soon  you should have a nice stiff dough. It will be quite elastic, but
heavy and stiffer than a normal bread dough. Do not make it too dry,
however... it should still give easily and stretch easily without
tearing.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with one
of your  clean kitchen towels, dampened somewhat by getting it wet and
then  wringing it out thoroughly. If you swish the dough around in the
bowl, you can get the whole ball of dough covered with a very thin  fil
of oil, which will keep it from drying out.  Place the bowl with the
dough in it in a dry, warm (but not hot)pace,  free from drafts.  Allow
it to rise until doubled in volume. Some  people try to accelerate
rising by putting the dough in the oven,  where the pilot lights keep
the temperature slightly elevated. If  it's cold in your kitchen, you
can try this, but remember to leave  the oven door open or it may
become too hot and begin to kill the  yeast and cook the dough. An
ambient temperature of about 80 degrees  Farenheit (25 centigrades) is
ideal for rising dough.  While the dough is rising, fill your stockpot
with about a gallon of  water and set it on the fire to boil. When it
reaches a boil, add the  malt syrup or sugar and reduce the heat so
that the water just barely  simmers; the surface of the water should
hardly move. Submitted By  HUNT@AUSTIN.METROWERKS.COM (ERIC HUNT) On 15
MAR 1995 064641 -0700  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at
www.synapse.com/~gemini

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