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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