Family Traditions: Bagel Making

Cooking on Father’s Day always reminds me of my own dad, who passed away 4 years ago. He was an amazing chef and always in the kitchen. My husband, partner, and father of my kids, Mike, spends less time in the kitchen, but does have a few favorite recipes as his go-to, and this one is by far the most impressive. Who wouldn’t love waking up to fresh home-made bagels?

Mike was brave enough to try this recipe maybe 10 years ago. Who would think to make bagels at home? But it is actually quite simple, and easy to get the whole family involved.

We break down the labor as such in our family:  Mike makes the dough and leaves it to rise. When it’s ready, I grab 1 or both kids, to roll after I cut the dough evenly.  With kids rolling bagels, they may not be perfectly beautiful, but they will still be perfectly delicious. Embrace the imperfections!

Once rolled, it’s super fun for even the smallest child to sprinkle on toppings.

Then into the oven.  The whole process doesn’t take much more than an hour from the beginning of making dough to taking them out of the oven.  

Don't forget to have some cream cheese (and smoked salmon, avocado, onion, tomato, etc) on hand :)

We recommend making them for (or with) someone special on Father’s Day. They will be sure to impress.

This recipe from chowhound is easy to follow. The key: you must have malt syrup. Not always the easiest to find, but we have taken to ordering it on Amazon, instead of calling endlessly to super markets. Once you have it, it keeps in the fridge.