Glad you’re still having fun in class, pity those bagels aren’t up to scratch, though they look divinely yum to me!

I didn’t know that about wheat flour either. What an interesting class! Your breads look delicious!

Your mention of bagels had me in a flashback of the early mornings (think 12:30am!) when I had to go in to make batches of bagels with the boss. He was from New York and was so very particular in how he made his bagels. Eventually he took shortcuts so that we could go in at a more respectable hour, if 4am sounds more like it.

To this day I don’t know if that deli is still in business.

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Thanksgiving Day Weekend? hmmmmm…. is not until November 23rd?!

When I make wheat bread I never add the glute - I always forget ot buy it. I just add about 1/4 white flour and 3/4 wheat.
I always let my breads rise for like an hour the first time and 45 minutes after shaping. Is this too long?

you are getting great at shaping your breads! they all look so professional, especially the whole wheat bread. and those are the prettiest bagels i’ve ever seen.

Wow. I had no idea that wheat flour had to be “helped” along with the addition of gluten.

Sounds like a super interesting class; like you, though, I’d rather just buy a bagel than make my own. Seems liks a tad bit too much of a hassle!

I will be telling my husband about the vital wheat gluten, he is the one who loves to bake bread round hear.

I love freshly baked bread…unfortunately I haven’t been able to make it as often as I would like. I am enjoying your bread-making stories Keep ‘em coming!

I’ve never cooked much with wheat flour either–almost all of my bread is made with AP or bread flour. The six-grain bread with molasses sounds like a keeper though, so maybe I’ll try it.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the class so much; I hope all else is well with you!

I’m so jealous! I’m going to culinary school (hopefully starting January). Breads are one of my absolute favorite things in the world. That whole wheat loaf looks amazing. I keep saying that I’ll make bread but I run out of hours in the day (bad excuse, I know!) Good luck with everything in culinary school.

Ivonne,
Thanks for answering a question I was recently pondering about… how do bagels get their shape? I think when I make some I’ll try both methods and see which I like better. Were the bagels you made dense and chewy?… those are the best kind!

When I made bagels I did it the rope way, and consequently some of the ropes “undid” themselves and I ended up with horseshoes instead of bagels.

Does the vital wheat gluten help make the whole wheat loaves less dense? I like whole wheat but when I make bread with it it’s usually heavy and brick like.

What is your favourite place to buy bagels in Toronto?

Wow, you are such an inspiration for all us home novice bakers out there! Keep up the good work, and the reports on what you learn!

Wow, you are such an inspiration for all us home novice bakers out there! Keep up the good work, and the reports on what you learn!

I invariably add a little whole wheat flour to almost every bread I make. I like to mimic hand milled flour (got the idea from Carol Field in “The Italian Baker”). I have made 100% whole wheat bread, but not often recently (my husband prefers bread made with a mix of wholewheat and white flour). We use honey instead of molasses to give it a slightly less dark taste. (I’ve never added vital wheat gluten to 100% whole wheat dough either.)

The six grain bread sounds really good.

And I urge you to try bagels again when you get home and away from those overly warm proofing areas at school. But boil the bagels in sugared (or malted) water rather than salt water. And make sure you use high gluten bread flour. I think you’ll be amazed at how great they are.

-Elizabeth

P.S. Brilynn, see if you can get hold of a copy of “Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book - A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking” by Laurel Robertson (the public library should have it). There are great tips for making light 100% whole wheat bread. This is my take on her basic recipe for 100% whole wheat bread:
http://etherwork.net/recipes/wholewheat.html

You know bagels are one of those things I would just rather buy.

That would have been my favorite bread class–I love whole wheat! I must recommend trying whole wheat pastry flour in virtually anything you make. It is lighter in color, texture and flavor than regular whole wheat flour, and it hard to detect in baked goods. If you want to hide the whole wheat, use half (or more) of the pastry flour and the rest white flour. It’s so good!

I love hearing about your classes! Bread is something I’d really like to learn more about. I don’t think I’d be making bagels at home either, though - too many good ones already out there. I’ll have to try whole wheat next time I bake bread!

A co-worker and I have been considering trying our hand at bagels, but like you said, I’m afraid it would be a lot of work with an outcome that wouldn’t please me as much as a local bakery could!

I’m not a fan of whole grain breads.. but I have to admit that loaf looks fabulous! I knew bagels were tricky and I agree with most that I’d just rather buy them. I wonder though.. do you think one of your classes will cover pretzels? They are something I’d like to try at home. Beautiful job, as always! I look forward to next week’s classes!

looks delicious!

Your loaf of bread is beautiful…I am tempted to give this a try…out side of the bread machine.

Ivonne, don’t give up on bagels yet. Try the ones in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, they are wonderful! I’ll be blogging about them soon. Your ww loaf looks great!

Yum, lovely looking loaf! I can’t wait to see what you bake next!
xxx B

I love the shape of that top loaf. It’s a perfect cylinder! I’ve always wanted to make my own bagels. Are they better than store-bought ones?

In Sweden wholewheat flour is called graham flour, I think it is named after some health profet… This flour is a true classic and I use it in both breads and pie crust! The bread can be a little crumbly though but to prevent that you can for example pour boiling water over the flour and let it sit for a while, then mix it with yeast and stuff…

Ivonne,
I also think your loaf shaped nicely too!
The salty bagels sold in my area are all covered with salt (top and bottom… the people here must have a super kidney huh…

If I could find bagels to buy I would probably give up and buy them, but have risen to the challenge here of making my own with sometimes mixed results, especailly when using my old dough starter,I find they are still wonderful and a nice change from everday bread. Also, I don’t know what is exactly different here about the rye flour, than perhaps an obviously higher gluten content, but the rye flour here is amazing in that it makes a decent loaf with out adding much if any other flour to achieve a reasonable loaf. I’ve been amazed at the results. Dark rye with walnuts is a delicious local tradition. Your 6 grain loaf is picture perfect. Bake on

Eons ago I baked all our bread, usually rye and whole wheat. Your loaf of whole wheat is gorgeous–beautifully formed. And the bagels are to die for! I must get the vital wheat gluten for when I make rye bread. Thanks.

Oh my goodness Ivonne, now you can be a professional bread maker! Looks amazing!

It is bittersweet for me to read about your breads [I can never taste wheat again] but I am so, so happy for you in your baking adventure! Baking bread is such a pleasure. And your breads look beautiful. I envy both the baking and the tasting.

Beauty bread! It’s in great shape too ;). Clivia (and Tanna earlier) got me confused on the subject of Graham flour… it is something that we don’t have in Holland and I brought some from Sweden, encouraged to try it by various writer bakers. And then Tanna and now Clivia say it is “just” whole wheat? and that is something we have plenty of here… For now I think it has to do with the way of grinding. Hmmm I can feel a post coming, maybe someone can enlighten me on the subject of “Pumpernickel” too. LOL

I would love to learn more about shaping techniques, especially for round loaves with decorative slashes on top. This bread looks really good. Slightly nutty flavored loaves are one of my favorite kinds!

Yummy! I like the look of those loafs.

the bagels look great, and i think it’s neat that you guys are making those. that is one of the things i miss a lot from the states, that is virtually impossible to find here in Le Marche. Perhaps I will try to make my own? Even if they don’t turn out as good as the ones back home, something similiar should cure brief moments of homesickness quite well :).

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your wonderful comments about bread class. While I didn’t think that the bagels were the greatest, I enjoyed trying my hand at them, as with the other bread.