It’s no secret that I tend to be on the frugal side. Perhaps that’s an understatement—I can be down right cheap, especially when it comes to things I think I can make myself. I also tend to be a little particular and enjoy having things just so. This holiday my husband tapped into both of these neurosis and got me a great book, “Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.” The author, Jennifer Reese, assesses, based on both effort and cost what we should buy and what is best to make. And while much of the content is related to things I do not consume (cured meats, eggs, cheese), it’s nonetheless interesting and has given me great ideas about how best to veganize some of the old standbys. It’s also great to know that when in doubt, I can make my own bagels and we did! Yesterday afternoon I enlisted the help of my littlest baker and we got to work. It really was no trouble at all, and they are in fact the best bagels you’ll ever lay down a tofutti schmear on. Reese uses a recipe from Bernard Clayton’s “The New Complete Book of Breads.” We went the extra mile and used the high gluten flour (I just happened to have some languishing in the cupboard), but skipped the malted barely syrup. Now that I know how good they are, I’ll spring for the barley syrup next time. All in they take about two hours, but that includes a lot of dough rising time. Next time you’re hankering for a real bagel, give this recipe a try.

Homemade Bagels

From “Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.” by Jennifer Reese

Makes ten bagels

Ingredients 3 1/2 cups high-gluten flour or all-purpose flour

4 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

3 tbsp. cane sugar

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 cups warm water (not too warm, water above 130 degrees will kill your yeast)

Neutral vegetable oil for greasing

2 tbsp. barely malt syrup or dark brown sugar

Coarse cornmeal, for sprinkling

Optional toppings: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.