Just a quick post to update the bagel story.  When I originally made the bagels last week my husband was out of town so he never got any fresh ones.  I  love him so much I wanted him to experience them right out of the oven.  Actually, that’s not quite true.  I do love him but I really wanted to try cheddar jalapeno ones.  It was all I could think about after reading Joelen’s post last week. When I was finished hand kneading, I flattened the dough into a large square and pressed in half a finely diced jalapeno and 4 ounces of shredded cheddar.  I folded the dough over and kneaded a bit more.  Then I flattened it out again and added another half of finely minced jalapeno and 4 more ounces of cheddar.  Folded and kneaded for another minute and then went ahead with dividing and forming bagels.

After a night in the fridge, they were ready for boiling and baking.  I was a bit worried that the cheddar would leak out of the bagels during boiling but all that happened during boiling  was that the water really bubbled up and a white foam formed.  The cheese stayed inside.  Not sure what the white froth was. I topped the bagels with a bit more cheddar before baking.

We were thrilled with the finished bagels.  In the oven, some of the cheddar oozed out and created a cheese crust on the bottom that was unbelievable.  The crusty cheese top and bottom and the little hit of heat from the jalapeno worked together to form one unfogettable bagel experience.

Top of Cheddar Jalapeno Bagel

Bottom crust of Cheddar Jalapeno Bagel