Bagels

In my opinion, the bagel is the king of bread. Sure, a chewy piece of sourdough cooked by a master is amazing and cannot be beaten, but I think of the sourdough family as a more feminine type of delight so needs to be crowned the Queen.

The bagel on the other hand is tough. Tough, strong, sometimes a little chewy, but always yielding to the touch of a subtle but delicious topping.

I've often thought of making them myself, but I'm not great with yeast. I think I lack the required patience and always stop kneading too soon and peek into the rising dough before it's had enough time to properly develop... Also the whole boiling thing kind of freaks me out, I mean, how does it stay together and not end up as glue in the bottom of the pot? Glue, I may add, that I will have to clean up if things don't go well. No, making bagels is best left to the experts I think.

That's why I picked some up on Saturday from Lawleys Bakery (http://www.lawleys.com.au/) and duly anointed them with some cream cheese, smoked salmon and a little rocket. Delicious.