I’ve been making bagels today from Sophia Handschuh’s Steaming Hot book, that’s written for use with the Thermomix Varoma steaming attachment. 

My main worry with the recipe was that the bread dough was initially meant to double in size and it did not, despite the fact that the kitchen aircon was switched off. Next time I’ll give it an extra knead and leave it in a Thermobowl to rise.

When I shaped the dough, I left the bagels to prove a little in the Varoma basket and after steaming and baking for a total of 35 mins, they are actually chewy, crunchy and bagelly.

I suspect the reason the dough did not rise much is that there was too much salt in the recipe, which probably killed off much of the yeast. These would be good as a vehicle for smoked salmon and cream cheese but a bit too salty to eat toasted for breakfast. Next time I make them, I’ll halve the salt and see if that makes a difference.