I’ve been a slug with my challenges, lately, but I’m going to try to pick it up and not fall too far behind. To review, Michelle over at Big Black Dog, organized a group to bake from the book by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe François, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

I’m late with this one, but I couldn’t resist this last assignment: Making a full batch of the Master Whole Wheat Bread, and making a Moon & Stars loaf and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels!

That’s my Moon & Stars Bread up top, there. Yes, I know. It looks pregnant. I have no idea why. It shaped up very pretty and smooth, but when it rose during the resting period and then again in the oven, it developed that peculiar notch-looking indentation near the top and then kind of bulged out a “tummy.” Oh, well. It tasted really good – MJ rated it “two thumbs up”!

Then I moved on to the bagels. While I haven’t been actively participating in the group over the last couple of months, I have been monitoring the conversations. I have to admit to being a little fearful when approaching the boiling stage. Would they fall apart? Would they become terribly misshapen?

Taking no chances, I boiled the bagels in a large stockpot, two at a time. I sprinkled whole wheat flour on the greased baking sheet. In the future, I think I’ll try the traditional corn meal, instead.

Not bad for a first effort. They taste very good, but were still a tad on the dense side.

Oh, and a side-note: Don’t try to recycle the boiling water by cooking pasta in it. Not pretty.