Customer Reviews

The Best Bagels Are Made at Home (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've tried recipes in other bagel books and they were all more like Easter bread. These taste like store-bought bagels only better

One of my favorite books. The recipes are great .Now without a bagel store just around the corner I can bake my own homemade bagels. Donna is right, the best bagels are really made at home. Freshly baked and lukewarm eaten is one of the best things of life.

The basic bagel recipe in this book is the only one I would consider making. Those who would make(or buy) "easter egg bagels with candy sprinkles," etc., etc., have either a culinary sense that has evolved waaaay beyond anything I will every have (although I grew up in NYC and while there discerned a heirarchy of bagel quality from supermarket to sublime), or don't have any idea what a bagel is or should be. From this perspective, the basic bagel recipe in this book is the only one I'd consider. For this recipe, you pay the price of the book. Is it worth it? Yes, perhaps. Following the recipe verbatim will help you create a bagel of better quality than most supermarket bagels. Without considerable tweaking, however, this recipe will not result in a truly great bagel (New York or Pittsburg or Cleveland, whatever). I developed a decent recipe based on the basic bagel recipe in this book -- hence, three stars. But I'm still searching for ways to improve my own recipe and need to keep looking. There is a dearth of bagel cookbooks out there. Ergo, this book is perhaps a place to start. Certainly, if you want a easter egg bagel with candy sprinkles, or even a pumpkin orange bagel.... then look no further!

One of my favorite books. The recipes are great .Now without a bagel store just around the corner I can bake my own homemade bagels. Donna is right, the best bagels are really made at home. Freshly baked and lukewarm eaten is one of the best things of life.

I actually owned a copy of this book, but ordered a copy for my nephew who has recently gotten into bagel making at home.
I tried the basic water bagel recipe and not only is it easy, it makes the most delicious , yummy "bakery" type bagels.
I used the bread machine to make my dough, my nephew made them by hand and they tasted exactly the same!
The recipes are easy to follow, and based on the basic bagel success, the book can prove an valuable addition to any baker's library.

I just received this book in the mail and cannot wait to get started on my first batch of bagels! The author has a great variety of recipes (much more than I was expecting!), plus a great selection of normal to unique spreads for your bagels. I am particulary excited about the recipe for curing my own lox, which is next to impossible to get (especially decent lox) in the small town that I live in. With what appear to be nicely detailed instructions, including a trouble-shooting section, I think this book is going to be getting quite a bit of use!

The jury is still out on this one. It had a bunch of tips and tricks to try, but i am still getting flat, wrinkly bagels even though I followed the recipe exactly. Can anyone tell me how to make an excellent bagel???