Bagles Take 2

I made my second attempt with bagels this weekend, doughnuts too but that'll come later. I finally managed to get the bagels right, although it took at least an hour longer to be ready to boil than it should have.

 

The recipe I followed is by Peter Reinhart as dictated by The Wednesday Chef, one of my new obsessions.

Makes 8 bagels

3 1/2 c plain flour
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp honey
1 c +2 tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (yes I put this again but it's used separately from the other salt and I didn't want to confuse anyone)
Poppy seeds

Mix flour, salt (the 2 tsp), yeast, honey and water by hand until they form a ball of dough. Add more water if needed than let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until stiff but a bit sticky, not too sticky though. If it is too sticky or soft add a bit more flour. Place the dough in a greased bowl (Crisco is the best), cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with lightly greased baking paper. Remove dough from fridge and separate into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into loose balls by rolling on a dry, unfloured surface. If the dough wont sticky to roll into a ball lightly wet the spaces (I couldn't really wrap my head around this but it completely works). Once all the balls are rolled out begin rolling them out into snakes 10 inches long, making sure they are narrower at the ends. Take the snake and wrap it around your hand so the two ends are in your palm overlapping. Squeeze the ends together and roll them back and forth until they are sealed. Place the bagel onto the lined baking sheet.

Cover bagels with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.

90 minutes before you're going to cook the bagels take them out of the fridge (I had to do about 2.5 hours). While the bagels are coming to room temperature fill a large pot with water, at least 4 inches deep. Cover the pot with water to bring it to a boil. Heat the oven to 450 F. When the water is boiling add 1 tsp salt and the baking soda then reduce the heat to simmer with the lid on.

To see if the bagels are ready place one in a bowl of cold water. If the bagel sinks without floating within 10 seconds take it out and put it back on the tray. Wait 15-20 minutes and try with another bagel. Once the bagel floats gentle lift a few and put them in the pot. After boiling for 1 minute flip the bagels over and boil for another minuet.

Use tongs of a slotted spoon to remove the bagels once boiled and place back on the tray. Once the tray is full sprinkle the bagels with poppy seeds and put into the oven. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the baking tray and bake another 8-10 minutes. Once golden brown remove from the oven and let the bagels cool for 30 minutes before eating.

Eat and enjoy.

Bagels and Doughnuts Take 1

Last weekend I made my first attempt at making bagels and doughnuts from scratch. It was a bit ambitious of me to try them both at once, this was proven when I dropped my bagel dough as I removed it from the fridge and shattered the bowl. I quickly cleaned up and chopped off all the edges of the dough so I had a nice clean middle.

Everything turned out alright for a first go but the bagels were flat, the water was too hot and I added too much salt so I killed the yeast which meant they didn't rise. They tasted deliciously but they were very small, about palm size. I'm going to give it another go this weekend to see if I can get them right this time.

The doughnuts will take a bit more tweaking to get right. The doughnuts themselves didn't have enough flavor. I tried to make them adult so instead of a normal chocolate icing I did a Kahlua-chocolate icing, it turned out too runny and sticky. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this so if anyone has a suggestion I'd appreciate it.

Heaven

It was just two months ago that Dr. Pepper began being sold in local shops across Australia instead of specialty candy stores. So now, anytime I've got a spare $3.00 I know exactly what to spend it on.

Tea Parties and New Toys

Every time I hear or say 'tea party' all I can think of is this:

For Kate's birthday we decided to hold high tea and get all dressed up, and I thought it would be a good chance for me to really play with my new toy, a Mamiya RB67 that I got back in February. I just picked up the negatives and test prints from Bica the other day and other then the fact that I've got to make adjustments for the external light meter I use, I couldn't be happier with the results. The camera has no light leaks, no streaks and an amazing sharpness and focal field, I can't wait to shoot even more.

Aboriginal Tent Embassy Shake-Up

I went by the Aboriginal Tent Embassy today for the first time in a few weeks. When I got there I noticed a group of people in chairs on the right hand side of the field, I went to the left and started to look for Auntie Jude in the tent area but I was quickly pulled up short when I realized that two of the tents were down and Auntie Jude's looked like it was in pieces as well. My concern grew as I started towards the people on the other side of the field and heard a man yelling.

Once I got to the other group I patiently waited as the man who was yelling stormed off and for someone to acknowledge me so I could discover what was going on. The long of the short is this: Auntie Jude has been removed from the Embassy earlier in the week and would not be returning, the tents are coming down as there is an infestation and an exterminator is coming in to clean the area, there is now a committee in charge of the area who will be making a lot of changes over the next few weeks.

I had an opportunity to speak with one of the heads of the committee and explain that I had been getting to know Auntie Jude and make her comfortable with me so I could photograph the Embassy for the upcoming 40th anniversary. Now there is no Auntie Jude and the space that had been what I imaged photographing is no more. This just goes to show that as a photographer you can never get stuck in an idea when a project has just begun. I knew in my head exactly what shots I was going to try and get and that's now been turned upside down.

I'm going to spend a few days adjusting myself, this is going to give me a chance to decide exactly what it is that I want to focus on and find another way to do that. Considering the Embassy is going to be going through a massive change just now before the anniversary this is still a good time for me to be there and record a bit of history so I should be glad for that and figure out where to go from here. More upsets to come, I'm sure, before this project is complete.

Cinco De Mayo and Tex-Mex

Having lived in Texas for so many years I love the excuse for a Mexican food themed evening and Cinco de Mayo was it. I made everything from scratch starting with fruit salsa, moving on to ranchero pork with marinate lime onions (complete with homemade flour tortilla's) and finished with warm sopapillas drizzled in honey. The fruit salsa was finished well before everything else, the rest of the food was finished just as we were ready to eat it, so it is the only thing I actually had time to photograph. So here we are with a delicious, light salsa recipe, perfect for anyone going into summer (those in the states who I am so jealous of).

Fruit Salsa (serves 8)

Salsa
1 orange (or mango if it's in season)
1 regular kiwi or 2 small
1/2 pint strawberries
1 can crushed pineapples, drained
2 small chilies, chopped, leave the seeds in if you want more spice

Cinnamon & Sugar Tortilla Chips
Pack of soft tortillas
butter
cinnamon
sugar

Salsa: Chopped fruit and chilies (I used the small Ned Kelly's from my garden) and mix in a bowl with the drained pineapple. Leave to sit overnight if you can to help the flavors blend together.

Chips: Heat oven to 375 F. Brush tortillas with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake in oven for 5-10 minutes until slightly crisp. Once cooled use a pizza cutter to cut into chips.

Serve and enjoy,  I know we did.

Artist of the Week: Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle is a French photographer whose work investigates intimacy and identity. There is a voyeuristic nature to some of her images and it is said that she once followed a man from Paris to Venice photographing him without his knowledge all the while. She enjoys investigating the lives of others and turns herself into a private investigator to do this.

My favourite of Calle's work is the series 'The Hotel', where she obtains a job at a hotel in Venice and proceeds to photograph the contents of the room in between cleaning. She is giving a sense of identity to these people that even she has never met by exploring this deeply personal and intimate space of theirs. (All Photographs property of Sophie Calle)

Room 47

Room 28

Room 29

Room 44

And then of course there is the week she ate chromatic food each day, she was modeling herself after a character in a novel by Paul Auster, who was modeled after her.

Calle loves to experiment with her own life and the lives of others turning everything into art and I am left wondering what she will do next.

Hair and Make-up Shoot

I've finally gotten around to sending off photographs from a hair and make-up photoshoot I did last month so since everyone involved will see them soon I thought it was about time to share them around here too.

The shoot involved a make-up artist, Cherie, hairstylist, Jess, and two models, Mai and Julia and it was a great day. Here are some of my favorites from the day.