I love bagels.

I am so sleepy, but it's kind of not okay to crash at 8:30. But my January class is pretty much over, so I'll get to have a little vacation. Wanna know my favorite movies from the class? Of course you do! 

-Rashomon (pretty much the base for any movie with multiple perspectives)

-Mr. House Wife (cute, Korean, better than American rom-coms.)

-Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (beautiful, meditative)

-Millennium Actress (Very cool anime about the life of an actress. Where do her roles and her real life intersect?)

-Paprika (same director as above, insane electro-pop and vibrant animation, highly recommended. The original Inception.)

-3 Iron (So. Adorable. It's amazing how much can be said with no words at all).

Had to break out the big jar of yeast.

Anyway, BAGELS. I'm really on a roll (harharhar) with the yeast breads right now. It's just so relaxing! And I'd never made bagels before. Pretzels, yes, bagels no. I'm spoiled because I'm originally from New York, and nothing can beat a New York bagel. They're magical, I swear. But I thought I could at least do better than the sub-par bagels at school. 

When you pushed down on the doughs, they made funny "psssshhh" sounds

So...did I? I believe so. Definitely beats Sara Lee. I wish I had some fancy things to put on top, but I'm kind of lacking in the fancy things department over here. So plain had to do. It's amazing how many different breads can be made out of the same kind of dough. These are definitely bagels, but have the same ingredients as sandwich bread. If you shaped your dough into a loaf of bread, boiled it, then baked it, would it turn into a giant bagel? The world may never know...

Bagels

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, separated

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into 8 balls. Push thumb through centers to form a 1-in. hole. Place on a floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes; flatten. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Drop bagels, one at a time, into boiling water. When bagels float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets (Important! I might even use parchment paper). Brush each bagel with the reserved egg white. Don't use an excessive amount unless you feel like having a fried egg white (which I didn't, unfortunately). Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.