Homemade Bagel Hockey 2.14 It Should've Been Lorelai

“You know, if you want I can clear the counter and you can play some bagel hockey.” “You can’t play bagel hockey by yourself.” “I’ll play with you. You’ll have to explain the rules.” “It’s okay. I’m just trying to recover from last night. It was one of those nights where you start off stepping in quicksand and end up with a sixteen-ton anvil landing on your head.” “I’ve had plenty of those. I’ll bring some coffee.”

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup warm water

• 1 packet of active yeast

• 2 tsp granulated sugar

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• ¼ cup of everything but the bagel seasoning (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, coarse salt)

• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp of savory seasoning (I used shawarma but you could use paprika or chili powder)

Directions:

1. Add the active yeast to the water and stir to combine. Set aside for about 5 minutes and allow the yeast to become frothy.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Slowly, add in the yeast mixture. Use your hands or a dough hook to incorporate the yeast mixture into the flour to form a smooth ball of dough.

4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for a couple minutes then return to the bowl.

5. Cover the bowl and set in a warm, dry place to rise for an hour. The dough should double in size.

6. Separate the dough into 3 even pieces.

7. Add the cinnamon to one third of the dough and the savory seasoning to another third of the dough. Knead until the spices are fully incorporated and swirled throughout the dough.

8. Separate each third into 3 more pieces to create three bagels of each flavor.

9. Shape the nine pieces into flat circles about ½ inch thick. Use your fingers or a piping tip if you have one to create a small hole in the center of each circle. It should be about an inch in diameter.

10. Allow your bagels to rest for 10 minutes once they are shaped. They should double again in size.

11. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

12. Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil over high heat.

13. Working in batches, add the bagels to the water. Boil the bagels for about 2 minutes per side.

14. After removing from water, top the 3 plain bagels with everything but the bagel seasoning.

15. Place the bagels on a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

16. Allow to cool before cutting in half and toasting to enjoy!

The bagel dough after rising for an hour

I couldn’t decide on what type of bagel I was going to make for bagel hockey. One of my favorite bagel flavors is everything, and I put everything but the bagel seasoning on just about...well, everything. So that was a given. I talked about my dislike of raisins in my apfelstrudel post, and I wanted to make a cinnamon swirl bagel sans raisins because for some reason, raisins are always in cinnamon bagels. My third flavor was inspired by spices I was recently gifted all the way from Istanbul! I used the shawarma spices to create a lovely savory bagel. What’s great about this bagel recipe is that you can change the flavor/topping to whatever you prefer!

The cinnamon swirl dough

I really wish we could have gotten to see bagel hockey being played, or at least hear the rules. Even Luke wanted to! Any moment when Luke begrudgingly does something just because it would make Lorelai happy are my favorite Luke moments. Speaking of favorite moments, Favorite Scene Monday on my Instagram this week was Lorelai, and I received so many good submissions. It was a reminder that while so many characters make this show what it is, it would be nothing without Lorelai and the great Lauren Graham.

The bagels after being shaped

Since this episode is titled, “It Should’ve Been Lorelai,” let’s continue our Lorelai discussion. The namesake of this episode is the fight Lorelai and Emily have when Emily learns that Rory is spending time with Christopher’s new girlfriend, Sherry. It’s no surprise by this point in the show that Lorelai’s parents, specifically Emily, wish that Lorelai and Christopher had gotten married when they had Rory. Many times, I can defend Emily, or at least understand where she’s coming from with her anger towards Lorelai, but in this episode, there’s no justifying it.

The everything bagels before baking

We’re introduced to Sherry Tinsdale in this episode. My opinion of Sherry changes over the course of the show, but in this episode, I really don’t mind her. She is a little overbearing when it comes to getting to know Rory, and she’s a little rude to Lorelai when she tells Lorelai that they don’t really need to know each other. But overall, I think she’s a good match for Christopher. To me, she’s the one that gets Chris to mature, and I don’t think she gets enough credit for that. What are your thoughts on Sherry?

I love the smell of freshly baked bagels

Paris and Rory are partnered up again for another school project in this episode, a debate over doctor-assisted suicide. The Paris character arc is one of my favorites on this show, particularly how her relationship with Rory evolves. As they have more group projects, we get to see how they work so well as a team. I think Paris pushes Rory to be better while at the same time, Rory pushes Paris to calm down and be more level-headed. This is something I honestly think is missing in AYITL. I think Paris would have been much harder on Rory’s aimless wandering and would have motivated her to find her direction.

Cream cheese is my favorite spread for bagels

This week was my birthday! It’s hard to describe how I felt about that day. My 30th birthday is a day I had been looking forward to for years now. For most of my twenties, I planned to go on a big trip to celebrate the milestone birthday. I celebrated turning 29 a couple weeks into quarantine, back when we thought it would only last for a few weeks or just a few months. It was my golden birthday, turning 29 on the 29th and I had a themed party all planned. Quickly, I needed to shift everything over to zoom. As the year went on and there was no sign of the pandemic ending any time soon, I started to wonder if I’d be able to have my 30th birthday trip. I think it was around November (when I usually travel during Thanksgiving break) that I started to realize it probably wasn’t going to happen.

And yes, I’m very blessed to have made it through another year, still healthy, still working, and not losing anyone close to me during the pandemic. But it was hard to give up something I had been looking forward to for several years. I received a bucket list journal as a very thoughtful birthday gift from someone who loves traveling probably more than I do. I’m still a little hesitant to start filling it up because I don’t want to be disappointed by unmet expectations again, but I think it will be nice to be able to dream again.

Happy Cooking!

Enjoy your bagels!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!