Muahahaha! I have perfected the 100% whole grain bagel—or at least I’ve come close enough to appease my own inner critic. Here are a few final tips, as this post is probably my last on the subject of bagels:

1. To shape the bagel properly: use an oiled surface. Yes, you heard me. Oiled. I did try using Reinhart's damp surface. Ultimately, the water did the job too well. The dough ends stuck to each other, but the dough also stuck to the surface. So, keep a smidgen of water nearby to seal the ends together, but roll on an oiled surface.
2. When rolling the "snake" out, the dough should be at least 12-15 inches in length. Then, and this is IMPORTANT, do not wrap the snake around your fist.

   Overlap the ends of the snake by about 2 inches, then insert your hand into the inner circle of the torus and roll only the jointed area. Transfer immediately to the baking sheet. Bagels shaped this way retain their shape and actually have holes. NB: My problem may have something to do with the fact that I have small hands, but one can never tell…



3. Black sesame seeds taste scrumptious. They have the Tyler seal of approval.


4. Even with the flour and parchment paper on the first baking sheet, there were still a few stubborn bagels who resolutely did not want to let go. Next time, I will try oil or some combination of oil and flour. The results of my tinkering will probably be added as an addendum to this article.


5. Reinhart’s recipe makes 6 bagels, about 144g of dough per bagel, and the bagels are usually finished baking in about 27 minutes.

After over a week without my homemade, freshly baked 100% whole grain goods, I'm never going to take these lovelies for granted again.