Let’s simply think about baking for a moment.

Let’s think about spring for a second or two.

With our current world situation and families spending more time together, what better time to cook and bake together too, right?

Have you been trying out new recipes or cooking and baking old recipes that you have not had time to make these days? This time of year always reminds me of being at my Mom-Mom and Poppy’s house, with Mom-Mom baking her fresh paska breads, nut and poppy seed rolls and other holiday baked treats.

Pop would also go to the “Old River Road Bakery” and pick up some fresh bagels. He would sit at the kitchen table, and enjoy a toasted bagel with his coffee.

I remember all of these smells of Mom-Mom’s Easter bread and Poppy’s warm bagel. With these family inspirations in mind and missing visiting Mom-Mom until healthier days coming, I decided to bake some bagels.

At our house, my sisters have been having bagel cravings. They love fresh bagels right out of the oven.

We put all kinds of toppings and fillings into our bagels and so can you, or you can even use them for hearty sandwiches.

Homemade Bagels

6 cups/not packed of bread flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of SAF Instant yeast

2 teaspoons of kosher salt

1 tablespoon of oil or vegetable shortening

2 cups of water, tested 75 degrees Fahrenheit

Bagel Bath

4 quarts of water plus a little extra water for oven pan

2 tablespoons of barley malt syrup

In a large mixing bowl, place all of your ingredients. With a dough hook attachment, mix your dough on medium high speed for five minutes. Take the dough out and place it on your counter top. Cover the dough with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap so the wrap will not stick to your dough. Let rest for 15 minutes. While your dough is resting, prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper that has been dusted generously with corn meal.

When the dough is rested, cut your dough into 12 equal sections, approximately 3½ ounces each. To shape the bagels, take each piece of dough and roll it into a 5-inch snake. Wrap the dough around your hand, and pinch the two ends together with your thumb to seal. Roll the pinched side gently a few times onto your counter top to seal. Place each bagel onto the prepared sheet pan about an inch or so apart. The bagels will rise a bit more.

When you have shaped all your bagels, cover the tray with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed or brushed with oil. Then set a clean tea towel over top. Let the bagels rest for 30 minutes.

Place your bagels in the refrigerator overnight, 12 to 14 hours to rise. The longer you let the bagels proof in the fridge, the more flavor they will get.

The next morning, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for a convection oven and 475 degrees Fahrenheit for a conventional oven, placing a sheet pan into the oven while preheating to get hot. Put a small empty pan on the bottom of your oven to later pour water into.

In a large stock pot, add 4 quarts of water and barley malt syrup and bring to a boil. Take your bagels from the refrigerator and gently place three or four bagels into the boiling water topside down. Allow them to boil for 30 seconds to one minute. Turn the bagels over and allow them to cook for 30 seconds to one minute on the other side.

Take your bagels out of the boiling water and place onto a piece of parchment paper. Place any toppings onto your bagels while they are still warm. Set about six bagels onto the hot sheet pan in the oven. Bake the bagels, pouring a half a cup of water into your empty pan in the oven for baking. Baking should take about 12 to 15 minutes until light and golden brown.

While your first batch of bagels are in the oven, cook the remaining bagels in the boiling water and syrup mixture.

Allow bagels to cool on a rack. Package for freshness.

Chickpea salad

2 cups of chickpeas, drained

½ cup of celery, small dice

¼ red onion, small dice (I rinse mine to soften the onion bite.)

2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Mayonnaise to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon (optional)

Slice or mash chickpeas, all to your liking. Add and mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Top your bagel half or whole with the chickpea salad.

Garnish with fresh microgreens like arugula or buttercrunch lettuce, tomato and even a splash of hot sauce.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. She is a former prep and line cook for Executive Chef David Crespo at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” in the new Downtown Allentown Market. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.