today's foray into breadmaking

involved Egyptian sesame rings. Except that rolling out bits of dough and turning them into circles and only putting sesame seeds on them is boring. So we had a mixture of rings and pretzels, some with sesame, some with poppy seeds, some with both, two with fenugreek seeds (good in concept, but they're just a bit too hard. Maybe I should bash them up in the mortar and pestle before strewing them next time). They were quick and easy to make up, and tasty. The best part was something I hadn't expected: They actually taste somewhat like my favorite brand of bagels, Bagels Forever. A toasted bagel with butter had long been my default meal for breakfast, but that all changed when we moved here and have been utterly unable to find acceptable bagels. Occasionally I can get plain bagels from the grocery store, but they are about the Wonderbread equivalent, no flavor, no texture, nothing. I've often thought about making my own, but what I remember from one time that we tried doing so when I was a kid, it was difficult and didn't turn out very well. But these, these were actually relatively close in taste and texture, even if the rings end up flat on one side because they're baked on a tray. Next time I make these, I won't roll them so thin and will make slightly larger circles, and I might actually have bagels for breakfast.