justjoan wrote:BR: i'm curious how you feel about the bagels at reno. i think they're wonderfully chewy; though i know they aren't strictly NY style. do you not like them at all?

I haven't had the bagels from Reno in quite a while. I recall having liked them quite a bit, though I'll admit I'm much more partial to New York-style bagels.

JoelF wrote:I saw an article yesterday online somewhere that recommended punching a hole in a ball, rather than rolling a rope and forming a ring. The point was that you'd press out less air, and get a less-dense bagel in the end result.

Any experience with that approach?

I know most purists suggest not poking the hole, and instead rolling the rope. But I find the hole technique easier so that's what I go with. However, I still fuss with the dough even after punching the hole . . . to make it look uniform all around. That being said, I believe that a proper NY-style bagel should be rather dense so I wasn't concerned with letting air escape.