Tried the basic bagel recipe today with my 'carl' starter. They turned
out GREAT! I just could not believe how good they were. I burned my
hand slicing one fresh from the oven, but just switched hands and used
the burned one to get the butter!

The only thing I have to get the hang of is making the bagels 'look'
good. I am not too good at getting them to look like 'store bought'
bagels. But I will suceed eventually.

I used the MasterCook recipe found in the in this newsgroup. I added a
couple of tbsp of dry milk and it really made the bagels more
flavorfull and light.

I have converted my starter to unbleached white flour and then use
fresh ground whole wheat for the dough. It tastes better to me and my
family are more likely to eat them. Also, I have not used the Kitchen
Aid the last two bread baking times; just done everything by hand and
the breads have turned out so much better. I got one of those little
'scapers' with the rounded edge (99 cents) and do all but the kneading
in one bowl. Very easy cleanup and less messy. And it cuts the
kneading down to almost nothing since I incorporate very small amounts
of flour while mixing.

The bagels are certainly worth a try! (My low-carb diet has been
totally undermined!)

John