Those Fabulous silicon moulds!

Isn't it funny how the little things can bring such joy and excitement? No, I'm not talking about a wet puppy nose on your face, although that would be pretty special and sure to bring smiles and excitement! No, I'm talking about a doorbell or knock on the door, and when you answer, there it is...your friendly Purolator man, standing there with a box..a box of Tupperware!! Its enough to make a grown woman squeal with delight! (okay, maybe that's a bit more than you wanted to know about me!). But its true. I was excited for my latest delivery because I knew that my new silicon mould was in that box, and I couldn't wait to get it out and feel it, scrutinize it, and most importantly make something in it! But first things first. The mould I chose for my first purchase was the ring mould because I could see all kinds of possibilities like donuts, egg rings, bagels. I was also thinking about how to use it for decorations like frozen juice rings with fruit floating in a punchbowl. What a great way to keep your punch cold without diluting it with ice. This is just scratching the surface. After, I've had a chance to think on it for a bit, I'm sure that I'll come up with other ideas. The mould itself, is quite beautiful. That beautiful royal Amytheist color sets it off.

One of the things that make silicon moulds very desirable in baking is the fact they are non stick without having to add oils, flour or sprays. All that is required is a handwashing with warm soapy water before each use, and you will maintain that non stick property. Silicon forms are also very pliable, so once you've allowed baking to cool slightly you can easily remove your food from the mould, because you can pull it away from the food instead of trying to pull your food away from the bakeware. But being so "bendy", it does require you to give it a stable base underneath to support it and keep it even during baking, freezing or whatever. A cookie sheet will do the job nicely. Tupperware's silicon ring form is not just a one trick pony, oh no!! This form will go from freezer to fridge, to oven to microwave. It is safe to use from temperatures from -25 c to 220C (425 F). I try not to bring new appliances into my kitchen if they are single use, so this form checks off all the boxes for me.

So, what do I make first? The inaugeral recipe? I didn't want to do anything too difficult until I can see how it performs, so I chose 2 ingredient bagels. I'm sure you've heard of them, they are all over the internet. There are variations of the recipe and most just don't have 2 ingredients, but generally all the recipes you'll find have 2 major ingredients...Greek yogurt and self rising flour in equal portions. I happen to add an egg to mine and because I use APF (all purpose flour), I add 1 tsp of baking power. Once I mixed up my dough i divided it into 6 portions and rolled them out into ropes. If you're making them for the first time be warned...this dough is very sticky so you'll need alot of flour on your board to work with it. I then put the dough into the forms. As I said before, there is no need to add sprays, oils, etc to prevent sticking.

It took no time at all. Once I had the dough in the forms, I spritzed them with water lightly so that I could get a topping to stick to the tops. I decided to do savory bagels, and sweet ones, so on half i added an everything but the bagel seasoning. You can buy it at most stores, or you can buy the ingredients and make your own. To the other 3 I sprinkled cinnamon and a little Stevia. They bake in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes. When you remove them, allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes before you unmould the bagels. Mine easily came out of the forms and turning them over, they had a beautiful golden color on the bottom. They could have used a little more color on the top, so next time, I"ll either turn the heat up slightly or leave them in just a bit longer. But they tasted very good. I can hardly wait to try something else in these forms...and I think you would too! try them out. http://www.tupperware.ca/silicone-ring-form.html