The Great Bagel Mystery

Once up on a time the Tootz and I made bagels. Real ones that came out of the oven hot and delicious, and were glorious to eat, especially with cream cheese.

Because I now live in the Land of No Bagels, and have run out of the three-dozen plus bagels my brother and sister-in-law graciously brought when they visited, I've decided I must make them again, this time (out of necessity) in a death-defying, awe-inspiring Solo Performance.

So, I located my bagel recipe and read through it a couple of times. This is because I've learned the hard way that with cooking (and knitting) things I'm not expecting are bound to jump up and bite me in the ass if I don't do adequate prep which includes understanding the directions and making sure I have all the ingredients.

Fortunately, I understood the directions ...  everything except for the numbers 10 8 7 X in the row that says ingredients which seem to have nothing to do with anything. (Or do they?)

I did, however, remember I had no idea what they meant last time either, but the Tootz did. So I called her.

And she has absolutely no idea this time.

Any ideas?