Bill -
I made bagels this weekend and have to say I'm pleased.
The finished product:
I used a recipe I found that is attributed to a guy named Peter Reinhart, but modified slightly with respect to the dough handling. The recipe calls for either 2 TB of malt powder or 1 TB malt syrup. I misread the recipe and used two TB malt syrup. Turned out fine nonetheless. The other mistake I made was I forgot to add salt to the dough after I mixed in the sponge. Aside from the bagels tasting like they could use a little salt, it didn't adversely affect the finished product.
I couldn't find malt powder, but did find this malt extract syrup at the grocery store:
Ingredients for the Reinhart recipe:
Sponge
1 Tsp Instant Yeast
4 Cups Unbleached High-Gluten or Bread Flour
2 ½ Cups Water, room temperature
Dough
½ Tsp Instant Yeast
3 ¾ Cups Unbleached High-Gluten or Bread Flour
2 ¾ Tsp Salt
2 Tb Malt Powder
or 1 Tb Dark or Light Malt Syrup, Honey, or Brown Sugar
To Finish
1 Tb Baking Soda
Cornmeal or Semolina Flour for dusting
Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Kosher Salt, Re-hydrated Dried Minced Garlic or Onions
Full details of the Reinhart recipe and process here:
he-eats.com
Based on reading I did, I modified the recipe to use the "Julia Child" method. Reinhart forms the bagels after kneading the dough and then does a "float test." Once the bagel passes the test, he lets them rest in the refrigerator overnight.
I liked the comments found here, and refrigerated the dough overnight in bulk: artisanbreadbaking.com
This morning, I finished up by dividing the dough and forming individual bagels, which were then boiled and baked. Baking time: 5 mins. at 500, reduce heat to 450 and 5 more mins.
I made poppyseed, sesame, salt and everything bagels. They turned out crispy on the outside and nice and chewy inside.
Highly recommended! |
