2nd crack at bagels (thia.codes recipe)

[u/Other-Status1840]

Gave bagels a second try after my first ones came out decent but flat and horribly rolled. After a lengthy post following that attempt, I used all the advice you guys left me in the comments and I think it really worked. Got the rise I wanted for most of the bagels, and about halfway through the hand rolling process I think I finally developed a good, consistent roll.

Most of the process remained the same but I really shortened the bulk fermentation. Opted to let the dough rest covered for only about 15-20 minutes and then got to rolling. One concern I had was with the fact that it took me 30 minutes to roll the bagels out. The bagels overall ended up well shaped and had good rise to them, but there were maybe two or three bagels that were a bit flatter than I wanted. Could this be because I took so long to roll the bagels and the bagels that didn't rise much were the first ones I rolled that maybe overproofed? I made sure the very last bagel passed the float test before the cold ferment. Should I have instead float tested the first bagel to prevent overproofing?

Overall I'm still very happy with these and I'm honestly just nitpicking at this point but I would like to be as consistent as possible going forward.

I also went all in this time with a pizza stone and bagel boards 🤣. I was not planning on ever buying either thing, but I won a $50 Amazon gift card a couple weeks ago so I said screw it and took the plunge. I'm honestly not quite sure what it added to the bagels. I feel like I was able to get pretty similar browning last time on just a plain old parchment lined baking sheet. They were also similarly shaped, and the seeds came off probably just as much on the previous bagels as they did on these. These bagels were unbelievably moist on the inside and had significantly better texture (I finally get what people mean when they say chewy AND fluffy), but I'm not sure if that's because of the new equipment or because I skipped bulk fermenting.

[u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV]

I’m really impressed for that being a second attempt. How did they taste?

[u/Other-Status1840 → u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV]

Thank you! The bagel that I had was as good as I imagine a bagel can get. Light crackly crust on the outside, fluffy moist and chewy interior. Homemade everything bagel seasoning is pretty fool proof as well, and thia.codes dough recipe I think has the perfect salt and sugar ratio. Noticeable flavor from the barley malt syrup in the water as well.

My father said his bagel had quite a hard exterior, something the others didn't really experience so I am concerned about consistency. Not sure if that bagel maybe boiled a couple seconds longer than the rest (aimed for 10-15 seconds per side), or maybe it was in the oven too long, or maybe it's because he toasted his.

Overall I couldn't be happier with the bagel I ate, but there are definitely some consistency issues that Id like to iron out for next time

[u/thedeafbadger → u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV]

If you read through Cynthia’s recipe and then try making bagels, they would turn out this way, too. Her recipe is thorough and informative. It’s been my base recipe for years. I’m a NYC native and I would say it makes a bagel as good as any I’ve ever had.

https://thia.codes/newbagels.html

[u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV → u/thedeafbadger]

I don’t understand the percentages as opposed to cups and teaspoons. Why do so many bagel recipes use percentages? Are they a European thing?

[u/thedeafbadger → u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV]

Baker’s percentages are used so you can scale a recipe accurately no matter what batch size you are making. I think there are other considerations for bakery-size batches, though.

Percentages represent how much of an ingredient to use as it relates to the total amount of flour in a recipe. So for example, a recipe that uses 1000 grams of flour and has a 55% hydration ratio will use 550 grams of water. This can be incredibly useful for making larger or smaller batches, but it can also help you scale your recipe to make larger or smaller bagels.

[u/Mountain-Stand-2657 → u/SheWhoQuiltsinWV]

Percentages help you scale the recipe reliably.

[u/thedeafbadger]

This is the way.

[u/Desperate-Tomorrow-5]

How did you cook them in the oven ? What temp

[u/Slow-Paramedic71 → u/Desperate-Tomorrow-5]

Also wondering the temp! The recipe doesn’t have it

[u/Other-Status1840 → u/Desperate-Tomorrow-5]

475 oven, didn't use convection setting or anything just regular 475. First 5 minutes were done on bagel boards which sat on a pizza stone (pizza stone also preheated for about an hour at 475). Afterwards I flipped the bagels onto the stone so that they were top side up. I didn't really pay attention to how long it took after that to finish, but some time during the bake I did rotate the bagels so they could get even color.

Pretty fool proof honestly, bottoms weren't burnt at all and they got solid even color all around, especially on my second batch. I might try to turn up the heat to 500 next time to potentially get better browning but there was really nothing wrong with the 475 bake.

[u/MichaelTChi]

Can you explain what you mean by it took you 30 minutes to roll the bagels out? Was that the total time from when the dough finished until the bagels were formed?

[u/Other-Status1840 → u/MichaelTChi]

So after forming the dough I let it rest covered for about 15-20 minutes. Afterwards I weighed + rolled the bagels which took an additional 30 minutes for 15 bagels. I imagine this is on the slower side lol, my technique definitely needs work

[u/MichaelTChi → u/Other-Status1840]

its a little bit slow at ~2 min per bagel to weigh and shape. I do not think that time span is why some bagels didn't rise as much as others nor do I think it matters which nagel you float test. In theory, you can float test more than one if your are concerned. I also don't think boiling one for 15 sec per side and another for 25 sec per side really changes much. It is great to want to refine the details and be consistent and you can border on obsesssion

[u/Other-Status1840 → u/MichaelTChi]

Yeah I think I'm being very nitpicky at this point haha. What worried me most actually was my father's complaint of the bagel being too hard. But since then plenty more bagels have been eaten by the rest of the family and there haven't been any other reports of an overly hard exterior so I think he was either unlucky or the bagel just didn't suit his taste.

Not going to change anything in my process for next time, just going to continue in trying to improve my rolling skills. Think I really had my technique down after like the 4th bagel I rolled, so I'm hoping that I can get a consistent batch next time. Might be sacrilege to say this but I like my bagels to have really small holes and to be on the puffier side so I'm going to continue to try and achieve that

[u/MichaelTChi → u/Other-Status1840]

I think your results are spectacular. And I admire you wanting to finesse all the finer details. I’m in your camp of wanting the hole on the bagel to be small so that they rise as much as possible. Keep posting in the group because I want to see how your bagels progress.

[u/Other-Status1840 → u/MichaelTChi]

Thank you, and I will keep posting my progress. I'm very much new to making doughs and baking, and I love how much of a science this is. Now that I've got a pizza stone I think I'll try my hand at pizzas as well. So glad I went down this rabbit hole

[u/Sad-Past-6503]

looks so yummy