The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Commercial Bagel Proofing

Bagelboy0521's picture
Bagelboy0521

Commercial Bagel Proofing

Hi everyone, first time posting!

 

On my quest to have the best bagels, I’m trying to increase the length of time of my slow fermentation. I currently do an overnight proof in my walk-in, but my in store business, along with catering increases have made it nearly impossible for my team members to fit without constantly bumping into each other.

My thought was to start making bagels as my store closes (around 4 pm), and retard my bagels for roughly 32 hours (we start at midnight).

My question is...how long would you recommend proofing my bagels after they’re formed, before I place them in the cooler for their slow fermentation? Or, would one recommend placing bagels directly into the cooler since they will be slow fermenting for so long. **i currently use ice water (12 lbs for 50 lb bag of flour) to make the dough more consistent through the former, but also slows down the proofing process).

any thoughts and/or opinions would be much appreciated!

Cheers

David R's picture
David R

There's nothing actually wrong with taking them straight to the cooler. You can also just shorten the room-temperature part of the process, but if it gets really short, then there would come a time where it stops being worth it.

sunkool's picture
sunkool

Steam injection vs boiling might be different. We used Steam injection ovens. We would mix 100 lbs flour at a time. We mixed for 24 minutes, shaped right out of mixer, proofed for 30 minutes in proof box set to 90° @100% humidity, refrigerated overnight, proofed again for 30 minutes - same settings, added toppings then baked with steam.