Tested 5 different methods of boiling bagels
Recipe: https://steemit.com/food/@dissfordents/oy-vey-if-they-ain-t-boiled-they-ain-t-bagels (it's 99% similar to Peter Reinhart's recipe) - baked it on a normal sheet pan though, not board/stone
All the bagels were boiled in about 5 cups of water with the following addins. Here's a pic post-boiling, pre-baking: https://imgur.com/bICBzV1
Top left - 1tbsp malt syrup
Bottom left - 1 tbsp baking soda + 1 tbsp malt syrup
Middle top - 1tbsp Baked soda (sodium carbonate)
Middle bottom - 1 tbsp baking soda
Top and bottom right - 1 tbsp baked soda + 1 tbsp malt syrup
Honestly the only noticeable difference is whether there's soda or not. The 4 crusts aside from the malt syrup felt (and tasted) more or less the same.
The bagels were very tasty, and had a nice crumb (https://imgur.com/vDvh7xQ), though as someone who lives in NYC these were much lighter and fluffier than the bagels I get down the block - the only way to describe my local bagels are stronger/tougher/chewier. Not quite sure yet how to get that texture, but that's what I aspire to if anyone has tips!
you might try using a stronger flour or adding vital wheat gluten (VWG) to your all-purpose or bread flour. To a commercial baker, high gluten flour means 14% protein. King Arthur Bread flour (BF) is 12.7% protein and their all-purpose (A/P) is 11.7%.
973 g A/P 37 g VWG = 1010 g 14% protein
989 g BF 21 g VWG = 1010 g 14% protein
You can find vital wheat gluten at many supermarkets in the baking aisle near the flour. Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten
Your local bagel shop might sell you some high-gluten flour if you ask...
I used KA Sir Lancelot (high-gluten flour) in this recipe. They were chewy, just fluffier/softer than expected. Like bagel shop bagels are just..denser - it's hard to explain.
Nice looking bagels. Was the one just regular baking soda okay, I don't have any malt syrup on hand?
Yes, it was fine. I've heard you can use honey or molasses as a substitute as well.
I'm going to be trying lye + malt syrup next for a more authentic crust, we'll see how it goes
I use lye. Be sure to use only a 1% solution or less, otherwise you end up with a pretzel shaped like a bagel. Pretzels use 3-5% lye water, but it's cold water. The boiling water for bagels ups the reactivity a bunch.
As you remove the bagels from the boil, dip them in a bowl of room temp water just long enough that you can hold them in your hand before moving to your pan or bagel board.
I do not use malt in the boil. Malt is hygroscopic, coating the bagel with a thin film of moisture imbibed from the atmosphere. You may not mind; I do.
g
I've heard that boiling for longer makes them chewier, 2 minutes has worked well for me. Also, so whats the main difference between soda/no soda? A darker crust?
I have the same question. I never use soda and am wondering what it does to it. I know they normally use a lye solution right?