I am having an issue with par-baked bagels
First, I am located in Asia. We have been running an artisan NY Deli for many years. We are looking getting into the wholesale our bagels. We have tested our par-baked bagels. The way we do it so far is we make them like usual but we only bake the 80% after boiling them, let them cool off comply and then blast freeze them. We try a bagel a week. They are stored in a normal freezer. We take one out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator. We then bake them the last 20% the next morning. We have run into two issue. After a month in the freezer the dough starts to discolor a bit and only around the inner hole. You do not see the discoloring from the outside only when you cut the bagel in half. The coloring is a dark gray. The taste is fine but visually is is not appealing. Also the bagels are a bit dry.
What maybe making the discoloring issue? How can I have a moister bagel when par-baking them.
That you in advance for your assistance!
Matt
Thawing in the refrigerator is not recommended as bread (and bagels) go stale 6 times faster in the fridge then at room temperature.
Thanks, I will try that.