Bagels and Bagel Board Question
I made my first batch of Bagels yesterday. The recipe and the Bagel Texture were good and would definitely use again. I used Bagel Boards... which functioned well but were very smelly and imparted a flavor into some of the Bagels. Are there alternatives to Bagel Boards? I almost think the Burlap was the culprit over the Cedar. I also noticed when soaking the boards the water turned red from the 2 red strips of color on the Burlap. None of this is desirable. I used a YouTube recipe for New York Style Bagels which turned out great but am open to other recipes as well. I did not use a Lye bath but am also curious about that. I have food grade Lye at home that I purchased for Pretzels so I could also use it with Bagels. I am wondering if it makes a big difference on the Bagels. Thanks in advance for any info.
Soak and drain the boards several times to allow the dyes in the linen upholstery strapping to bleed out. The wood is not an issue.
I always prefer and use lye for the boil. Where you use a 3% or more concentration for pretzels, that is too strong, taste-wise for bagels. I don't want donut shaped pretzels.
For bagels, in a hot water bath, use 0.5 to 1% lye; 5-10 grams lye per liter of water.
Note: Use a SS or an (unchipped) enameled pot. Stay a long way away from aluminum when using lye.
g
Thanks, Gary. Yeah, I did soak them for awhile. I am pondering maybe just soaking and "baking" a few minutes... doing this a few times to kind of help "break" them in. This was the first time they had been used and I am wondering if they will get better with time. I will try the Lye bath with those numbers. I was going to use SS pans for the lye bath.
While I always use lye with pretzels, traditionally bagels use either malt extract or honey in the boil. The latter are certainly easier and non-caustic.
Wally
I recently made a lovely almost no-knead sourdough loaf with 90g light beer subbing for some of the water (delish) and have some left over in the fridge.
I need to make another batch of bagels.and am wondering if i can sub some of the water with the beer? Has anyone ever tried this?
Tip: I went to a local bakery that makes real (expensive!) bagels and asked if they would sell me some of their high gluten flour. Left with a 5 lb bag for less than $5 - and my bagels have been fabulous ever since.