I have a question on retardation. My first and very recent bagel adventure was the very simple KAF recipe - no sponge. I'm a poolish guy in just about everything I do, but I stuck to the KAF method for simplicity - I was more focused on the now laughable concern over boiling. What took me so long. The KAF was a four cup that turned to 4.5 cups. I should have made ten smaller bagels instead of the prescribed 8. Darn tasty bagels but not where I want to be yet.
So, round two I followed Floyd M's approach and did a sponge/poolish, and made bagels the next day. They were better than round 1 KAFs, but I'm still not quite there.
Rather than just an overnight starter/sponge, I want to make the dough and cold ferment it overnight. The question I have is whether to form the bagel dough as individual balls and refrigerate, or to form the bagels and refrigerate. I know - a minor detail, but I'm curious about shaping/handling after the cold ferment versus pre-shaping before refrigerating. Frigde space is at a premium.
Any thoughts? Always appreciated.
winer
definitly retard the dough post-shape. Not only because this is traditional, but because it is much easier to work with dough when it is room temp vs. cold. I feel that the bagels will hold together better if they have been retarded post-shape, less floppy, and less likely to detatch themselves, becoming horse-shoes.
Some would call me a New Yorker transplanted to Northern California. I lived in the New York City area for about 40 years. We'd a bunch of bagelries in my town and oodles more in the county. Not atypically, I loved the bagels of a particular bagel shop which, luckily, was in my hometown of New Rochelle. When I moved to California I was appalled by what they call bagels here. So I sought out my own path. It's the recipe in Hamelman's Bread. That recipe, which calls for forming the bagels prior to the cold ferment, makes bagels which I cannot distinguish from those I came to love in New Rochelle. So I'm happy with that path. I sometimes let the cold ferment go lots longer. I wonder whether I'm imagining that the taste's a little better.
for SD bagels. I use Stan Ginsberg's method. They say you don't need to let them proof on the counter before hitting the fridge but I have found an hour proof before hitting the cold is better. i don't bake commercial yeast bagels but have made YW ones the same way.
Well I guess it's unanimous then - form and chill it is.
It appears my project will be delayed. Nary a whiff of malt syrup in the area (there is that micro-brewery guy ... hmm) so I'll have to mail order something in. The minor curse that accompanies small town life. No problem.
While we're at it - how do you folks prefer to shape?. I used the "poke a hole and twirl" method which I found strangely entertaining.
Thanks to all!
Since I have to mail order malt powder, I want to make sure I'm getting the right stuff. In my reading, I'm a little confused regarding the use of diastatic or non-diastatic. As I understand it, the diastatic will help rise and lift, but yield a slightly softer chew (why would I want that in a bagel?)... On the other hand the non-diastatic adds color and flavor during the boil. It's also hard to find. Thoughts?