I made Hamelman's bagels last night same as always, except used Bioreal yeast for the first time. This recipe has always turned out well. The shaped bagels had an overnight chill and have been rising at room temp (about 70) for 2 hours (usually takes about 1/2 hour), and still won't pass the float test. Last night's dough was fine, firm and very elastic, had a good rise after 1 hour BF. Do I just boil and bake, or give them more time? I read that Bioreal can take a bit longer. I turned off the oven and water an hour ago as nothing was happening.
My Poolish with Bioreal was nice and bubbly this morning, and I just mixed a batch of Forkish 50% whole wheat, so we'll see how this dough goes. Can TFL get a 1-800 line like Butterball for bread emergencies? Thanks!
Mont, I am by no means a pro (making a post of my bagels right after this), but I never do the float test. I just let them rise for a few minutes after forming and put them in the boiling solution. Usually they sink at first, and float within a couple of seconds.
Jamie
There was no sign of proofing after 2+ hours out of the fridge, so I boiled my mini test bagel. A dense blob of dough emerged, so didn't bother baking (flashbacks of my first bagels 10 years ago, inedible). The Bioreal obviously wasn't working any longer. Decided there was nothing to lose by trying to salvage, and I didn't want to waste the sprouted red fife. I used the shaped bagels like a 95% pre-ferment (should have made another half batch of dough to reduce that ratio, but was out of fridge space for more pans), hydrated the recipe amount of SAF instant plus a pinch more, and worked it into a new dough with a bit more high-protein Giusto's, malt and salt. Doubled in an hour, shaped new bagels, chilled overnight. Boiled and baked this morning. They aren't my best, but have some chewiness and decent height.
The bread dough I used Bioreal on also didn't perform as usual. Same flour combo and bags from the freezer as 2 & 3 weeks ago - good bakes then. I'm glad I added a small amount of SAF to it once I realized the bagels had a problem. Did 2 extra S & F and dough was increasingly elastic. Got OK loaves with some gelatinization & small bubbles, thin crisp crust.
I'm going to do a single loaf test with Bioreal using plain bread flour. If that fails, then it's the Bioreal (which I just got, and doesn't expire until next year). Anybody else had similar issues with it? Water was 78 degrees, yeast was weighed & mixed with the flour, salt dissolved in water.