May 25, 2023 - 5:32pm
Degassing Bagels
Hi everyone,
My bagels are turning out airy and fluffy, even though my dough hydration is 50 percent and I only rest for ten minutes after shaping. Could this be because I struggle degassing the dough enough
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I’ve struggled with this. Any rise before shaping resulted in big voids in the bagels. The best solution I’ve found so far is to mix using cold water from the refrigerator so as to minimize the rise that takes place prior to shaping (and storing the dough in the fridge while shaping larger batches)
Do you shape before refrigerating? Or do you shape and then boil?
I shape, then allow to rise till a test piece just floats, then refrigerate, then boil.
I guess I’ve always done it in the order I described. If nothing else this has the advantage of having bagels ready to boil and bake in the morning when they come out of the fridge.
Curious what differences you’d have from rising after refrigeration and if you’ve tried both ways.
Sorry I have never done it any other way. The only “rise” they should need is the overnight proof in the refrigerator. They won’t look like bread after proofing i.e. spongy bounce back but do float test with one before you boil and as long as it floats they are ready. After boiling they may even look flat but you should get good oven spring. Wish I had pictures of the steps but here’s some finished. Best of luck
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May I also ask how you get your bagels so round and perfect. My hand rolled bagels always look like an oval with a bow.