RWC SD Bagels (2nd attempt)

Today (well, and yesterday) was time for round 2 of my sourdough bagels.  The last batch were ok, but very dense, and HARD!!  So, I changed two things this time around.  I upped the hydration to 61% (from 59%), and I let the bagels proof at room temp for about 90 minutes after shaping.  The rest of the process I left the same, and, with the bagels now out of the oven, I think I'm on the right track.  Oh, wait, I did also add 25g sugar, so I guess I changed three things!  Here's what I did.....

Preferment/Levain - 339g

31g Starter from fridge

155g Freshly milled Hard Red Spring WW

155g Water

Dough

753g AP Flour

393g Water

339g Levain

25g Sugar

19g Salt

Total Dough - 1488

Total Flour - 923

Total Water - 563

Total Hydration - 61%

Process:

Build levain, and let rise at room temp for 10-12 hours (not quite what I did, as I was building levain for two bakes)

Mix levain with dough water in mixing bowl, then add flour/salt and mix together well

Knead 10-20 minutes, or until dough is soft and smooth

Ferment at room temp for 1.5 hours, then overnight in the fridge

Remove from fridge, scale to 120g, and form bagels

Allow to proof on parchment lined baking sheet for 1.5 hour

Simmer in water (with malt powder) for 1 minute per side, remove and top if desired

Bake at 475F for 35 minutes on baking stone

Remove, cool, slice, eat

Here are a few pics from along the way.

My fed starter after about 4 hours (made enough for a sourdough loaf, too):

Bagels formed (I did a more even job this time):

Bagels simmered, then topped:

Bagels out of the oven (need to work on browning):

Crumb shot:

All in all, I think that this version turned out better.  The dough was very similar, but felt a bit easier to work this time around.  The longer proof time before simmering definitely made a difference as the bagels floated in my water almost immediately.....last time they sank and I had to keep them from sticking on the bottom (shallow pot.)  I'd like them to get more brown, but that's just an aesthetic.  The flavor is about where I want it.  Just a slight sourdough tang, and the crumb, though on the dense side, is what I think of as a New York'ish bagel.  Pretty happy with these, though I'm sure the next run may have a tweak or two.

Thanks for looking!  If you try these out, let us know how it goes, and any changes you make.

Rich

PS: Oh, and here's the sourdough loaf (10% whole wheat, 10% semolina, 5% rye):