Interestingly, I dove into a first stab at bagel making. I narrowed down my internet research to 3 recipes and ultimately chose the one that looked to take the least amount of time (i.e. hours vs days).
I yeasted, floured, kneaded, etc etc, leading up to shaping and boiling and finally baking. I was convinced by the time I entered the boiling stage that this was going to be a flop. The dough was sticky and stringy and not holding shape. But I pressed on and ultimately pulled them from the oven, just before Chef Husband came home from a meeting.
Until next time...
The 2-1/2 hour process actually yielded pretty good results. They tasted really good, despite their misshapen appearance. Back to the internet to get some troubleshooting advice. It looks most likely that the recipe didn’t call for enough working of the dough to give it enough gluten strengthening.
Gotta works those gluts! I’m pretty proud of the first attempt. Rave reviews from Chef Husband and Little Chef (our son Isaac). Even Chef Husband shared that he had never attempted to make a bagel. Feeling brave!
(P.S. the wild yeast Levain had bubbles tonight and was starting to sour, yeah!!!)
Until next time...
Culinarily Yours,