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Beverly Wants REAL Bagels

"Frederick J. Krall" <fkrall@att.net>
Mon, 17 Jun 2002 18:36:18 -0400
v102.n026.19
Beverly said:

 > It is my understanding that in order to make REAL bagels, malt is needed.
 > I'm still looking for REAL bagels, instead of the "rolls with a hole" that
 > are so easily available--both fresh and frozen.

Beverly, you'll probably get an avalanche of favorite bagel recipes.  I 
keep evolving mine, and my current favorite is Rinehart's, from the Bread 
Baker's Apprentice.  Malt is important for the malty taste (non-diastatic 
malt) or crust appearance and texture (diastatic malt), but I agree with 
Rinehart that the real keys are overnight fermentation to bring out the 
flavor and a minimally hydrated dough to stand up to the boiling.  With 
Rinehart's recipe, I must finish it by hand, as the dough is too stiff for 
the K5A.  If the dough is really stiff, I let my wife finish it to build up 
her biceps, while I watch television.

I've not yet tried a high-gluten flour, like King Arthur's 14% protein 
(available only by mail order), but that should make them even better.  At 
a minimum, use bread flour, not all-purpose flour.

My gold standard is Murray's Bagels in NYC, and these are pretty close, in 
my opinion.

Rick Krall