Bagels - Day 2

So ever since I worked at the bakery I have been on a somewhat weird sleeping pattern, never being able to really sleep past 4 or 5 am. Some people think it's crazy, but one of my favorite things is being up in the middle of the night when everything is quite and still. So this morning I was up at 4:15 to pull the bagels out of the fridge to proof - and when I say proof, I basically mean the final resting/rising period for the dough in the fermentation process. This recipe called for the bagels to proof until they pass the float test which you can try after 60 or 90 minutes or so.
The float test is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: when the bagel floats in in cold water, it is ready for poaching and then baking. And as I said before, if you can mix some dough up and boil some water then you can make bagels. The poaching process is boiling up some water and adding honey, salt, and baking soda and then taking the water down to a simmer. After that, you poach the shaped bagels in the simmering water for about a minute on each side. Then place on an oiled parchment lined cookie sheet and bake according to the recipe - here it is about 8 minutes, rotate, another 8 minutes.
Once you get a solid recipe down for your basic plain bagel, have at it in terms of experimenting with different flavors. I've winged it on all the times I've made the Cinnamon Raisin and Asiago Cheese bagels in terms of adding the cinnamon, raisins, and cheese. I've found that the more liberal you are, the better. For Cinnamon Raisin, you add the cinnamon at the first step with the flour and then mix in the raisins as you are mixing the dough until you get a what you are looking for. For Asiago Cheese, you load on the cheese as soon as the bagels are done poaching.
I'll be playing with this recipe over the next couple of weeks and hope to post my own modified recipe for Chocolate Chip Bagels by the end of the month - probably for a batch of 12.

Monday, November 1st: Bagels

I'll admit, I have been trying out some of these recipes for a few weeks now so the first few posts here will hopefully all go over well. Today, I decided to go with bagels, a batch of Cinnamon Raisin and a batch of Asiago Cheese. At first I was intimidated by the idea of making bagels, but if you can make a simple loaf of bread and boil water, then you can make bagels my friend.
Out of respect for Peter Reinhart (and copyright laws), I obviously won't be posting the details of the recipe, but you should seriously consider picking up Peter's books Artisan Breads Everyday or The Bread Baker's Apprentice, both of which are excellent sources of knowledge and tips for making some amazingly awesome breads. I liked the opening of The Bread Baker's Apprentice a bit more, but Artisan Breads Everyday really gets down to brass tacks and give simple to follow directions and explains some basic skills needed for making artisan quality breads in a way that most anyone can understand.
Another great thing about Artisan Breads Everyday is that most of the recipes use slow fermentation or cold fermentation, so almost all the recipes I have made so far have a been a two day process. For me, this has been great because I get all the mixing a prep done on day one, and then on day two I have the fun of waking up early and proofing the dough and then enjoying the great smells and satisfaction that comes from fresh baked breads and pastries.
So today's post is about bagels and how easy they are. Besides the simple ingredients of flour, salt, and yeast, bagels include either honey or malt syrup. I have been using honey and they have turned out great for me. And the simplicity of hydrating the yeast with the salt and honey and then just adding to the flour makes the whole process a breeze.

Side note: anytime I have ever heard of KitchenAid mixers being brought up in conversation, I never hear people say, "Oh, I like my mixer," or "It's okay." They always say, "I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer, I absolutely LOVE it." Seriously, that exact quote like every time. So I finally broke down and bought one and used it for the first time tonight. And holy crap, I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer.

Back to the bagels. Shaping is easily the best part. Reinhart describes two methods, one method is to poke a hole in each divided piece of dough and the other method is to roll out the divided pieces of dough and then wrap them around your hand. Of the two, I have found that the second method produces a bagel with a smooth crust and perfect shape. After shaping, the bagels go in the fridge for up to two days to enjoy the cold fermentation process.
Come back on Wednesday to see day two of bagel making which is when we get to have some real fun and poach them!