Bagels?

[pnj]

Anyone have any good recipes for Bagels?

[Bill/SFNM]

I make bagels often using the recipe from Nancy Silverton's "Breads from the La Brea Bakery", a book I highly recommend. I've strayed from the recipe somewhat, but it is a great starting point.

Bill/SFNM

[pnj]

I have made them a number of times, but I think they can be better.

they seem a bit hard, not real chewy. if I don't bake them as long, they come out uncooked.

Should I boil them longer? I boil about one minute...
I'm using basicly a pizza dough, but I use honey.

[Bill/SFNM]

pnj,

Everyone's taste is different in bagels (and pizzas!), but for me a bagel is never hard, but definitely chewy and somewhat dense. My pizza dough is nothing like my bagel dough which includes hi-gluten flour, sugar, malt syrup, and dry milk. Also, my bagel dough is much stiffer at 49% hydration vs. 62% for pizza.

Here is the breakdown of bakers' percentage by weight:

flour 100% (including starter)
water 49% (including starter)
sugar 5%
dry milk 5%
salt 1.5%
Barley malt syrup 5%
starter 5% of total mass


I boil about 30 seconds on each side. The boiling is to produce a thin, shiny, chewy crust.

Bill/SFNM