So earlier this week I did a second attempt at bagels. I wanted to see if I could fix the problems I had during the first time: getting the dough into a more cohesive ring, and baking the toppings into the dough better.
Last time I blamed my problems on having to divide my attention between the baking and Sophie (and I guess the fact that it was my first time too) but it turns out no, something's just off.
Even though I got to work on the dough as soon as it was ready to roll it and form it into the rings, it was still already somewhat spongey and still really hard to get it to connect. It did turn out better, but I'm wondering if something's off with my dough because of how difficult it was to work with.
Last time, my sesame seeds just poured off whenever I tried to cut the bagel to toast, so I thought maybe I needed to press them into the dough more before baking. However, as I tried again this time, it dawned on me how I'm going to have to go about it another way. You have to boil the bagels before you bake them - it helps add that harder, crustier outer level while keeping the inside doughy. So, once it's boiled, nothing really "takes" on the outside, and I couldn't press them in. I'm not really sure how to alleviate this, because I feel like having them on before you boil, they would just wash right off. I guess I have some more research to do. I don't mind, but basically, still troubleshooting this recipe!
This time I had roasted garlic as a topping too... mmmm....
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