First time posting! Pretty happy with my bagels
Made a big batch of everything and cinnamon raisin so that I could work on shaping as this seems to be where I was fucking up.
I think even though you can get a really nice bagel by rolling into a log with tapered ends and then rerolling around your hand, it can produce inconsistent results. I think poking a hole and stretching the bagel around the hole seems the way to go!
Any other feedback is appreciated:)
16 Sourdough Bagels (8 plain, 8 cinnamon raisin)
Using stiff starter + stand mixer
Starter build:
20g stiff starter
160g strong white bread flour
80g water
Mix into a firm dough ball and leave 3–5 hrs until slightly domed and airy inside.
Dough:
1000g strong white bread flour
520g water
250g active stiff starter
20g salt
40g sugar or honey
Cinnamon raisin additions (for half the dough):
120–150g raisins (soaked + dried)
10g cinnamon
optional 15g brown sugar
Method:
In stand mixer bowl, combine water + torn starter pieces.
Add flour + sugar and mix on speed 1 until shaggy.
Add salt.
Knead on speed 2 for ~8–10 mins total (with a short rest halfway if mixer struggling).
Divide dough in half.
Mix raisins/cinnamon into one half on lowest speed briefly, then finish by hand if needed.
Bulk ferment covered for ~4–5 hrs in cool kitchen, until about 50% risen.
Divide into 16 pieces (~115g each).
Pre-shape balls, rest covered 10 mins.
Roll ropes (~20–25cm), wrap around hand, overlap ends well and seal firmly.
Refrigerate covered overnight (12–24 hrs).
Next day:
Float test — bagels should float within ~10 sec. If not, leave out 30–60 mins.
Boil in water with:
1 tbsp honey/sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Boil 30–45 sec per side.
Optional: egg wash cinnamon raisin bagels.
Bake at 220°C (200°C fan) for 20–25 mins.
Tips:
Dough should be VERY stiff.
Don’t skip the 10 min bench rest before shaping.
Seal bagel seams aggressively or they’ll open during boiling.