sourdough bagels

I seldom eat bagels.

My first bagel was purchased at Starbucks. They asked if you wanted a small tub of spreadable cream cheese to go with your bagel. Oh definitely…

Starbuck’s bagel came in a few flavors. I usually ordered cinnamon or plain. Chewy and sometimes a bit tough, they were quite filling and worth the price paid, comparing with all the other options to be had at Starbucks.

So when I made these bagels, I expected the bagels to turn out hard and chewy, probably kind of like eating a rubbery bread.

Sourdough bagels (from Wild Yeast)

349 grams strong bread flour
121 grams cold water
28 grams milk powder
16.4 grams non-diastatic malt powder (I used brown sugar)
10.1 grams salt
301 grams active 100% hydration sourdough starter
1 tablespoon baking soda for water to boil bagels

Add everything except baking soda into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until a rough dough is formed.
Mix on medium-low speed until a smooth strong rubbery dough is formed.
Turn the dough on an unfloured counter top and knead for a few minutes. Form the dough into a ball, cover with cling wrap or a clean towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, cover with cling wrap or a clean towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Roll each piece into a cylinder about 8 inches long. Overlap about 2 inches of the ends and using your palm, lightly seal the ends by rolling the ends with your palm on the counter top. If dough is dry, spritz a bit of water to make for easier handling and to help with sticking the ends together.
Place the bagels on lightly greased baking sheets and proof at room temperature for about 4 hours, until bagels are puffy. I did this at night, with a room temperature range of 27-28 C.
Cover the tray of bagels with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 4-8 hours.
Preheat oven to 220 C and put a large pot of water to boil. Prepare baking soda.
Once water is on a rolling boil, add in baking soda. It will fizzle and balloon upwards slightly.
Add 2-3 bagels into the pot for 20 seconds each. If the bagel floats, count off 10 seconds before flipping over for the remaining 10 seconds. Remove bagel using a slotted spoon and cool for 20 seconds on the rack.
Place bagel on a lightly greased and semolina sprinkled baking sheet.
Bake for 24-26 minutes until golden brown. Once bagels are in the oven, turn down temperature to 200 C.
Cool on a wire rack.