Bagels: BBA Challenge

It's Day 3 of the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge! Today, we're making bagels. You can make any flavor you like but I decided to make the cinnamon raisin bagels - yummy!

This bagel recipe uses the sponge technique to give the bagels a better flavor and texture. It also helps the bagels to freeze and thaw better. This method takes 2 days due to the extended fermentation time and the time needed to retard the bagels in the refrigerator before baking, but it's definitely worth the extra effort to fit it in your schedule.

I've made bagels before using a different recipe and technique and I wasn't too impressed. However, I really like the method outlined in the Bread Baker's Apprentice. It's easy and the bagels taste great!

For a different type of bagel that uses a variation of this formula, check out Sourdough Bagels on My Mind.

"According to folklore, bagels were invented in seventeenth-century Austria as a tribute to the wartime victories of King Jan of Poland, and were modeled after the stirrup of his saddle. They were a bread for the masses, popular also in Germany and Poland, but they were introduced into the United States by German and Polish Jewish immigrants, so we think of them as a Jewish bread. Now, because of the softer steamed versions, bagels have once again become a bread for the masses." -- Peter Reinhart The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Let's get baking!

If you're following along with us, turn to page 115 in the Bread Baker's Apprentice to locate the recipe and list of ingredients. In this section, Peter Reinhart provides a very good commentary on different techniques for making bagels. I didn't realize how many different schools of thought there are for making bagels. I just know I like them.

I decided to make these bagels by hand, but you can use a stand mixer if you prefer.


Day 1: Making the Sponge

Stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture become very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.





Day 1: Making the dough

In the same mixing bowl, add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. I'm making the cinnamon raisin bagels so I added more yeast and cinnamon and sugar at this point.




Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. I didn't have any malt, so I used honey as the instructions suggested. The bagels turned out just fine but next time I would like to make them with the malt to see what difference it makes in the flavor.  Stir until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough.




Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. All the ingredients should be hydrated. If the dough seems to dry, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.






Day 1: Shaping the bagels

Divide the dough into 4 1/2-ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. I ended up with a baker's dozen since the raisins made them weigh a little more.






Form the pieces into rolls (see page 82 for detailed instructions on shaping into rolls).





Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil.

Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough.





Gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible.






Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pans. Mist the bagels very lightly with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.






Day 1: Retarding the bagels in the refrigerator


You can check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the "float test". Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water.

My test bagel floated within 10 seconds. It was pretty cool!

Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the test bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

Here's what the bagels look like after being in the refrigerator all night.

Day 2: Ready to bake the bagels

The following day (or when you're ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the two racks in the middle of the oven.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer ready. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as can comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds).





After 1 minute flip them over and boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side.





While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. If you want to top the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the oven. Since I'm making cinnamon raisin bagels, I won't be using any garnishes on the top.





When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation.





After rotating the pans, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown (or darker if you prefer). Remove the pans from the oven.





Let the bagels cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.






Enjoy!





Thanks for joining us this week in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge.


Stay tuned for Day 4 of the Bread Baking Challenge:

Next time, we'll be making Brioche. Depending on which version you want to make, you'll need plenty of eggs and butter. I've made the middle-class brioche before and it was so rich, I'm going to try the Poor Man's Brioche this time.


Happy Baking!
Cathy

No Knead Four-Grain Pot Bread

This week in the bread baking blog, we're making an interesting pot bread that utilizes a combination four types of grains: cornmeal, rolled oats, rye flour and all-purpose or bread flour. This rustic, crisp-crusted pot bread has a light color and a subtle, grain taste. It goes with most anything.

It is a very easy bread that requires no kneading, but takes a couple of days to make due to the longer fermentation time needed to develop the flavor and texture of the bread. Eventhough the entire process takes two days, don't let that scare you...it just requires a little bit of planning to allow for the longer rising times. The dough is resting (fermenting) for most of that time.

We started the process yesterday and will finish the loaf today.


Easy Four-Grain Pot Boule
Makes: 1 large loaf (12 to 14 portions or slices)
Recipe is from Kneadlessly Simple (p. 50-51) by Nancy Baggett.




Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups (16.25 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1/2 cup yellow or white cornmeal, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick cooking (not instant) oats
• 1/2 cup light or dark rye flour (if unavailable, substitute 2 tablespoons each more cornmeal and oats)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Generous 2 teaspoons table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
• 2 cups ice water, plus more if needed
• Corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil or oil spray for coating dough

Directions:

Day 1: First Rise (15 to 28 hours)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, oats, rye flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Add the water to the bowl and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides until the ingredients are blended completely.



If the mixture is too dry to incorporate all the flour, add more ice water, a little bit at a time, to blend the ingredients; however, don't over moisten. The dough should be fairly stiff. If necessary, stir in more flour to stiffen the dough slightly. I ended up adding a little bit more water and then a little more flour before I got the right consistency.


Brush or spray the top with oil.





Cover the dough with plastic wrap.




For best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours.

I refrigerated my dough for about 4 hours.

Then let the dough rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. If it's convenient, you can stir the dough vigorously partway through the rise. I let mine sit last night until about 10am this morning.





Day 2: Second Rise

Use an oiled rubber spatula to gently lift and fold the dough in towards the center all the way around. The dough should be mostly deflated; however don't stir.








Brush or spray with oil




and recover with plastic wrap.




Use one of the following methods to let the dough rise:

• For a 1 1/2- to 2 1/2- hour regular rise, let stand at room temperature (This is the method I used);

• For a 1- to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water;

• Or, for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature.

Continue the rise until the dough doubles from the deflated size, removing the plastic if the dough nears it.





Preparing to bake:

Put a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees about 20 minutes before baking time. Heat a 3 1/2- to 4-quart (or larger) heavy metal pot in the oven until sizzling hot (check with a few drops of water), then remove it with heavy mitts.

I don't have a 3 1/2 to 4-quart pot so I used a larger pot.

Loosen the dough from the sides of the bowl using an oiled spatula and being careful not to deflate it. Gently invert the dough into the pot. It doesn't matter if it's lopsided, it will even out during baking.




Spritz or brush the top with water, then sprinkle with a tablespoon of cornmeal. Using a well-oiled serrated knife or kitchen shears, cut a 1/2-inch-deep, 4-inch diameter circle in the loaf center.  Immediately put the lid on. Shake the pot back and forth to center the dough.






Baking:

Reduce the heat to 425 degrees. Bake on the lower rack for 50 minutes. Remove the lid. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the top is well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until center registers 210 degrees to 212 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).








Then bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes.





Remove the loaf to the rack. Cool thoroughly. The bread has cooled and now it's time to test it!

Serving:

You can tear or cut this loaf into portions. The loaf tastes good warm with butter but it will cut better when cooled. I decided to cut it instead of tearing it! Here goes nothing! Mmmm...this is pretty good!




Storing:

Cool the loaf completely before storing. If you want to maintain the crisp crust, store in a large bowl draped with a clean tea towel or in a heavy paper bag. Or store airtight in a plastic bag or foil. The crust is a little too crunchy for me so I plan to store it in a plastic bag so the crust will soften up a little.

The bread will keep at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.


Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog. We hope you'll join us next time.
Happy Baking!
Cathy

Greek Celebration Bread: BBA Challenge

Today in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, we're making Greek Celebration Bread. This is an enriched bread made from a master formula that utilizes a barm or poolish.




You can make several different breads from the master formula: Greek Celebration Bread, Christopsomos, and Lambropsomo. I chose to make the basic bread. The formula uses a wild yeast starter, along with a little commercial yeast, to create an authentic-tasting, yet manageable, bread. If you don't have any barm, you can replace it with an equal amount of poolish. The fermentation and proofing times will remain the same. I've been out of town the past few days so I didn't have time to make the barm so I'll be using a poolish.

If you're interested in learning how to make a different type of Greek Celebration Bread, check out this Greek Easter Bread.


Let's get baking!

If you're following along with us, turn to page 111 in the Bread Baker's Apprentice to locate the recipe and list of ingredients.


Morning Day 1: Prepare the Poolish

You can make the poolish the night before and put it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. Or, if you want to make the bread the same day, do what I did and start the poolish in the morning before work (7:30 am) and make the bread after work. To make the poolish (p. 106), stir together the flour, water, and yeast in a mixing bowl until all of the flour is hydrated. The dough should be soft and sticky and look like thick pancake batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, or until the sponge becomes bubbly and foamy.

Here is what the poolish looks like after fermenting at room temperature for several hours. You can see it's bubbly and foamy. I think it's really cool the way that works!

Immediately refrigerate it. It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. I let my poolish sit on the counter until about Noon and then I put it in the refrigerator.


Evening Day 1: Prepare the Dough and Bake the Bread

Remove the measured amount of poolish 1 hour before making the dough. I removed my poolish at 5:00pm so it would be ready at 6:00pm.

This is what the poolish looks like after being dechilled for an hour.

Stir together the flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). I decided to make this bread by hand rather than using the mixer. You really don't need a mixer for this one - it's easy!


Add the barm or poolish, the extracts, eggs, honey, oil, and milk. Stir together with a sturdy spoon until the dough forms a ball. I started out using a wooden spoon but switched to my danish dough whisk because the dough was a little too thick for the spoon.




Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more milk or flour as needed to form the dough into a soft, but not sticky, ball. It should be tacky and very supple. Knead for approximately 10 minutes.

It was very humid today so I had to add more flour to get my dough to be tacky but not sticky.





Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, and roll it around to coat it with oil.





Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temperature for 90 minutes or until it doubles in size. It took about an hour and 15 minutes for the dough to double in size.





Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a boule (refer to p. 72 for detailed instructions on how to do this). First you shape the dough into an oblong shape.




Then fold the ends under to form a ball.





Then you pinch the bottom seams to make a tight ball. Then, transfer it to a sheet pan that has been lined with parchment. Mist the dough with spray oil. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Proof the boule at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size. It only took my dough an hour which was fine by me. I didn't want to stay up all night.





Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown. It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.






I left it another couple of minutes and then thumped. It sounded hollow to me. Here is the finished loaf cooling on a wire rack. It's huge! And, beautiful! I probably should've made two loaves, but from the way this looks, I don't think it will last long anyway.



You can glaze the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven, if desired.  To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract and turn off the heat. Brush the loaf with the glaze




Immediately sprinkle the loaf with sesame seeds. Transfer the bread to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.




Here is the sliced loaf. I was right! It is delicious! My son likes it too! Definitely won't last long.



Thanks for joining us this week in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge.

Stay tuned for Day 3 of the Bread Baking Challenge. Next time, we'll be making bagels.

Happy Baking!
Cathy