I’ve been wanting to bake up some sourdough bagels so …. I did. I mixed up the dough which was a stiff dough, using Northwest starter and let it proof:
I made up the bagels using 4 oz of dough for each bagel:
After they were done proofing, I simmered them in water which had salt and malt syrup added to it. Then I brushed on an egg glaze and sprinkled on a topping of onion flakes, poppy seeds or nothing. Then into the oven and:
This batch made about 28 bagels, and here is a picture of the inside:
You really need sourdough to make a great bagel!
if you are adventurous in the kitchen, and aren’t afraid of chemicals, commercial bakeries don’t boil the bagels before baking, they soak them in a bath of water and Lye. This gelatinizes the starch on the outside and is what causes even, deep browning. If you don’t want to mess around with Lye (since it can be dangerous and cause nasty burns if not handled correctly), try your normal method, but instead of salt use Baking Soda. It will adjust the Ph level of the bath (not as much as the lye), and yield much better browning. Same thing works with Pretzels.