Yeast-Raised Breads and Rolls

Appears in

Baking & Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft

Published 2015

About

When flour, water, yeast, and salt are worked together in the correct proportions for the appropriate amount of time and at the right temperature, proper gluten structure develops. The bread baker knows that the ingredients play a key role in the quality of the dough, as do the mixing and fermentation methods. The techniques in this chapter take the bread-baking process up through a finished dough.

Bagels

To make bagels successfully, a few guidelines must be kept in mind. It is important to use high-gluten flour and malt syrup in the dough. The high-gluten flour helps to develop the characteristic chewiness of a bagel. And the malt syrup contains enzymes that help break down the carbohydrates in the flour into sugars, further developing the texture and flavor of the bagels.

Bagel dough is very tight and dry. The dough should be mixed until it is very smooth. This extensive mixing will make the dough slightly tacky even though it contains little water.

Unlike most other breads, bagels should be shaped immediately after the dough is mixed. Then the bagels should be retarded overnight to develop flavor and relax the gluten.

Following retarding, they are poached in a mixture of water and malt. The poaching activates the yeast, and the water that remains on the bagels results in the sheen on the surface of the bagels; but most important, since the starches are gelatinized before going into the oven, they seal in moisture, creating a chewy bagel. The bagels must first dry slightly before they are put directly on the deck, or they will stick.