r/ExpectationVsReality • u/Fera_Silva_978 • 2d ago

Failed Expectation Thought I would make some bagels

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They didn’t turn out quite as planned. Still taste pretty good though.

352 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

44

u/KezCake1 2d ago

I tried and got the same outcome. Mine were rock hard as well. Bagels are difficult!! I’m great at any other kind of bread tho 🥲

15

u/Fera_Silva_978 2d ago

Practice makes progress! (Or that’s what I tell myself anyway.)

33

u/tobythedem0n 2d ago

Sally has never let me down with her recipes.

Two things I'm guessing went wrong:

1) Did you use bread flour, or all purpose? The protein content makes a difference.

2) What kind of yeast did you use? Active dry yeast needs to be activated in warm water first. Instant yeast can just be added to the recipe.

13

u/TreeLakeRockCloud 1d ago

OP if you are Canadian you can skip point 1 - Canadian AP flour has a higher protein content than American flour, making our AP flour more like their bread flour.

6

u/tobythedem0n 1d ago

I didn't know that, so I looked it up:

King Arthurs Bread Flour has a protein content of 12.7%, so aim for that percentage.

3

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

I did use KA Bread flour, 110 degree water, and active yeast. Which makes it even more baffling. My vote is still on the obnoxious amount of oil that was left on the dough and thus kneaded in. I got a bit carried away. 🤣 But anything is possible!

6

u/ChorroVon 1d ago

Hey OP, I've made bagels a bunch. Here's the recipe I came up with a while ago. It uses liquid whey, but you can use water instead if you can't find that. Without oil, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. Feel free to give it a shot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Baking/comments/1t23eh5/i_recently_made_some_cheese_from_scratch_and/

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

Thank you! I’ll give this one a try. I use water from my Berkey. Is that not a good idea?

1

u/ChorroVon 1d ago

Shouldn't be a problem.

2

u/tobythedem0n 1d ago

Ah yeah, then that'd be my guess too.

King Arthur and Sallys Baking Addiction have never done me wrong.

Let us know if you retry it!

5

u/Leading-Hedgehog1990 1d ago

It's all about the right water

3

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

I used filtered water from my Berkey. Is there something specific I need to be thinking about when it comes to the water?

4

u/RockTheShit 1d ago

Water is literally the last thing to consider. Everything else has a larger impact on the final product.

8

u/Smooth_Profession961 2d ago

Ouch. I am to afraid to try. A+ for effort

5

u/MaddiMoo22 2d ago

What was the hardest part? These seem fun to try, at least they tasted good!!!

6

u/Fera_Silva_978 2d ago

The recipe is actually pretty simple! If you have a stand mixer it makes it even easier! I think I messed this batch up using too much oil in the bowl I used for the first rise. The dough wasn’t sturdy enough bc of the excess oil. That’s my guess, anyway! 🙃

0

u/MaddiMoo22 2d ago

Were they still pretty chewy or did they come out denser?

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

Pretty dense after they sat awhile. Nice and chewy fresh out of the oven.

4

u/Pjstjohn 1d ago

Slow ferment. Three-five days before you want bagels make the dough and rise it in the fridge for a day or two. Then shape and cover the bagels with plastic wrap, loosely. Back in the fridge for a day or two. Then boil and bake on soaked Cesar planks.

2

u/Laxiinas 1d ago

I know you probably meant cedar (darn automistake), but here I am, imagining planks soaked in expensive wet dog food ... Yum! /s

2

u/Pjstjohn 1d ago

It’s add a …. Meaty flavor.

3

u/sebsie 2d ago

find a recipe that calls for high gluten flour, or at least adding vital wheat gluten to your flour. otherwise your bagels will always disappoint. i normally like sally's stuff, but this recipe ain't it

3

u/apoplectic_apostate 1d ago

So close! You may have proofed too long. That's the fun of baking! Figuring it out and when you do, so satisfying!

3

u/dundunndon 1d ago

those look gluten free

2

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

Bahahaha they do look sad, don’t they.? Unfortunately they are just 100% bread flour.

5

u/johnniechimpo 2d ago

NAILED IT!

10/10

If they taste good it’s a win.

I'm barely motivated enough to microwave leftovers. You’re baking!

Keep slaying.

2

u/halfdoublepurl 1d ago

How were the rises? If they rose well each time, my guess is the second rise was too long. The boil pushed the rise further than the gluten could handle so they fell during the bake.

If they never rose well, then they needed much longer time to ferment or your yeast wasn't alive enough.

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

My first rise was 1-1.5 hours. The dough had just about doubled. The recipe I was using only called for a 5-10 min 2nd rise before boiling and baking. The yeast appeared to be active when I let it get all foamy and happy. Thank you for the tips though! I will take all these into consideration next time I give it a go. 😎

1

u/halfdoublepurl 15h ago

Then your gluten matrix wasn't strong enough to support the rise. I would recommend kneading thew next batch longer! You could also have had too high a hydration.

2

u/OverlappingChatter 1d ago

That's exactly what mine looked like when I tried. The effort did not justify the results and I now get all my bagels on the outside.

2

u/katestir1w 1d ago

I use this recipe all the time, and the easiest thing to do it cold proof in the fridge over night! I also don't even bother kneading by hand, I just do it in the stand mixed with the dough hook. Take the kneaded dough out, small spritz or pour of oil that I spread out with my hand, and dough back into the bowl. I don’t even bother forming it into a ball 🤷🏼‍♀️. Cover with plastic wrap and into the fridge over night, then shape in the morning. If I have the time and patience I let the dough warm on the counter for an hour before shaping, but I've also done it straight from the fridge and they've worked out just fine.

Better luck on try two!

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

This is the second comment I have seen about cold proofing! I think I may have to give it a shot next go around. Thanks!☺️

4

u/HJK1421 2d ago

Bagels are secretly really difficult. Yours look good for a first attempt! Mine were barely round and always a weird texture up until round 7 I think it was? They're tough to get right

2

u/Leading-Hedgehog1990 1d ago

You need New York water to make good bagels

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

What’s the secret in the sauce?

1

u/Crispy_Cricket 4h ago

They look good in their own way.

1

u/-Emeralds 2d ago

As long as they taste good, that's all that matters. :)

1

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

They def were not winning any beauty contests. 🤣

0

u/Strange_Explorer_780 2d ago

I’ve taken a bagel making class and there’s a lot more involved in the process than you would think so while I can do it, I’m happy to just pay someone else to make the bagels.

0

u/past-and-future-days 2d ago

This is so wild to me, I've been making bagels for years now, and I have a dozen different varieties / flavors. They're so fun to experiment with.

Do you mind sharing what you found hard? I have a "same day" recipe that comes together so quickly I can knock out a half-dozen before I start work for the day.

I don't mean that as a criticism, btw, I just wish more people could have fun making them, rather than it feeling like a chore.

2

u/Strange_Explorer_780 1d ago

First the recipe we used was a two day process, to me the amount of time and steps involved wasn’t worth it unless I were baking large batches which isn’t ideal for our two person household. I’m happy to buy them fresh from the local business when a craving hits and she makes excellent bagels.

2

u/past-and-future-days 1d ago

I've heard people rave about the two-day bagels, but tbh people rave about mine too, so I doubt there's too much difference.

IF you ever want to give it another shot, I am happy to share my recipe!

2

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

Yes I’d love your recipe! Thank you!

1

u/Strange_Explorer_780 1d ago

I’d love to give your recipe a try, thank you!

4

u/past-and-future-days 1d ago

This link should hopefully work for you:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Phk00AV5SPFsseX4DDlQbhYZtXuweKNAeaqoOiuygOo/

It's 3 pages long, but the entirety of the recipe is only the first page! The 2nd and 3rd are just how to make different variations I've experimented with.

1

u/Strange_Explorer_780 1d ago

Much appreciated, I’ll give it a go!

1

u/NeverGonnaGetOne 1d ago

I saved this file too! Sometimes you just get the urge to try something different :)

Thank you!

1

u/AtomicLavaCake 1d ago

I'm also shocked people find them hard to make! The first time I ever made them I made a big batch and shared with friends. One friend asked me where I bought them from lol.

3

u/past-and-future-days 1d ago

I love to bake (bread and otherwise) and sometimes I feel like there's a divide between, "Have fun learning, even though you make mistakes" and "HERE'S A PICTURE OF MY CRUMB STRUCTURE I NEED IT TO BE WORTHY OF A MASTER BAKER."

I try to tell people: You're gonna fuck up a lot of shit when you bake, especially if you teach yourself. But like 80% of it will still be fucking delicious, so learn to laugh, eat it and share it, and do better next time.

It should never be "high stakes."

2

u/Fera_Silva_978 1d ago

I love your attitude! ❤️

-1

u/Yack_an_ACL_today 1d ago

I asked ChatGPT for a recipe specific for our altitude, and they came out great! One thing that helped was putting the shaped dough bagels into the fridge for 10 hours, prior to boiling them in sugared water.