How are Bagels Made
Bagels are a baked pastry product usually made of a wheat dough. They are a popular food in many countries where they are available in fresh and frozen forms. Bagels are round with a small hole in the middle and resemble a donut, although bagels are not as sweet and have a different consistency. They are usually topped with poppy or sesame seeds although plain bagels are also common. The can be eaten plain, but many people enjoy them with cream cheese, butter, salmon or other toppings/fillings. Let’s take a look at how these popular pastries are made.
How are bagels made?
The ingredients to make a bagel are very simple. The dough is made up of high gluten flour, salt, water and yeast. Some bagel makers also use a sweetener in their dough such as sugar, honey, molasses and/or malt (commonly barley malt). Depending on the type of bagel eggs, milk and/or butter may also be used.
The first step in making bagels is to mix all of the ingredients together in a mixer. Water is slowly added to the mixture and it is continually mixed until it reaches the correct consistency to create the dough. The dough is monitored for temperature to ensure it reaches 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) so the yeast is activated. The dough is then sliced into smaller pieces. These balls are then rolled into strips and shaped into the traditional round shape with a hole in the middle. The bagels are then placed into a proofer, which is kept at a certain temperature and humidity to ensure they rise. The bagels are then boiled in water, which may contain additives, or placed into a steam oven. After this step they are baked at 175 °C – 315 °C (about 350 -600 °F).
The following is a video of bagels being made in a large commercial bakery.
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