My bagels come out fine. The problem I have is that the crust is soft. Not sure of how to get a harder crust on bagels. I boil for 1 minute on each side. Is that the problem. I’m new to the forum.
Are you boiling in regular water or water mixed with something else: malted barley, baking soda or lye?
Boiling with baking soda in water. boiling 1 min. each side
Hmm okay, I had success making pretzels that were boiled in baking soda water…well, actually it was baked baking soda (not a typo lol). Baking the baking soda ahead of boiling it makes it more alkaline and closer to lye.
Anyway, I’ve only made bagels twice and I liked the crust – it was nice and chewy. The bagels were boiled in malted barley syrup and water, and then baked at 500 F on a preheated stone.
I followed Eric’s recipe here: