Trying to make a large batch of bagels. The Breadtopia “Vermont” Bagels recipe calls for a 1 hour bulk fermentation, then shaping, then proofing in the fridge overnight.
I do not have the space to proof sheet pans full of bagels in my refrigerator. Any recommendations on how I can do it at room temp? My thought was to bulk ferment in fridge overnight, let it sit at room temp for a couple hours, shape them, and then proof them at room temp for an hour give or take.
I asked a very similar question back in 2019 I do everything in the morning, starting early and keeping in mind that my dough is not cold so it needs less boiling etc. I’m sure an overnight cold bulk is fine too, but you’ll need to play around with it to gauge how much activity your dough actually has in the refrigerator.
Thanks for your feedback! My concern with a cold bulk ferment is that it may not ferment properly if I put it in right away with the low moisture content of dough.
Ideally I’d like to be able to mix the dough in the evening and bake bagels the following evening.
I’m considering reducing the yeast by 1/3 (I also add spoonful of active starter) and then bulk fermenting at room temp for 4-5 hours then putting it in the fridge to retard the process for 16-18 hours.
When I pull it out of fridge, I’d let it sit a 45 minutes or so before shaping and proofing on the counter until they’re proofed? Does the finger test work on bagels?
If possible, I would use a straightwalled container/bucket so you can track expansion of the dough during the first rise, and also have targeted changes to make for subsequent batches.
As for the final proof, sadly there are no bucket measuring marks for it I tend to find the final proof is done by the time I’ve set up all the stuff for the boiling and topping.
This is what Eric writes in the recipe:
Basically, an all white flour bagel leavened with common commercial instant yeast will be ready to go into the boiling pot of water straight from the fridge. Whereas a sourdough and/or Bioreal yeast leavened bagel may need up to a few hours at room temperature to rise some before being ready to boil. Whichever path you take, the bagels will be ready to boil when they have risen a bit and are somewhat (not much) spongy to the touch.
In the whole wheat sourdough only bagel recipe I wrote, I have people proof the shaped bagels for a while before refrigerating. Here is a screenshot of how much the bagels expanded in total (room temp, plus overnight refrigeration).
I do everything in the morning, starting early and keeping in mind that my dough is not cold so it needs less boiling etc. I’m sure an overnight cold bulk is fine too, but you’ll need to play around with it to gauge how much activity your dough actually has in the refrigerator.