Time

Time is a key factor that makes bagels amazing (or not). First, there’s “initial rest” when I wait 30 minutes after first mixing the dough. Second, there’s “bulk fermentation” when I wait again after kneading the dough for 3-5 hours. Then, there’s “final fermentation,” when yet again, I wait after shaping the dough at least another 12 hours. I’m not a very patient person naturally, so this waiting has taken some getting used to - it’s not like cookies that I can just mix and stick in the oven. However, I know how important this waiting time is for my dough. Time lets the dough ferment, or rise. To be super scientific, it’s carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during fermentation that causes the dough to rise; there’s some alcohol and acid produced too, but it’s evaporated during the baking process. You want this fermentation to happen slowly, allowing the dough to be perfectly puffed out, with “lively” flavor, as author Daniel Leader describes the ideal bagel in my current bread bible, Bread Alone. When the dough ferments too quickly, the fermentation process, or release of CO2, is chaotic and out of control, causing the dough to be floppy, sticky, kind of hard — I get the sense my dough is angry that I didn’t wait, and I also get angry and start squeezing and/or throwing dough. Anyway, I save myself time and angst in the long run by practicing patience now.