I baked bagels yesterday directly from the cold retarding into the boiling water with great results (I always do it this way). I find them easier to handle when cold as the dough is a bit stiffer and they are denser. Bake on!
They don't necessarily need to come alllllll the way to room temp, but they will benefit from losing some of their chill. If you go straight from refrigeration to boiling water, you'll shock them more than you probably want to (think about leaping from a roll in fresh snow - clothed or not, your choice - straight into a steaming hot tub). The surface proteins will tend to tense up, shrinking the surface area, which can lead to your bagels splitting in the oven, and the middle being potentially underdone. I'd suggest a good 45 minutes at room temp, which gives you time to bring a kettle of water to a boil, pre-heat the oven, and set up your egg wash and garnishes. Happy bageling.
3 Comments