u/Competitive_Tune_159

I'm heart broken to lose my pet and the house feels so empty now. Everything is a trigger. Hoping this tribute will bring some healing. Thank you for letting me share and please have your cats come say hello to Pierre! Thank you for allowing me to share.

Seventeen years ago, I walked into the animal shelter at age 22 and adopted my first pet.  A gray and white kitten, who quickly lived up to his cuddly French name.  Pierre was supposed to just be a reassuring companion to keep me company when my husband traveled. Instead, he became my best bud for the next 17 years, for every season of my life as the anchor of my adulthood. 

Yesterday, we had to say the hardest goodbye of my life as we let him peacefully go. Though his exposed pink belly isn’t physically waiting for a tummy rub at the end of the day anymore, he will always be missed.  There will never be another, and he will never be replaced. Rest easy, my sweet P Bear. You ran a beautiful race.

Thank you, Pierre, for enriching my life and bringing so much joy.  You were gentle and kind, easy to purr when we trimmed your nails and quick to forgive when we lost our footing.  You were a master lap and chest cuddler, loving skin to fur contact even in the summertime.  You had no concept of personal space; face rubs and sharing a pillow were your favorite.  You were my protector who saved me from the creepy crawlers.  You were fearless and greeted anyone who came to our home.  You even charmed your way into a movie because of your undeniable quiet presence, forever living on YouTube.  You leave an empty space that can never be filled, but a legacy of love that will never leave me. Until we share a pillow again, see you in heaven where all things are made new. Love you.

Hi expert bagel makers! This is round two and thank you again for helping me understand the importance of ratio % in a recipe and the changes made showed improvements. Below is the recipe used and still have a few questions if someone can please point an amateur in the right direction please!

Question 1 - I had a hard time shaping the dough into a smooth ball even though I aggressively rolled it on the counter. You could still see some of the lines within the bagels and I think that is why some of it puffed out on the side (where I am pointing in the first photo). Does this mean I need more water in the dough?

Question 2 - My bagels seem to be smaller than desired. They puff up to be rather tall but I rather it be wider so you can eat it more like a sandwich. Hope that description makes sense but any thoughts there? I was wondering if it is too much yeast causing it to rise the wrong way?

Question 3 - I see a lot of people showing a picture of the cut open bagel and they are looking at the crumb. What are people trying to achieve and what does mine show?

2nd batch commentary - It was finally crunchy/crusty on the outside! Hurray! Also it got dark enough! Much better than the first batch.

Improvement from the first batch:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bagels/comments/1ta46b5/bagel_help/

Bagel Ingredients = 8 total

·         382 grams warm water = 54.96%

·         3 grams yeast = 0.43%

·         695 grams bread flour = 100%

·         19 grams honey = 2.73%

·         14 grams salt = 2.01%

Water Bath

·         2 quarts water with ¼ cup with 85 grams of honey

·         1 tablespoon of baking soda

Prepare The Dough

1.       Whisk the warm water and yeast together directly into the mixer; sit for 5 minutes

2.      Then add the sugar, flour.  Mix a bit and add salt last.  Mix for about 8 minutes at level 2 on mixer.

3.      Proof 1 - Transfer to greased bowl and cover.  Rest the gluten for 30 minutes before shaping.

4.      Shape and float test – divide into 8 pieces (aim for 139 grams per bagel), shape it, then perform a float test (if it doesn’t float within 10 seconds, let the shaped bagels proof more before testing again)

5.      Proof 2 – put the bagels in the fridge, wrapped, for 12 to 24 hours

6.      Get the water bath going then drop in cold bagel directly from the fridge; 1 minute on each side (do this in batches; keep the 4 in the fridge until ready for batch B to boil and bake)

7.      Let each bagel drain on a wire rack for 1 minute; while bagels are damp add the toppings

Baking (normal not convention)

1.      Preheat the pizza stone at 450 degrees, ideally for at least 45 minutes so the stone is fully saturated

2.      Put the 4 bagels on the Silpat lined sheet, slide the sheet directly onto the preheated pizza stone. 

3.      Bake at 450 for 15 to 18 minutes.  Rotate the pan 180 degrees at the 8 minute mark. 

4.      Let batch A cool and start on batch B. 

Hello bagel experts! First off, I really appreciate this sub and a lot of friendly people wanting to share tips. Thanks again and below was my recent try and my learning points were the following in case it helps another first-timer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bagels/comments/1ta46b5/bagel_help/

1. Have everything measured out in grams, including the water! This is how you will ensure the bagels are portioned correctly. Seems like most people shoot for 140 grams per bagel.

2. Don't be afraid after the first proof to shape the bagel. I thought initially you shouldn't punch out the air but don't be afraid to divide and shape.

3. Look at the ratio of ingredients. There are recommended % for each ingredient.

Revised recipe for 8 bagels. May I get another second set of eyes on here before I give it a try? Appreciate any advice so my friend's don't eat sad bagels when they come over for day night. : )

Bagel Ingredients

·         382 grams warm water (between 100 to 110F)

·         5 grams yeast

·         695 grams bread flour

·         19 grams honey

·         14 grams salt

Water Bath

·         2 quarts water with ¼ cup with 85 grams of honey

·         1 tablespoon of baking soda

Prepare The Dough

1.       Whisk the warm water and yeast together directly into the mixer; sit for 5 minutes

2.      Then add the sugar, flour.  Mix a bit and add salt last.  Mix for about 5 to 7 minutes.

3.      Proof 1 - Transfer to greased bowl and cover.  Wait for 1 hour or double in sized.

4.      Shape and float test – divide into 8 pieces (aim for 139 grams per bagel), shape it, then perform a float test (if it doesn’t float within 10 seconds, let the shaped bagels proof more before testing again)

5.      Proof 2 – put the bagels in the fridge, wrapped, for 12 to 24 hours

6.      Get the water bath going then drop in cold bagel directly from the fridge; 1 minute on each side (do this in batches; keep the 4 in the fridge until ready for batch B to boil and bake)

7.      Let each bagel drain on a wire rack for 1 minute; while bagels are damp add the toppings

Baking (normal not convention)

1.      Preheat the pizza stone at 425 degrees, ideally for at least 45 minutes so the stone is fully saturated

2.      Put the 4 bagels on the Silpat lined sheet, slide the sheet directly onto the preheated pizza stone. 

3.      Bake at 425 for 15 to 18 minutes.  Roate the pan 180 degrees at the 8 minute mark. 

4.      Let batch A cool.  Let the pizza stone reheat again for about 10 minutes before baking batch B. 

Hello bagel experts! I tried making bagels for mother's day and was using the double proof method. It didn't turn out well visually... I'm a bit embarrassed but will try it again this weekend and would appreciate any tips please. TIA!

Proof 1 - room temperature and let the dough grow twice in size; then punch down and separate into 8 even pieces; wait for the dough to rise and do the water test to make sure it floats

Proof 2 - after doing the float test, put the bagels in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Boil it in honey and baking soda for 1 minute on each side. Bake directly on pizza stone and silicon mat. Turned the silicon mat 180 degrees half way through the bake.

Question - I think my main issue is shaping and also not weighing out the dough into equal pieces ? I think I was afraid after proof 1 to punch down the dough (felt like it would undo all the air) and reshape the dough by rolling it into a ball and poking a hole through.

Question 2 - After proof 2, the bagels are floating but still don't seem large enough. Was it due to the shaping issue? Or is the syran wrap essentially weight down the dough in the fridge?

Question 3 - I didn't get a crispy outer edge either. Any thoughts on what I did wrong?