The beloved bagel is a staple in many cuisines. With origins in Jewish and Polish culture, it is also a household breakfast product throughout the US and Canada.
The ring of dough with a shiny, thin crust and dense chewy interior – these are the qualities that make the bagel iconic but equally as complicated to produce.
Bagel production is a complex, multi-step process. From proofing, boiling (or steaming), and baking, creating a quality bagel product requires many controls every step of the way.
Alex Kuperman, CEO of ABI LTD explains, “Bagels are by no means a simple product to bake. To produce a good quality product, a rigorous multi-step process and precise recipes need to be followed.”
The goal for every production bakery is to make quality products consistently and efficiently. The low hydration bagel dough is a challenge. Bakers are working with a stiff and time sensitive dough. Minor changes in timing and temperature can have a major impact the final product. With the help of ABI technology, bakers can monitor temperature and flour characteristic changes and make adjustments at each critical step.
The process of boiling bagel dough gives it the signature chewy texture. In a production environment, there are several issues that bakers face daily. The traditional approach was to submerge the bagel under boiling water by means of top conveyor. The buoyancy forced bagels against the top conveyor surface ensuring that the bagel registration (positioning of bagels with respect to another) is maintained.
If the bagel is not fully submerged and the retarding process is not optimized, there can be some undesirable effects on the final product. The top belt may leave impressions on the bagel’s top surface. These marks may or may not disappear after baking. Bagels may touch during the boiling stage, also known as ‘kissing’, which causes them to bake together. Top marking and kissing are preventable with the right technology and controls in place.
It is critical to maintain a constant water level in the boiler tank. Precision water level control is a tool in ABI’s arsenal to ensure optimum immersion depth. Large fluctuations will cause marking when water level is high or kissing when water level is reduced.
“The skin that is formed during the retarding process provides bagels with the required integrity to minimize top marking,” Alex explains, “ABI has partnered with Mecatherm, the world-class proofer and retarder manufacturer, to ensure that bagels are properly processed through these two important stages.”
To learn more about process of making bagels and the technology that powers production, Alex shares his expertise in the Baking and Snack article ‘Boiling, steaming strategies for a perfect bagel’.
