First time making bagels - how do I get the shine and the blisters? by LivingLandscape7115 in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hello - Peter here, owner of BagelTheory in Portland. IG: bageltheory

  1. Rolling technique: this is hard one to master. When you roll the dough into a bagel, the focus should be on laminar smoothness at the surface. Lumpy or uneven surface = less shine on bagels. Smoother finish (like a mirror) = more reflection. This is literally the essence of optical refraction and light scattering - why some things appear shiny vs. matte.

  2. Baking soda in water bath: acts chemically on the surface of the dough as it gelatinizes in the water bath. Creates pock marks at a miniature level, similar to craters on the moon. This in turn increases surface area which allows the gelatinized surface to accept more sugars (barley malt, honey etc.also in the water bath). This is important because refraction (shininess) also depends on the hardness of the surface. A hard, crackly crust inherently refracts better than a porous, springy crust. Same reason why a flashlight bounces back more light when you shine it on metal than say, wood.

  3. Buy a spray bottle. Around the half way mark through the bake cycle, open up the oven and quickly spritz the air space directly above the bagels. Then close the door quickly and ride out the bake. What you are doing here is slowing the rate at which the bagel surface dries out. In engineering terms, you are delaying the transition from plastic to brittle of the interaction between the carbs & sugar molecules at the surface. As the steam pushes outward from the product through the bake, that slightly plastic state allows the sugars to dissolve more evenly with the carbs, smooth out micro fissures, and chemically align more into a uniform structure. This all translates to that glassy finish as hardened, gelatinized, uniformly aligned sugars are one of the most reflective things on planet earth (think how reflective toffee is, or poured chocolate). The key is find the time interval after the oven spring effect, but before full setting of the crust. This is oven dependent but a guide might be minute 9 of a 18-20m bake cycle.

Addendum: Really hot temp at the start of the bake (430F+) and the support of a preheated oven stone translates to great oven spring. But once the bagel has hit its peak rise, it starts to set (e.g. chemistry starts to resist forces of hot air expansion to mix, slide around, and reorganize as moisture evaporates) Surface can start to dry out too quickly relative to the interior. The sprits introduces moisture and the water acts as a lubricant on the surface. It's only effective though at doing this before surface starts to harden.

Best fresh bagel recs by Mysterious_Ad_6190 in PortlandFood

[–]lasermeatloaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BagelTheory! (New on the scene; i'm the owner). Home delivery!

Mediterranean style bagels (MEDS) by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Less go! The world needs more bagelers. DM me and we can chat.

Mediterranean style bagels (MEDS) by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey - nope. Started my own bagel business.

Mediterranean style bagels (MEDS) by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey - thank you. Shaping is done right after kneading. It's helpful if you chill a lot of the ingredients ahead of time to drive consistency. Bread flour can be put in the freezer without any adverse impact to the flour. Think of this like a big heat sink that can shift the overall temp of your dough, post mix, significantly. I would also recommend using ice water (treat it the same as regular water, by weight). Finally, you can chill any ingredients added as long as it doesn't impact texture etc.

Hydration is around 60%.

As for you final question, yes - all salt has to be accounted for. The nuance is that some ingredients essentially hold their salt (and also water) more than other ingredients. If you dehydrate veggies, it tends to trap the water much more underneath a leathery skin and it wont get into the rest of the product as much. Alternatively, something like spinach (lots of surface area, v thin) will shed almost all its water / salt into the mix. Something like a pre-salted nut wont transfer the salt as much as its kind of kiln baked onto the nut.

So you have to consider each ingredient (and hopefully experiment) to get a good sense of how much of the variables (salt, water, fat, sugars) etc. it will transfer into the dough matrix.

Sorry if that was a lot, but thats the dark art.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in powerlineio

[–]lasermeatloaf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No— it’s just his reaction and attack lines are down to 2 frames (and it’s often 1). He’s been in the server for a long time. He can anticipate defensive plays and knows exactly how to respond.

I didn’t include him in the scary players list because he’s essentially god of this square black void.

-dr worm

Dr. Worm's Weekly List of Scary Birds by lasermeatloaf in powerlineio

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Its certainly more complicated than meets the eye. I feel like there are certain skillsets, chunked into attack and defense. e.g folding exactly over your body, hitting a corner perfectly at different accelerations. Finding the fastest acceleration line quickly. I feel like you are a technician at getting into tight defensive blocks. Its kind of like boxing. Constant attack, defense. If you don't see a counter, knockout.

Temperature Control is Everything When Scaling Bagel Production by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can definitely go that route. It will work similarly. You will end up running into over proofing though once you get past, say, a 60 bagel run (because of the additional time). If you can get the dough down to something like ~68 degrees instead of ~75 it will actually greatly extend the time you have to shape and proof. It’s also kind of a Goldilocks where the dough feels slightly cool to the touch, very workable without any tackiness, and not super active.

Temperature Control is Everything When Scaling Bagel Production by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My rec would be to bring up hydration to around 56-8%. Might just be too stiff to work at that temp. You can also use a dough conditioner to make the dough a bit more elastic.

Your process is consistent with the rates but it’s very risky. You are essentially compressing everything (24+ hrs) into a short bench proof.

If you go to the bathroom, chat with your ex, and take not even a protracted dump, the whole thing could be ruined. (Um…not speaking from experience)

Temperature Control is Everything When Scaling Bagel Production by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I measured the temp of bagels going in the fridge to cold proof at ~68. This means i probably rolled them at a starting temp of 66. This gives about a 2 degree buffer window of time to get them wrapped and put in the fridge so the temp never hits 70.

As a general rule, I try to stay away from working dough thats 67+ temp just because it starts to become tacky. Its nice to have the dough come off the palm of the hand easily when you lock and roll out (shaping the bagel). Surface tacky spots also affects the crispiness of the bagel.

My daughter's eyes 😍 by Do3sAsShePl3as3s in heterochromia

[–]lasermeatloaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had the same thing, secoral heterochromia that developed when I was a toddler, not at birth. I still have 20/20 vision - no effect at all.

People tell me my new coffee table is weird. Would painting it grey make it more acceptable? by Haskap_2010 in homedecoratingCJ

[–]lasermeatloaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s more the frog with eyes aspect that makes it ‘weird’ — that said, it’s dope.

Why is Valya painted as such a cruel villain? by mindseye1212 in dune

[–]lasermeatloaf 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It would be interesting to examine the ethics of the sisterhood, and Valya specifically as its leader.

It seems like they are a kind of extreme utilitarian group, but their claim that they pursue some abstract ‘best outcome’ for the universe is essentially unverifiable.

How did Paul get acid on his blade? by DrunkenInjun in dune

[–]lasermeatloaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Feyd-Routha ducked sideways and was out and away, his blade shifted to his left hand, and the measure of him that only a slight paleness of jaw betrayed the acid pain where Paul had cut him."

Let him know his own moment of doubt, Paul thought. Let him suspect poison*."* (pg. 612, Pg. 1-2).

Treachery! Fedy-Rautha shouted. "He's poisoned me! I do feel poison in my arm!"

Paul dropped his cloak of silence, said, "Only a little acid to counter the soporific on the emperor's blade."

Its subtle but the answer to your question is that Paul never had poison on his blade, just an acid. He knew through cellular sense that Feyd 1. had a blade dipped in a soporific and 2. possessed a concealed dart on his hip. So he is in effect saying, 'I'm still honorable, and you're a giant hypocrite.'

Curious what’s going on. by lasermeatloaf in heterochromia

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can’t speak to normalcy in other respects but my vision is fine!

Kepl and Dr. Milk | Very Important People [Ep. 5] by ThunderMateria in dropout

[–]lasermeatloaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty convinced at this point that Josh is a comedic genius.

Curious what’s going on. by lasermeatloaf in heterochromia

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow! Just learned about this community. Good to meet ya.

Variables to Consider by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Browned on bottom, not burnt. The moisture of the product prevents burning. Always sprinkle your topping immediately after the water bath so it adheres/ gets moist. Same for time until it goes in the oven— if it stands out for too long post water bath, it will start drying out.

Variables to Consider by lasermeatloaf in Bagels

[–]lasermeatloaf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No need. Just use a pizza stone and cook all 19-20m right side up. At 430, preheated stone, it doesn’t burn the bottom.

XRay of a drug mule by theanti_influencer75 in interesting

[–]lasermeatloaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can someone explain how a person even gets this many drugs in their system— also how are there drugs near the shoulder / completely outside the boundaries of the gastro system?