A long journey for bread donuts (Still a work in progress)

The Journey So Far

Not going to lie, this recipe/process has been cooking me for 2 years. My bagels have always turned out dense and fail to puff up.

I was so desperate to get a good recipe that I joined a RedNote (小红书) group chat where people are sharing the recipes of how they’re making them as well as tips and tricks. While I don’t have a concrete recipe to share, I do have a fair few nifty tips that have helped my bagels get a bit fluffier.

Welcome to the reflections of someone that went a little dough crazy and made 30 bagels in one week, and is slightly sleep deprived from either early mornings or late nights (or both ooops 😂)

Ingredients

Unfortunately I don’t have a recipe I am happy with but this is a cool way of memorising recipes.

• strong white bread flour
• 55-60% hydration (Multiply the weight of the dough by this percentage and you’ll get how much water you need)
• 1% yeast
• 1% salt

Attempt 1 — 03/03/26 (When they became like Mantou)

So I attempted the hand-kneading method where after I mix the dough I put it in the fridge for 30 minutes for the gluten to rest and develop, and as soon as times up, I take it out, knead a little and immediately shape and proof.

Andddd the result was something like this…

Bagel Cross Section

Bagel Sliced open

The inside is rough, doesn’t have a lot of poof and is also rough. Makes it fun to chew though…

Tips from the RedNote group

• Even though I did the resting in fridge for gluten to develop I actually need to still knead it
• Should be able to stretch and when you poke a hole it should not be jagged
• Even though most recipes calls for proofing for 30 minutes at 30°C s it is usually 45-60 minutes
• Using a stand mixer is better/easier

Attempt 2 — 05/03/26

This time I used my very old stand mixer and kneaded it with the dough hook. However I was working in a hot and humid environment (thanks Sydney Summer…) and the dough temperature got too warm (ideally should be less than 25°C). And the dough got very sticky and hard to work with. I got someeee gluten development but not much. Also I didn’t make it enough so they were still a bit pale

Even if it didn’t turn out perfect, fresh bread smell is unbeatable

Bagel Cross Section: fluffier!

Still, it was significantly better than last time!! My partner demolished two with chocolate PB. 😅

Attempt 3 — 06/03/26

To combat the warmth and humidity I froze some water and also placed the stand mixer bowl and whisk in the freezer. However I think my stand mixer still gets really hot too quickly, the dough gets too sticky before the gluten starts to develop properly. The result was similar to the day before but I baked it for a bit longer giving it a crispier shell.

Can see here the dough is sticky and the poke test shows rough edges

Bagel Cross Section: less fluffy thank yesterday 😢

What I think the problem is

I think I’m not controlling the dough temperature well, it’s getting too hot and starting the fermentation process too early and not actually allowing the gluten to develop. Also I think I’m not kneading it enough.mp4

Another thing is might be making the bagels a bit too long/thin which makes it less puffy as there is too much surface area.

Next time

When temperature is too hot, especially in Summertime after kneading for 5 minutes I will throw the dough in the fridge for 5-10 minutes just to cool things down. Also using cold water is good as it keeps the temperature down.

Will also be making the bagels slightly smaller.

Wish me luck!!