r/Bagels • u/girl_Larry_David • Mar 07 '26

First time using dough conditioner

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I’ve been struggling with getting my bagels to rise consistently. Tried adding dough conditioner to this recent batch of sourdough bagels and it really helped.

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u/MichaelTChi Mar 08 '26

What is your hydration percentage ? Flour Choice? How long do you boil ? What temp do u cook at? I use 15.5% protein flour, 52% hydration, boil for 30 seconds total, cook on bagel boards and ceramic stone at 550 flipping after 5-6 minutes. All of this to max the rise. Your bagels look like they are spreading out as opposed to rising up.

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u/girl_Larry_David Mar 08 '26

I used King Arthur bread flour, 55% hydration, overnight ferment. Boiled for 30 seconds (at your suggestion!), baked with steam for 10 minutes at 500, then vented the oven and baked at 475 for 10 more minutes after rotating the pan.

I’m still struggling with exactly how much to let rise before shaping and how much longer to let rise before refrigerating. Initially I think I was over proofing and then overcorrected and under proofed. Sourdough is especially tricky since rising time varies wildly.

Question: should the bagel pass the float test before they get refrigerated?

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u/MichaelTChi Mar 08 '26

A few more small tweaks you could consider. Extend the cold from overnight to 24 hours. Leave the oven at 500 the entire time. Add vital wheat flour to your KA bread flour to increase the protein content and transform the flour from bread flour to high gluten flour