Scratch Baking Company is located in South Portland, Maine-not a locale known for its bagel making traditions. This current location is the bakery’s second home and is really a lovely space just off Willard Square not far from the beach.

Everything they do is really nice but they have become known around the Portland area for their bagels.If you are looking to make a traditional New York style bagel you can stop reading now, because this isn’t what you are looking for. What you will find though is Scratch Baking Co.’s ‘interpretation’ of the bagel. These bagels are fairly dense and chewy, have great flavor on their own (but still go great with cream cheese), and their crust is light and crisp. The hydration is fairly high (at around 65%), and the inclusion of starter yields a very flavorful bagel with a nice open crumb structure that might remind you of a well made, naturally leavened bread. Give these bagels a try. They really don’t require any special equipment and while you may offend the purist it’s fairly certain that, even if you are currently known for your breads or pastry, people will start to come for your bagels as well.

Enjoy.

Scratch Baking Co.’s Bagels

Ingredient			Weight	bakers%
Bread Flour (12.7% protein)	25#	100.00%
Water				15#	60%
Starter (100% hydration)	6.5#	26%
Yeast (instant)			0.03#	0.12%
Salt				0.375#	1.50%
Total				46.9#	

Overall Formula			Weight	bakers%
Bread Flour			28.25#	100%
Water				18.25#	64.6%
Yeast 				0.03#	0.1%
Salt				0.375#	1.3%

Method

• mix starter + flour + water to combine (1st speed, 2-3 minutes)
• autolyze (approx 30 minutes)
• add instant yeast and salt, mix on 2nd speed for 3-4 or until dough is developed
• bulk ferment for 1.5 hours
• fold
• continue bulk fermentation for another 1.5 hours
• divide into 5oz pieces
• proof
• shape: this is not a traditional rolled bagel shaping. Basically you take the proofed dough ball and gently press a hole through the dough and stretch into a nice circle.
• Rest 10-15 minutes
• Boil the bagels placing them in the water seam side up
• Bake in a hot deck oven 10-20 minutes, or until done and nicely colored.