Knees, knead, knead

The sponge has sponged! Time to add the remaining ingredients slowly!

Lotta ice still :-)

Yeah, it’s unreal and one of the few ways folks can really viscerally experience the changes.

Laura and I were talking about this this morning.

DC natl gaurd

You might want to let readers who are following your guidance know you are using diastatic malt powder (vs non-diastatic.)
Carnation malt powder for example is not a substitute.

I also add a smidge of molasses for a slightly more perceptible rich flavor.

I like to prep the remaining dry ingredients while the sponge is developing:
482g bread flour
1.5g additional yeast
9.7g malt powder
20g of salt

The malt powder adds diastase enzymes that create more sugars for the yeast and results in darker browned crust and more oven spring.

While we wait for our sponge to do something, do y’all remember the band Sponge? It’s Wax Ecstatic for me…

youtu.be/-NVO3cxTbxg?...

Cover your sponge with plastic wrap and let the amylase enzymes go to town breaking down the sugars in the flour for the yeast to feed. Leave covered sponge out at room temp for a couple hours so it can become very bubble and foamy until it looks like, well, a sponge.

What does “pancake consistency” of the sponge look like? Well, like this:

Use a mixing paddle on the mixer (or a spoon/whisk) at let it mix for a minute or two until the sponge is smooth and consistency of a pancake batter.

No need to “soften” the yeast in a sponge. Just yeet it into the flour in the mixing bowl and add the water.

This bagel recipe takes some *time* to develop flavors, gluten, etc. This recipe uses a sponge, essentially equal parts water and flour with a small amount of yeast to get the process started. For 12 bagels I am using:
510g bread flour
565g H2O @ room temp
3g dry yeast.

Until you go 30 days without seeing the sun😂. I need to download the GOES-18 animation, since there was lots of cool roiling in the fog yesterday and today too. People tend to think of fog as static.

LOL