Hi all-

I have been on a bagel making kick and I have mostly been using a recipe that calls for both bread flour and vital wheat gluten. It does not call for barley malt syrup or malt powder. I have read that malt syrup is really needed to make a great bagel, but the recipe I have been using just doesn’t have it.

So, here is the question. I am trying Rose’s “Levy’s Bagel” recipe, but I see it does not call for added wheat gluten. It is hard to resist adding a little bit of the wheat gluten for the chew factor. Can anyone tell me why Rose’s recipe doesn’t call for vital wheat gluten? I know she has a bit in The Bread Bible about how you can use AP flour AND vital wheat gluten but my other recipe calls for both.

Thanks!

I’ve not used vwg in bagels. I have bought extra strong flour (I think it’s King Lancelot) that’s not sold in stores. If you are looking for supplies, other than King Arthur, try New York Bakers (Stan Ginsburg). I’ve bought a bunch of stuff from him. He’s located in California. Rachel, I don’t know if you are in the States, in Canada, or living in a different country. I’ve tried both syrup and powder.

I am in Portland, OR and although I feel I can get probably most of the items locally, I am not against ordering online. I am starting to think that my old bagel recipe that calls for both bread flour and vwg is just covering all bases. Since it does not specify a brand, I guess it is possible for some bread flours to be lower in the gluten content than others. Still…the vwg really adds a nice chew. If you ever want to give it a try Bob’s Red Mill sells it, and I think you can get it online.

Do you have a preference on the malt syrup and powder?

I’ve used both - both with different recipes, so I can’t say I have a preference. The last recipe I made was from Maggie Glezer’s A Blessing of Bread. Previous to that was Rose’s recipe, which I also made several years ago.

Don’t have the recipe in front of me, but I’m pretty sure that Rose doesn’t call for vwg because she isn’t using bread flour, but flour with a higher gluten content. You can substitute bread flour with added vwg with good results.