[Sca-cooks] iombils

[Terry Decker]

The boiling step in bagels is to get the proper surface texture and enhance
the flavor from the malt extract in the water.

The recipe here is very similar to Markham's jumbal recipe (iombil appears
to be an alternative spelling).  I would expect the dough to be quickly
assembled to reduce gluten formation, but the suggestion of working the
dough until the gluten breaks down has merit.

The only reason I can see for the boiling step is to hydrate the dough to
slow the baking and allow the iombils to survive the time in the oven, but,
hey, finding out these things is why we try these recipes.

Bear

>I suspect the difference between this and bagels is that instead of
>full gluten development, you want gluten overdevelopment and breakdown,
>like Prince Bisket. The end result (if this is a biscotto, which later
>versions of the recipe suggest it is) is brittle, almost like a sweet
>pretzel.
>
>Adamantius