ya) ou may work at elevated temperatures to have lower viscosity. The bubbles will go off easier. Perhaps in combination with sonication as you have already tried.
But I must admit that part of volatiles may also escape.
b) If the bubbles are due to the volatiles you should work at lower temperatures. So the volatiles may not go off by bubbles. Please try to use a cold petri dish. So you may might avoiding the creation of bubbles at all.