I absolutely hate store bought bagels, but love making them. This recipe has do be started days in advance. If you want same day bagels use this recipe which is tasty but not as pretty.  It’s based on Peter Reinhart’s Recipe from Crust & Crumb. I’m going to give directions as if you wanted fresh bagels Saturday Morning.

Sponge
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups  or bread flour
2  water, room temperature

Dough
1 Cup Sponge (set out for 1 hour before using)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 C lukewarm water (85 degrees F)
2 1/2 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoon malt syrup or honey

To Finish
1 tablespoon baking soda

Sesame seeds, Sunflower Seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions

1. Day one (Thursday after Work): To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 5. Refrigerate for 1-3 days.

2.  Day Two (Friday after work): To make the dough, add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add flour,  salt and malt.

3. Knead in your mixer on medium for 10 minutes.

4. Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Let rest 5 min.

5. Form the pieces into balls. Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it.

6. Let rise for 1.5 hours (25% doubled). Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float. Return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. Refridgerate for 6 hours or overnight.

7. Day Three (Saturday Morning) Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the baking soda.

8. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 30-60 min.   and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minutes flip them over and boil for another minute.  While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour.  If you want to top (see note below) the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or a combination.

9. Bake at 475 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

10. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.