Bagels

Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the dough ingredients and knead vigorously for 10 minutes (if you're using an electric mixer) or up to 15 minutes (if you're kneading by hand). Since we're using a high-protein bread flour here, it takes a bit more effort and time to develop the gluten. The dough will be quite stiff; if you're using a mixer it will "thwap" the sides of the bowl, and hold its shape (without spreading at all) when you stop the mixer.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it aside to rise until it's noticeably puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment and grease the parchment. Transfer the dough to a work surface, and divide it into eight pieces (for large bagels), or 12 pieces (for standard-size bagels).

Working with one piece at a time, roll it into a smooth, round ball. Place the balls on one of the prepared baking sheets. Cover the balls with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 30 minutes. They'll puff up very slightly.

While the dough is resting, prepare the water bath by heating the water, non-diastatic malt powder (or brown sugar or barley malt syrup), and sugar to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Use your index finger to poke a hole through the center of each ball, then twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole until it's about 1 1/2" to 2" in diameter. Place six bagels on each of the baking sheets. (See our blog post How to shape bagels, for more details.)

Transfer the bagels, four at a time if possible, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gently simmering boil, if necessary. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes, flip them over, and cook 1 minute more. Using a skimmer or dough whisk, remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're as deep brown as you like, turning them over about 15 minutes into the baking time (this will help them remain tall and round). Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a rack before cutting and splitting to serve.

Store leftover bagels, well wrapped, at room temperature for a day or two; freeze them for longer storage. (Cutting the bagels in half before freezing makes it easy to take portions straight from the freezer to the toaster.)