1 ½cups(355ml)warm waterheated to about 110 °F (43 °C) - 115 °F (46 °C)
1Tablespoonmaple syrup
1envelope of active dry yeast(2¼ teaspoons)
4 ¼cups(531g)bread flourdivided - save ¼ cup for kneading later
2teaspoonssalt
1teaspoonoil
For boiling:
8cups(2l)water
3Tablespoonshoney
1teaspoonbaking soda
Egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tablespoon of water
Instructions
Place the warm water into a small bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup. Then sprinkle on the yeast and give it a gentle stir. Allow this to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to activate the yeast. It should get foamy. If it doesn’t, your water may have been too cold, or too hot. Or your yeast may have expired.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together 4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer.
Pour the activated yeast mixture into the middle of the bowl with the flour/salt mixture.
Mix this on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Then mix on medium speed for another 5 minutes, or until the dough is moist and firm. If you find that the dough is too dry, try adding 1 Tablespoon of water at a time.
Then remove the dough from the mixer and place it on a floured surface (use the remaining ¼ cup we had set aside). And knead the dough until it is moist and firm (this will take 3-5 minutes more), working in the remaining ¼ cup of flour as you are able to.
Form the dough into a ball and place it into a bowl greased with the 1 teaspoon of oil (roll the ball of dough around so it is covered in the oil). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm. Allow the dough to rise for an hour or until about double in size.
Then punch down the dough and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
While the dough is resting, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Divide the dough evenly into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, and press your finger into the middle to make a hole about 2 inches in diameter.
Place the formed bagels onto a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Allow these to rest for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the water bath.
Put the water, honey, and baking soda into a large pot. Bring it to a boil.
Preheat the oven to 425 °F (218 °C).
Boil 2-3 bagels at a time (if you are able to do this without crowding). You want to boil them on one side for 1 minute, then flip them and boil for another minute. You could flip them using a slotted spoon.
As you remove the bagels from the boiling water, place them on the parchment paper lined baking sheet (4 per sheet).
Brush each bagel lightly with the egg wash. (This is the time to add toppings such as sesame seeds or coarse salt or everything bagel seasoning, if you like.)
Bake the bagels for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Then remove them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before cutting.
Notes
We tried rolling the bagels into ropes and pressing them together to make the bagel shape but found that these came apart in the water. It really works better to make a hole in the ball of dough, just sort of stretch it to be a hole about 2 inches in diameter.