Bagels Finally!

I have attempted at bagel making many times, none of which turned out to my satisfaction. After taking some tips from my Jewish friend, I tried my hands again. This time, it is a total success! I think I finally mastered the art of bagel making. This method uses a two-stage process: 1. Making a sponge 2. Making the dough. Use this method to make a stiff dough. And stiff dough, according to my friend, is what it takes to make a good bagel. Here's how:

For the sponge: 2 tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1-1/2 C. warm water, 4C. bread flour (high gluten flour). Mix the water, sugar and yeast together, stir well. Let set until you see yeast bubbles. Add the flour to make a soft spongy dough. Cover the dough and Place it in a warm place until it doubles in size.

For the dough: 1 tsb active dry yeast, 1 tsb sugar, 1/2 C. warm water, 1 TBSB kosher salt, 5 eggs, 1 TBSB honey, 3C. + 1C. bread flour. Mix sugar, yeast and water together, stir and allow yeast to bubble. Pour the liquid in the spongy dough above. Add remaining ingredients except the last cup of flour. Make a dough. Incorporate the last cup of flour, knead until dough develop elasticity, about 10 minutes.

Divided the dough into 12 pieces. Place them on a cookie sheet. Cover with a plastic bag. Allow them to rest in a warm place. Meanwhile boil a big pot of water with 2 tsb of baking soda in it. Make a ring with each piece of the dough and drop it in the boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds per side.

Remove the bagel rings from the water and dip them in some cornmeal. Decorate your bagels as you wish at this stage (onion flakes, sesame seeds, egg wash and what have you...). Place the bagels on a baking sheet. Repeat until all bagels are boiled. Bake the bagels in a pre-heated 500F oven for 8 minutes, reduce heat to 450 bake until golden brown, 5-8 minutes.