Homemade Bagels - yeast

Method

• To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart 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 2 hours, or until mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly.
• It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
• To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir.
• Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and honey.
• Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough.
• Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine).
• The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth.
• There should be no raw flour- all the ingredients should be hydrated.
• The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81F If the dough seems too dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading.
• If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required.
• The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.
• Immediately divide the dough into 41/2-ounce pieces.
• Form them into rolls.
• Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
• Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil.
• Shape bagels.
• Place each shaped pieces 2-inches apart on the pans.
• Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food-grade plastic bag, or cover loosely with plastic wrap.
• Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
• Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the "float test."
• Fill a small bowl 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 ever 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats.
• The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.
• The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda.
• Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.
• Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float withing 10 seconds).
• After one minute flip them over and boil for another minute.
• If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side.
• While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour.
• (If you decide to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.)
• If you want to top the bagels, do so as soon as the come out of the water.
• When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven.
• Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180 rotation.
• (If you are baking only one pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown.
• You may bake them darker if you prefer.
• Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.