Peter Reinhart’s Bagels

Ingredients

1 teaspoon yeast instant

4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour

2 1/2 cups water room temperature

1/2 teaspoon yeast instant

3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour

2 3/4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Toppings optional; sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions, or chopped onions tossed in oil

Equipment

4-quart mixing bowl

Plastic wrap

Baking parchment

Spray oil

Baking sheet pans

Slotted spoon or skimmer

Directions

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. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly.

To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl, add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Add 3 cups of the flour, all of the salt, and malt. Stir 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. The dough should be firm but still pliable and smooth. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 71 degrees F. Adjust with water or flour if necessary.

Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2-ounce pieces for standard bagels. Form the pieces 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 each piece into a bagel by poking a hole in the center and rotating your thumb around the hole to widen it, or by rolling out the dough into an 8-inch rope, wrapping it around your hand, and sealing the ends.

Place the shaped bagels 2 inches apart on the pans. Mist lightly with spray oil and cover the pans. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. Test a bagel by dropping it in the water. If it floats within 10 seconds, the bagels are ready for refrigeration. If not, continue proofing at room temperature, checking every 10-20 minutes until a tester floats. Return the tester to the pan and refrigerate the pans overnight.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with two racks in the middle. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add baking soda. Remove bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water. Boil for 1 minute on each side. For chewier bagels, boil for 2 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. After boiling, place bagels on the pans and add any desired toppings.

Bake the bagels on the middle shelves for 5 minutes, then rotate the pans and reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Bake for another 5 minutes or until bagels turn light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.