Roxanne, here is the bagel recipe I use. It's from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I used bread flour and brown sugar instead of high-gluten and malt. We were thrilled with them...but people do seem to have widely varying tastes on what make a bagel good. 
I did get some high-gluten flour and malt for next time, but mostly out of curiosity. I am a little worried that all that gluten's going to kill my mixer!
Bagels
Makes 12 large or 24 mini bagels
SPONGE:
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) water, at room temperature
DOUGH:
1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounce) instant yeast
3 3/4 cups (17 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 3/4 teaspoons (.7 ounce) salt
2 teaspoons (.33 ounce) malt powder
OR
1 Tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
TO FINISH:
1 Tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced onions or onions, or chopped fresh onions that have been tossed in oil (optional)
1. 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 the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
2. 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 malt (or sugar/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.
3. Transfer the dough to 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 81 degrees. If the dough seems too dry and rips, add a few more 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.
4. Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Form the pieces into rolls by rolling dough into a ball.
Form your hand into a cup, place dough inside. Firmly press dough into counter as if trying to push it through the counter, simultaneously rotating your hand in a circular motion, driving the dough with the outer edge of your hand. The dough should pop up into your palm and form a tight round ball.
(My note: This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Basically you just want the dough in a ball with the surface stretched to form a tight skin.)
5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with one of the following shaping methods.
Method 1: Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots
Method 2: Roll out the dough into an 8-inch-long rope. This may require allowing the dough to rest if it keeps snapping back. Wrap the dough around the palm and back of your hand, between thumb and fore-finger, overlapping the ends by several inches. Press the overlapping ends on the counter with the palm of your hand, rocking back and forth to seal.
7. Place each of the 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.
8. Check to see if bagels are ready to be stupid in the refrigerator by using the "float test". Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be stupid 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 up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough, checking back every 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.
9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees 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. (My note: I use my 12-inch chicken fryer, and it works great!)
10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). (My note: Put the bagels in upside-down so that they are right-side-up when you take them out. Then when you put them on the prepared baking sheet, the cornmeal will be on the flat bottom of the bagel.) After 1 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 they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients lists or a combination. I make a seed and salt blend.
11. 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 degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf, but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer.
12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving. (My note: These bagels cool FAST....I like mine hot/warm so I don't wait that long.)
I did get some high-gluten flour and malt for next time, but mostly out of curiosity. I am a little worried that all that gluten's going to kill my mixer! Bagels
Makes 12 large or 24 mini bagels
SPONGE:
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) water, at room temperature
DOUGH:
1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounce) instant yeast
3 3/4 cups (17 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 3/4 teaspoons (.7 ounce) salt
2 teaspoons (.33 ounce) malt powder
OR
1 Tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
TO FINISH:
1 Tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced onions or onions, or chopped fresh onions that have been tossed in oil (optional)
1. 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 the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
2. 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 malt (or sugar/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.
3. Transfer the dough to 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 81 degrees. If the dough seems too dry and rips, add a few more 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.
4. Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Form the pieces into rolls by rolling dough into a ball.
Form your hand into a cup, place dough inside. Firmly press dough into counter as if trying to push it through the counter, simultaneously rotating your hand in a circular motion, driving the dough with the outer edge of your hand. The dough should pop up into your palm and form a tight round ball.
(My note: This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Basically you just want the dough in a ball with the surface stretched to form a tight skin.)
5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with one of the following shaping methods.
Method 1: Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots
Method 2: Roll out the dough into an 8-inch-long rope. This may require allowing the dough to rest if it keeps snapping back. Wrap the dough around the palm and back of your hand, between thumb and fore-finger, overlapping the ends by several inches. Press the overlapping ends on the counter with the palm of your hand, rocking back and forth to seal.
7. Place each of the 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.
8. Check to see if bagels are ready to be stupid in the refrigerator by using the "float test". Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be stupid 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 up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough, checking back every 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.
9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees 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. (My note: I use my 12-inch chicken fryer, and it works great!)
10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). (My note: Put the bagels in upside-down so that they are right-side-up when you take them out. Then when you put them on the prepared baking sheet, the cornmeal will be on the flat bottom of the bagel.) After 1 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 they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients lists or a combination. I make a seed and salt blend.
11. 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 degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf, but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer.
12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving. (My note: These bagels cool FAST....I like mine hot/warm so I don't wait that long.)
Tammy
I need to get a spark under my own bum to make them again. Ok, ok...I'll make them Sunday night. Good luck with your bagels..I can't wait to hear how they come out! 