@Frosty hook me up with yr bagel recipe
So this is the recipe I used to get started.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220619/real-homemade-bagels/
All of the proportions and stuff and the basics work well. I do make these mods:
The ingredients in the recipe make way more than six bagels. I usually stretch this out to 10.
Either sub malt syrup for honey or increase the honey in the water by 50%. The malt syrup gives them a little more of a crunch and keeps them moister. If not using malt syrup the extra honey helps and adds a solid sweetness.
Don't ferment how the recipe tells you to. Make the dough the night before, let it ferment in the fridge, and pull it out about two hours before cooking to let it finish. Watch them closely on this last part so not to over ferment. The cooler temp slows down the fermentation so the gluten strands are weaker. You'll get a chewier, less bready bagel this way, at least that is what I've found.
I don't roll the dough out into a log either. Imo, cutting a log and connecting ends risks lopsided bagels. The connected part of the bagel cooks weird too because there's an unnatural break in the gluten strands. Instead, I separate the dough into balls, poke a hole in the middle with my fingers and work the dough into a bagel shape. Shaping takes some practice since making them a few times is the only good way to get a handle on how they'll cook into their shape.
Once they're shaped, if they're not going in the water immediately I'm covering them in Saran wrap and putting them back into the fridge. I've ruined the ferment and ended up with bready bagels by letting them go another 20 min at room temp since I wasn't ready to boil. If you do this give them a few minutes to warm up at room temp before dropping them.