New York Style Bagel Recipe

First, mix warm water, maple syrup and active dry yeast in a bowl and let the yeast activate for about 5-10 minutes. Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt and lightly combine all the ingredients together. The dough will be quite stiff and will look dry, but don't worry about that. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes. When the dough is kneaded, prepare a larger bowl and lightly cover it with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or just kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size.

When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. And now it's time to shape the bagels. Simply coat a finger with flour and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball. Then you stretch the rings out to about a third of the diameter of the bagel and place them onto a prepared baking sheet. Cover the bagels with kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.

Bring a large pot of water to a bubbling boil. Once it has reached a boil, whisk in the honey and lower the heat to a simmer. Boil as many bagels as you can comfortably fit into the pot (they will puff up quite a bit, so keep it in mind they need some extra space). Once the bagels are in the water, let them sit for 1 minute, then gently flip them over to boil for another minute on the other side. After boiling them, top the bagels and don't be afraid to be creative!