Ingredients

• 530 g warm water, 86F
• 3 g instant yeast
• 940 g bread flour
• 10 g diastatic malt powder
• 20 g salt
• 3 –4 l water, for boiling
• 50 grams molasses

Instructions

Step 1

1. In a medium bowl, combine water and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast.
2. Add bread flour, malt powder (or sugar), and 20 grams of salt to the bowl.
3. Mix the ingredients with a sturdy spoon until a shaggy dough forms and you can no longer stir with the spoon.
4. Switch to a soaking wet hand and continue mixing the dough by squeezing and folding until the dough is well combined.
5. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for 10-12 minutes until smooth and elastic. When adequately kneaded, you should be able to tug on a piece of dough without it tearing.
6. Place the kneaded dough into a bowl, cover with a lid, and let it bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 hour.

Step 2

1. After 1 hour, the dough should have risen by about 50%. Cut the dough into 12 pieces, each weighing approximately 120 grams.
2. Shape dough by pressing into a rectangle.
3. Starting with the furthest edge, roll dough back onto itself, pressing into the work surface with each roll until you have a cigar shape.
4. Roll the dough until it’s roughly 10” long.
5. Wrap the dough log around your fingers, overlapping by about 3", and squeeze firmly to seal each end of the dough together.
6. With the dough still wrapped around your hand, roll the dough back and forth on the seam side to fully integrate and shape it into a bagel.
7. Place the shaped bagels onto two parchment-lined sheet trays lightly sprayed with pan spray. Cover with plastic wrap or half sheet tray covers.
8. Move the trays to the refrigerator and cold ferment for at least 4 hours, preferably 24 hours.

Step 3

1. Preheat your oven to 475F and soak bagel boards (cedar planks with burlap stapled to them) in water.
2. Bring 3-4 liters of water to a boil in a large pot and add molasses.
3. Cut the parchment around each bagel to make handling easier.
4. Carefully drop 3 bagels into the boiling water, top side down, and boil for 30 seconds.
5. Flip the bagels and boil for another 30 seconds on the other side.
6. Transfer the boiled bagels to a baking sheet with the bottom side down.

Step 4

1. Place the boiled bagels onto the soaked bagel boards, top side down.
2. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes on the bagel boards.
3. After 5 minutes, flip the bagels over so the top side is up, and continue baking for 12-15 minutes on a pizza stone/steel until golden brown and blistered.
4. Remove the bagels from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.