Easy Bagels with a Cool Rise

We went into Shelter in Place for Covid-19 with cream cheese that needed to be used and our local bagel bakery closed. I found a good recipe on the Washington Post site to which I only needed to make small changes to make it work for me. The recipe calls for barley malt syrup which is not easy to find. In Santa Cruz I was only able to find it at Staff of Life grocery. The Post says that is often found at brewing supply stores. If you can't find it you can substitute molasses using 1/3 less though the flavor would be more harsh. I don't know that it would be a problem in the bagels. You can also use an amount equal to the syrup of non-diastatic malt powder. The reason for the malt syrup is to give a bagel the proper New York bagel flavor.

Bagels
2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
337 grams warm water/scant 1 1/2 cups (80ºF or 27ºC)
623 grams bread flour/approximately 4 cups (may substitute high-gluten flour)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon barley malt syrup.
cornmeal for dusting
baking stone or steel if possible

Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water in the measuring cup and let it start to foam while you prepare the dough. Whisk the salt into the flour in bowl of mixer that has a bread-hook. Stir in the barley malt syrup. Attach the bread-hook, add the yeast mixture and beat on the lowest speed until the dough starts to come together around the hook, about 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat for 7 to 10 minutes until you have a smooth stiff dough.
Dust a rimmed baking sheet large enough for 8 bagels with the cornmeal. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll them into smooth balls. Cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest 5 minutes at room temperature on your kitchen counter.
Flatten the balls into disks. Next punch a hole into the middle of each disk with your thumbs. Carefully stretch the bagels, enlarging the holes by twirling the bagel around your fingers, trying to keep the ring even as you shape it. You want the center hole large enough that it will not disappear when the dough rises, about 2 inches or 5 centimeters. I know this seems large but it will shrink when the dough rises and cooks. As you finish shaping each bagel place it on the cornmeal dusted baking sheet. After the bagels are all shaped, cover the baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours.
When you are ready to cook the bagels fill a large wide pot with 3 inches/7.5 centimeters of water and set your oven to 450ºF/232ºC with the stone or steel inside. Bring the water to a boil. Have a cooling rack nearby to place the boiled bagels on. Boil the bagels 3 or 4 at a time, for 30 seconds, flipping them after 15 seconds. Place them on the rack, bottom/flatter side down. Place the bagels right side up on a sheet of baking parchment on a pizza peel or an upside down baking sheet. You might feel more comfortable sliding 4 rather than 8 bagels at a time and so feel free to bake them in 2 batches.
Slide the bagels and the parchment sheet onto the stone/steel and bake on the middle rack of the over for 12 to 18 minutes. Actually I skipped the parchment instead re-dipping the bagels in the cornmeal and placing directly on my peel. When they are a deep golden brown, remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Variation: For topped bagels have a dish with your topping of choice such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dehydrated onion or garlic nearby when you are boiling the bagels. Dip the bagels into your topping while it is still wet from the boil, before the bake.