Add flour, salt, yeast, non-diastatic malt and water to bowl of stand mixer with dough hook attached. Mix on low until dough is elastic and strong, no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. 10-20 minutes.
Let the dough sit in for about 10 minutes, then remove the dough from the bowl to your workspace.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Additionally, this is optional but I find helpful - Cut parchment into 8 squares that are 4-5 inches large, one for each bagel.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions for good size bagels or 10-12 for smaller bagels. Weighing your dough will help create perfectly equally sized bagels but is not required.
Shaping the bagels: There are two ways to shape bagels and you can do either with the same results.Method 1: Take a portion of dough and flatten into a rectangle-ish shape. It doesn't need to be perfect. Take the long side and fold it over onto itself - not all the way to the edge but about a third - and then continue to do that to create a rope/log. Using your palms, roll out the dough to a rope shape that's about 8-10 inches long. Place one end of the dough in the middle of your palm and wrap the rest around your hand, overlapping the ends on your palm side creating a ring that your hand is in the center of. Place your palm and the ends down onto the workspace and push your hand forwards and backwards, the dough should begin to roll together and seal the seam where the two ends meet, creating the ring bagel shape. Place on your baking sheet (on a parchment square if using them) and repeat with all the remaining dough portions.Method 2: Shape your dough portion into a ball. Poke your index finger through the center, meeting your thumb on the other side to create a hole. Stretch the dough from the center hole. I find it easiest to put both pointer fingers in facing each other and make a circular motion (like if you were telling someone to hurry up) until the dough has been stretched and the hole is several inches wide. Place on your baking sheet (on parchment squares if using them) and repeat with all remaining pieces of dough. Cover your baking sheet and let the bagels rise in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes.
After 30-60 minutes, place your covered baking sheet in the refrigerator to rise for 24-36 hours.
The next day, when ready to bake bagels: Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Remove your bagels from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 30-60 minutes. If it is winter or your house is cold, this time may increase. When I tested this in a cold winter house, it took about 45-60 minutes before my bagels passed the float test.
Fill a wide, deep pot with 8 cups of water. Sprinkle the non-diastatic malt and brown sugar into the pot and whisk. Bring the water to a low boil.
Test one bagel to make sure it's ready - place in the water and if it floats it's ready. If not, let the bagels rest for another 20-30 minutes. If a bagel doesn't pass the float test, you still can continue boiling and then bake the single bagel. It will be edible just more dense than the bagels that are ready.When your bagels are ready, place them in the water and boil for 30-40 seconds on the first side then flip them over and 30-40 seconds on the other side. Don't worry about peeling the parchment squares off. After about 5-10 seconds they will lift off easily without deflating your bagels. Remove using a spider or slotted spoon or spatula back onto the baking sheet. If you would like plain bagels, leave as is. If you want toppings such as everything, sesame or poppyseed, add toppings after you have added the next batch of bagels to the water. Because the bagels are still tacky from the water, it will adhere without having to use anything additional like egg wash. Repeat the process with the remaining bagels.
Once all bagels have been boiled, move the pan into the oven on the center rack and bake for about 17-22 minutes or until the bagels are done. Bagels will be ready and lightly golden at 16-17 minutes and you can remove them, or you can let them stay in the oven and get a rich golden color. The level of browning is personal preference - Personally I like them around the 19 minute mark.
Remove from oven and onto a wire cooling rack to cool. Allow bagels to rest for at least 30 minutes before consuming. Store them in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. Enjoy!
