Middle of the Road Bagels

My first bagel recipe more than 20 years ago yielded a very dense and firm bagel that while authentic, is not to everyone’s taste. Generations of Americans have grown up with fluffy bagels from supermarket bakeries and expect a fairly tender bagel. This recipe, as its name implies, produces a bagel that’s neither light as a roll nor challengingly chewy. To get a moderately chewy texture, you have to use high gluten flour; malt syrup is also essential both in the dough and in the water for p