Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes, until it’s bubbly.

To the bowl of the stand mixer, add the sourdough discard, honey, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for about 2 minutes with the dough hook attachment.

Continue kneading in the bowl until it forms a smooth bowl, about 5-10 minutes total. If the dough is too stiff and the stand mixer is struggling, you can knead by hand on a floured surface for about 5-10 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel (prevents drying out) and allow dough to rise at room temperature for about 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size. Kitchen temperature plays a big role in the rise time!

After rising, divide the dough into 6-8 equal pieces. For normal sized bagels, you’ll want about 140 grams on each piece. For jumbo bagels, you’ll shoot for about 165 grams.

Roll each piece of dough into balls, flatten down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle using your finger. Stretch hole to widen a bit. When all bagels are shaped, cover with a tea towel and place dough in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes or until puffy. I like to place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

While those are rising, preheat your oven to 425°F and prepare the water bath.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add the baking soda and brown sugar.

Using a slotted spoon, gently add the bagels to the boiling water. Boil for 1-minute, flip, then boil for another minute.

Shake off the excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional). I like to do a mix of cinnamon sugar, mini-chocolate chips, everything seasoning, or shredded cheddar cheese. Place boiled bagels back on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Move to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!