• In the morning or the evening before, feed your sourdough starter.
• Once the starter is ready to go, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the dough ingredients and use a fork to combine it into a thick and rough dough.
• Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. For optimal gluten development, the dough should be worked and kneaded for around 8 minutes. Take a break if you need it, it will get easier to knead if you let it rest for 10 minutes. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.
• Once kneaded, place the dough ball in a large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm spot around 25°C/77°F until bulked out by at least 60%.
• Once the dough has risen, place it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Shaping

• Pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball.
• Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (a kitchen scale works well to ensure even bagels) and shape each dough into a smooth ball. Let these dough balls rest for 5 minutes.
• Use a rolling pin and roll a dough ball into a rectangle. Roll it up tightly into a cylinder from the long end and seal the edges by pinching them together. Then, lengthen the cylinder into a 10-inch rope on a clean surface. Flatten one end of the rope to about 1-2 inches long.
• Bring the rounded end of the rope around to meet the flattened end. Carefully overlap the flattened end over the rounded end. If needed, moisten the flattened end slightly to help it stick.
• Place the shaped bagels on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and loosely cover. Let them rise for around 2 hours until puffy - the timing will depend on your room temperature.

Poaching and baking

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and once the water is boiling, stir in honey or brown sugar.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
• Dust any excess flour off the bagels and drop them in the boiling water one at a time. If your pot is small, boil them in batches.
• Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds. Remove the bagels from the water using a slotted spoon and place back on the baking sheet.
• Bake the bagels in the oven for around 20-25 minutes until golden brown; the timing will depend on your oven. If they are baking unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the oven tray around after 15 minutes of baking.
• Remove the baked bagels from the tray and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.