In true NY bagel baking style

Not ascetically pleasing, but very very tasty! I decided right off the bat that if a true blue New Yorker couldn't find malt, I certainly wasn't going to waste my time. Honey it was. Right off the bat I was having problems. First my bubbly yeast mixture did not collapse when I banged the bowl very firmly (multiple times) against the counter. Then, even though I added a whole extra half cup of flour, my dough was sticky, sticky, sticky and was not passing the windowpane test. Sigh. I felt a slight panic coming on. I shaped all my dough into what I estimated to be 4.5 ounce balls and waited. Then I reshaped into bagels. Then I read the recipe again. What? What!? These have to sit overnight? I had planned to start the week with freshly baked bagels and now it was 9:30pm on a Sunday night. Double sigh. But in my semi-darkest moment, there was some hope. I could not have been more excited when my test bagel floated and the success inspired me to to rise early, in true NYC bagel baking style and boil my tasty delights before the sun rose. Since Phil was getting up at 5:30am the next day, I did as well and boiled and baked away in my dark kitchen. I decided on three flavors: plain, sesame, and sea salt (courtesy of Little Chef!) with rosemary. I ran into problems getting the bagels to hold their shape when peeling them off the sheet to drop in the water, and so my bagels were fairly flat. But the taste was fantastic - I have been assured by two harsh critics that they taste as good as any professional bagel. Success is mine!

the test bagel floats
can you stop the test bagel now? (kinda messed that one up in the drying process)