Bloom the Yeast
Step 1 Mix the yeast into a small bowl with the 297 G warm water (90° F), add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Let this rest for 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to bloom. After the 10 minutes, stir once to mix everything well.

Prepare the Dough Mixture

Step 2 Using a digital scale, place a large bowl onto your scale and zero out (tare) the bowl. Add the bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Remove the bowl from the scale and using a large spoon or wooden/rubber spatula, stir the two dry flours and salt to fully mix them together. Next, add in your water/sugar/yeast you just bloomed. Stir together until you have a shaggy dough ball. You can use your hands to mix these together and get a feel for the dough.

Step 3 Turn your dough from step 2 out onto a clean non-floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, form the dough into a ball shape. Clean our your original dough bowl and lightly oil it with olive oil or any other oil you have. Place the rounded dough ball into the oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel and let rest for 1 hour.

Step 4 After the dough has rested for an hour (step 3), lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieced. I divide by sight, general accuracy is fine. Once divided, shape each piece into a ball by rolling between your hand and an un-floured surface. Once rolled into a ball, place on a floured sheet pan and cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10--15 minutes.

Step 5 While the dough balls are resting, mix your desired toppings in a small bowl. You can also make several different mixes separated into individual bowls. For example, I make an everything topping mix and then a sesame seed mix and then a sesame seed and poppy seed mix.

Step 6 After the dough balls have rested, lightly poke a flowered finger into the center and all the way through each dough ball. It looks like you have just made a doughnut. Using two or more fingers, lightly stretch the hole you just made up to about an inch in diameter. Do this for each dough ball and place back on the flowered sheet pan and re-cover with the damp towel. Now, preheat your oven to 425° F.

Step 7 Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil on your stove. I use a large soup pot about 3 inches deep with water. Once boiling, carefully take each bagel and place it in the boiling water making sure not to crowd the pot. Leave room for expansion. With my large pot, I boil 4 bagels at a time. Boil for 1 minute (maximum of 2 minutes for a super chewy texture). Using a slotted spoon or other similar tool, gently flip each bagel over in the boiling water and boil on the second side for 1 minute (maximum of 2 minutes for a super chewy texture). When finished, gently remove each bagel using a slotted spoon to similar and place on a parchment paper lined or lightly oiled baking sheet.

Step 8 Once all bagels have been boiled and removed from the water, very lightly brush the top of each bagel with olive oil (you can use and egg wash if you prefer) and then sprinkle your desired toppings over each bagel. You can also leave some bagels plain if you prefer.

Step 9 When you have completed sprinkling your toppings over your bagels, place the tray of bagels into your preheated 425° F oven and bake for 20 minutes or until just golden brown on top. I usually bake mine in for about 22 minutes. Watch your bagels and adjust accordingly. When done, remove your bagels from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a bit and then enjoy!