Bagels

I actually made these bagels about a month ago.  A repeat attempt is imminent.

I followed Mark Bittman's recipe, with maple syrup as the sweetener.  3.5 cups flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon instant yeast (or the equivalent amount of active dry yeast [activated] which is what I used), 2 tablespoons sweetener and enough water to form a dense, just slightly sticky dough.  The result certainly wasn't the best looking bagel I've ever seen, but it did the trick in this bagel wasteland.

Forming the bagels:

Boiling:

And baking: