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To make the poolish: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Add the water, mixing until smooth. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 2 to 8 hours. This broad time range is for both convenience and flavor. More time will yield more flavor, but even a few hours will be enough to make a noticeable difference.
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To make the dough: In a large mixing bowl combine the poolish with the water, mixing by hand to break up the poolish. Add the flour, salt, and yeast, stirring by hand or on low speed of a stand mixer until the dough forms a cohesive, shaggy, tacky mass. Resist the urge to add more flour.
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Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and allow it to rest for 2 hours, stretching and folding the dough over onto itself three or four times in the bowl after 1 hour.
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Without touching the dough again, place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight, or for 8 to 12 hours.
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The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
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Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces; if you have a scale each piece will weigh about 114g.
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Shape each piece into a tight ball, place on a lightly floured surface, then cover and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
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To shape the bagels: Using your fingers, poke a hole in the middle of each ball, gently expanding the hole until it’s 2” to 3” in diameter.
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Return the shaped bagels to the floured surface, cover them again, and allow them to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
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While the bagels are resting, preheat the oven to 475°F. If you have a baking stone, place it on the middle rack in the oven and have ready two pieces of parchment large enough to fit the stone. To bake on baking sheets, line two pans with parchment and set aside.
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To prepare the water bath: Put 4” of water in a shallow (wide) 6-quart pot, then add the barley malt syrup or molasses and the salt. Bring to a medium boil.
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Carefully place three bagels at a time in the water bath. Boil the bagels for 30 seconds on one side. Using a slotted spoon, flip them over. Boil the bagels for another 60 to 90 seconds.
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Remove the bagels from the water, allowing them to drip dry for a few seconds before placing them 2” to 3” apart on the prepared parchment or parchment-lined pan; you should be able to get six bagels per parchment/pan.
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Sprinkle any toppings onto the bagels. Alternatively, dip the bagels into a shallow bowlful of the toppings before returning to the parchment/pan.
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Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, either in two batches if baking on a stone, or rotating the pans halfway through if using baking sheets. The bagels are done when the bottoms and sides are a deep mahogany brown and firm.
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Remove the bagels from the oven and cool them on a rack. Store bagels at room temperature for up to one day, or wrap and freeze for longer storage.
