Multigrain Bagels

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Set aside until yeast and sugar dissolved, about 5 minutes.

2. Combine bread flour, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, vital wheat gluten, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, and sea salt in a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk. Add yeast mixture and honey; stir until no dry spots remain. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let dough rest 20 minutes.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead about 7 minutes; it will be soft and slightly sticky. Add more flour if needed. Shape into a ball. Coat a mixing bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours.

4. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead briefly. Cut dough in half; return 1 half to the bowl and cover. Form other half into a cylinder. Cut into quarters and cut quarters in half, yielding 8 equal-sized pieces of dough. Shape dough pieces into balls. Repeat with remaining half of dough.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line one 11x17-inch baking sheet with waxed paper, another with a flour sack towel, and 2 remaining sheets with parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal.

6. Combine 3 quarts water and brown sugar in a large pot; bring to a boil.

7. Meanwhile, flatten 1 dough ball slightly; press index fingers through the center until they meet. Rotate fingers to stretch a hole about 1 3/4-inch in diameter. Set bagel on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

8. Reduce heat under brown sugar-water until simmering. Add 2 bagels at at time; boiling each for 30 seconds per side. Transfer boiled bagels to the towel-lined baking sheet to drain, then transfer bagels to the parchment paper-lined sheets.

9. Whisk egg white and 1 teaspoon cool water together in a small bowl; brush onto tops of bagels.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Flip bagels and continue baking until golden brown, about 13 minutes more.

11. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cook's Notes:

You will need four 11x17-inch baking sheets for this recipe.

Flipping the bagels over after baking for 12 minutes prevents the bottoms from becoming too heavily crusted.