Make Dough

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the bagel ingredients, except the chocolate chips, and mix again on low speed for 5-6 minutes. The dough should be smooth and tacky to the touch.

   My water was 110 degrees F. The water shouldn't be hotter than 120 degrees F - otherwise this can kill the sourdough starter. You can also mix and knead the dough by hand.
   150 grams active sourdough starter, 250 grams water, warm, 500 grams bread flour, 40 grams sugar, 11 grams salt
2. Remove the dough and knead until smooth. Do so by folding a portion of the dough towards the center and pressing down with the heel of your hand. Repeat about 20 times, then place it in a lightly greased, straight-edged bowl. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, of resting, pour the chocolate chips on top of the bagel dough. Knead the chocolate chips into the bagel dough by stretching a small piece of the dough up, folding it towards the middle, and pushing the dough down with the heel of your hand. Repeat this for about 30 seconds or until the chocolate chips are incorporated into the dough. Some of the chocolate chips won’t be fully mixed in, and that’s okay. We will correct this during shaping. Cover again and wait until the dough doubles in size.

   This took about 8-10 hours in my 70 degree F kitchen. The timing depends greatly on the temperature of your dough and environment. The warmer it is, the faster the dough will rise. The opposite is true for cooler kitchens.
   100 grams chocolate chips
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, you can either cover the dough and store it in the fridge overnight, shape the bagels and store in the fridge overnight or proceed to shaping right away.

   Refer to the Notes before for Make-Ahead options.
5. When ready to shape, punch it down to remove all of the air bubbles. Then, place the dough on a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 130 grams each.
6. Pull the corners of each piece toward the center, pinch the seams together, flip, and then roll each piece of dough into a tight, round dough ball. Use your thumb to punch a hole in the middle of the dough ball. Some chocolate chips may escape, you can tuck them back in or leave them out. Stretch the dough ball with both thumbs about 2 inches, then place each bagel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
7. Cover the baking sheet with this plastic cover and let the dough rest for its second rise. The final proof is complete when the bagels have grown and look puffy.

   In my 70 degree F kitchen, this took about 1-2 hours with room temperature dough. If the dough is cold from being in the fridge, the second rise took more like 3-4 hours.
8. Once the second rise is almost complete, prepare the boil bath. Fill a large pot with about 10 cups of water. Once the water is boiling, add the honey and stir until it is dissolved. Boil 2-3 bagels at a time, 30 seconds on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove each bagel and place them on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

   You will notice that the water will turn brown due to some of chocolate chips melting. This is expected and won't effect the final product.
   24 grams honey, 2400 grams water
9. Once all of the Sourdough Chocolate Chip Bagels have been boiled, place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
10. Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown with an internal temperature of 205-210 degrees F.
11. Cool slightly before slicing. Top with some butter or cream cheese and enjoy!