Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. It should get nice and bubbly

To the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the sourdough discard, honey, salt and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.

Continue kneading it in the mixer until it comes together to form a smooth ball. About 5-10 minutes total. Smaller models struggle with such a stiff dough. Sometimes I knead for a few minutes on low speed, give the motor a rest, and then turn it back on for a few minutes. Alternatively, you can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough by hand for 5-10 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, a beeswax wrap, plastic wrap, or a wet tea towel. This keeps it from drying out on top. 

Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. The amount of time can depend on how warm your kitchen is.

After rising, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. These absolutely do not need to be perfect, but they will each be about 137-140 grams.

Roll each piece of dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen. Cover with a tea towel and place the dough in a warm spot for 30 minutes- 1 hour, or until puffy.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare your water bath and place parchment paper onto a baking sheet.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.

Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the boiling water. Boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.

Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional). Place boiled bagels on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, everything but the bagel seasoning, or even some brown sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Move to a wire rack to cool.