Whole Wheat Bagels

1. Place water, honey, vital wheat gluten, salt, yeast, and whole wheat flour in the bread maker in that order. Select "Dough" setting. Let the bread maker work, about 2 hours.

2. Remove finished dough from bread maker and punch it down on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 equal-sized sections and pat into balls. Push a thumb through each ball to make a hole; shape the bagels as round as possible. Place on a plate and cover with a clean towel; let rest for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a clean towel. Sprinkle a separate baking sheet with cornmeal.

4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add sugar. Add bagels to the water, 2 at a time. Boil for 1 minute, turning them over halfway through. Remove bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and drain on the towel-lined baking sheet.

5. Transfer bagels to the prepared baking sheet. Brush bagels with egg white.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Cook's Notes:

If you don't have a bread maker, add the yeast to the lukewarm water and honey for 10 minutes, then add the flour and gluten. Knead, let rise, and follow the rest of the instructions.

If you don't have honey, you can use regular sugar.

Baking time will depend upon the size of your bagels (for example, if you make 4 giant ones, they will take longer to cook). Watch carefully that they don't burn.