In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine warm water, oil, 1/4 cup honey and salt. Mix well. Add 3 cups of flour and mix well. 

Add vital wheat gluten and lecithin if using, and yeast. Continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until a nice stiff dough forms. Somewhere around 5 cups total flour. You want the dough to bulk up and pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

Knead dough with dough hook or by hand until smooth and elastic and passes the window pane test. 

Cover dough and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. Alternatively, you can turn the oven on very low, around 150 degrees F. and place the dough in, uncovered which will speed the rise time.

Once the dough has risen, get a nice big pot of water boiling with 1/4 cup honey or sugar mixed in. Also, prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.

Turn dough onto pastry mat or clean counter. Press the dough into a uniform, circular disc. Using a bench knife or something similar, cut the dough in half, then the halves in half and on like that until you have 8 even sections of dough.

Take each section of dough and create a ball of dough, then tuck the tops under to make the tops nice and smooth, like you would with a dinner roll. Using your thumb, press a hole through the middle of the ball of dough and widen the hole by swirling your index fingers inside of hole you just made. Place the formed bagel onto the parchment paper and continue with all of the dough pieces. 

Once all have been formed, allow the dough to rise for 10-15 minutes at room temperature. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

I like to place a paper towel on the counter and a baking rack above it to place the wet bagels to allow them to drip dry after they go in the boiling water. 

Once the dough has risen and the honey water is boiling, grab a slotted spoon or something similar. Carefully place bagels 3-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pot, into the boiling honey water. Boil for 2 minutes on each side, gently turning with the slotted spoon each time. After both sides have been boiled, using the slotted spoon pick up the bagels and allow them to drip before placing them on the baking rack to finish dripping dry. 

Continue for all bagels. 

If you wish to add cinnamon sugar or everything bagel seasoning, you can dip them now while they are wet. Otherwise, place the bagels on the lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. 

If you want your bagels to be shiny, you can add an egg wash before baking. I don’t typically do this though.

These bagels can be made in large batches and frozen for future use. I like to slice the bagels before freezing to make defrosting them easier.