The dough used for bagels is basically a bread dough recipe. The secret is that you boil the bagels before baking them in the oven.

In a bowl put the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes until the yeast is working. Add the salt, egg, oil and flour and stir everything together. Dump the dough out on a floured board and knead until everything is of one consistancy. (Exactly like making bread). Put the dough into a warm bowl and put (covered) in a draft-free place for about 1 and 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Punch down the dough and divide it into 20 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Then roll each ball into a rope (like you would plasticine) about 7 inches long. Press the two ends of the "rope" together to give you the basic bagel shape. Put the bagels on a floured board, cover with a tea towel, and leave for about an hour to rise. During the last part of the rising time, put a pot on the stove and fill it with boiling water. Also turn the oven on to 375 Degrees F. Dump about 5 bagels at a time into the boiling water. They will fall to the bottom of the pot and then rise. When they rise turn them over. Boil them for a total (including time at bottom of pan) of 2 minutes. Lift the bagels out of the water with a slotted spoon and leave them to drain while you do remaining bagels. Put all the bagels on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes (Until they turn brown). Enjoy.