Back when I used to make bagels, I made Montreal bagels, except I didn't know they were bagels, I used a recipe a Jewish friend's mom gave me. Her recipe used malt syrup. The trick was to boil them in a shallow pan (I used my mom's wok) for 60 seconds, flipping them once, drain on a tea towel for about 10 minutes before baking. She also would put two bricks in the oven, heat the oven to 450, and then drop the temperature to 425 when she baked them. Poppy or sesame seeds were sprinkled on them right before baking them. My favorite to make were pumpernickel with caraway seeds...maybe when I get ahead of the gardening, spring cleaning, and work, I'll have time to make a batch of her bagels. To me, that was how bagels were supposed to be. When I first had Montreal bagels, I thought they were just like the ones Mrs. Schwartz made.