I had  no idea that a bagel was suppose to be a bit of a chew. Seriously, chewing a bagel is supposed to give you jaw ache!  

Most bakeries will make up the dough, let it proof, shape, boil and bake, and there is nothing wrong with this process. For many commercials reasons this make great sense but if you have a little more time on your hands then cold fermentation or proofing might a better option.

Cold Fermentation or proofing is made with the same ingredients as any other bagel, the difference is that instead of luke warm water you'd use ice cold water and instead of leaving the dough out to prove, when cold proofing you let of prove in a fridge overnight. So not the best if you are in a hurry but then if you are in a hurry you can knock out a lot of bagels within a couple of hours.