Fry the bacon until crisp. Drain and chop finely, reserving the bacon grease.
In a large bowl, combine 1œ cups of flour and the active dry yeast. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt and warm water. Add this to the flour-yeast mixture. Add the reserved bacon grease to the mixture, stirring to mix well.
In Œ-cup increments, add the remaining 1œ cups of flour to make a kneadable dough.
Turn onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth. Cover and let rest until doubled in size, about 1œ hours.=
Divide into 12 portions. With floured hands, shape each portion into a smooth ball. Poke a hole in the center of each round with your finger and pull the dough apart to form a bagel shape. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the bagels for 7 minutes, turning once. Drain.
Bake for 35 minutes. Serve hot out of the oven.
3 cups flour, divided, plus additional for dusting work surface
2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1¼ cup warm water
This article appears in March 2012.