Bagel troubles in California Is it the flour? Maybe it's my brother Felipe's unorthodox sourdough?  The water is hard here, so there could be question of extensibility. Regardless, at the last minute – after preparing the dough, I realized there was no way to chill the bagels because the refrigerator wasn't available and space was at a minimum. Oh, and my brother had no baking soda to boil the finished product for that shiny bagel look. Going for a second test, here's my first effort.