First day: To make the sponge, whisk together the flour, instant yeast and water in a large bowl until smooth and gloopy, similar to a thick pancake batter. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 2 hours, or until it becomes foamy and bubbly. It should rise to double its size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the bench.

For the next steps you can either use dough hook on a stand mixer or do it by hand.

To make the dough, stir the additional yeast into the sponge mixture. Add 3 cups of the high-grade flour, cinnamon, sugar, salt and honey. Stir (or mix on low speed with dough hook) until it forms a ball. Slowly work in the remaining 3/4 cup of flour to stiffen the dough. In the last 2 minutes of mixing, add the raisins and stir to mix through.

Transfer the dough to a counter and knead for at least 10 minutes by hand, or 6 minutes using a dough hook. By this point it should be firm and stiff but still smooth and stretchy. All ingredients should be fully incorporated. If it seems too dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If it seams tacky or sticky, add  a little more flour until it is smooth and satiny, but no longer sticky.

Divide the dough into 16 even pieces (around 95 grams each) and form into balls. Cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Line 2 baking trays or tins that will fit in your fridge with baking paper and mist with cooking spray. To shape the bagels, roll into a long ‘sausage’ shape (~20cm long) and wrap around your fingers to form a circle, sealing the ends firmly. Try to make the bagels as evenly round as possible. The other way of shaping them is just to poke a hole in the middle with your thumb, widening it to approximately 5cm across.

Place the bagels 3-4 cm apart on the baking trays. Mist lightly with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic war (or slip inside a plastic bag). Leave the bagels at room temperature for 20 minutes.

To check whether the bagels are ready to be retarded in the fridge, use the float test - fill a small bowl with cool-room temperature water. Place a bagel in the water- if it floats within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water, they are ready to go into the fridge. Pat the bagel dry, cover the pan, and place all the bagels in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days. If it doesn’t float, return it to the pan and leave at room temperature, checking every 10-20 minutes until it floats within 10 seconds.

Second day: The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 260°C. Bring a large pot of water to the boil (preferably with a wide diameter), and add the baking soda and honey to the water.

Remove the bagels from the refrigerator. Gently drop as many bagels as comfortably fit in a single layer into the water (I could fit 4 in my pot at a time). They should float within 10 seconds. After 1 minute 30 seconds, flip them over and boil for another 1 min 30 sec. If you like very chewy bagels, boil for 2 min each side, while if you don’t like them chewy, boil for 1 min each side. I found that 1 minute 30 was my favourite! They will increase in size during the boiling process.

As you boil the bagels, place them back on the baking trays. When they have all been boiled, place the baking trays in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate 180° (so they cook more evenly). Reduce the oven temperature to 230°C and continue baking for 5 minutes, or until the bagels are a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes. Serve with the berry mascarpone (see instructions below) and extra chopped pistachios. Smear on a fresh or toasted bagel and enjoy!

The bagels keep in an airtight plastic bag for a few days, and also freeze very well in an airtight bag - just pull out early to defrost (or microwave briefly), cut in half and toast.

Gently mix together the mascarpone, lemon zest and berries. Smear onto a toasted bagel and scatter with chopped pistachios.