I'm not kidding about the stiffness of this dough. I don't even grease the bowl I put it in to rise. Cover it and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator. You can let it rise at room temperature for a couple of hours if you're in some kind of a hurry, but your bagels will taste pretzely. There's nothing wrong with pretzely bagels but the overnight kind taste bagely and there is everything right with bagely bagels.