Measure warm milk into a glass measuring cup or bowl, stir in ¼ cup of the sugar until well combined. . Stir in yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, vanilla, vinegar, and a copious amount of red gel food colouring, stir well to combine.

Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.

Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Note: Depending on how much - and what type of - food colouring you use, you may find the dough to be too wet / sticky. You can add a little more flour if this is the case - it should be a little sticky, but easily peeled away from the bowl.

Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

Once dough has doubled, dump it out on a clean work surface, and divide it out.

We divided the mixture into 8 equal sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 6, 10, or 12 equal sized pieces.

There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though.

Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.

Once you have all of your bagels formed, set them on a baking sheet to rise for another 10 minutes.

As your bagels are resting, preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the sugar, and stir well to combine.

Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.

2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.

Drain well, place on lined baking sheets.

Whisk egg together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel.