I strayed from the bagel recipe while doubling it. I got especially loose with adding water to make it easy to mix. The starter sponge never passed the float test, but I left it out three times as long as in the recipe to give it more chances.
This time, there was no burning because I constantly checked the oven temperature. The texture of these bagels is OK, but they are extremely sour. It is the sourest of doughs. I played too loose, and the gods of baking have struck me down with this double batch of cursed bagels.