Discover the joy and satisfaction of homemade bagels! This easy bagel recipe produces a perfectly chewy, flavorful dough. Keep them plain, or customize with your choice of toppings and seasonings.
Bagels are a truly unique bread that is cooked twice! They are first boiled in water and then baked in the oven. This two-step cooking process gives bagels their chewy interior and shiny exterior.
There are many variations on bagels such Montreal bagels and St. Louis bagels. This is my interpretation on the classic New York style bagel. NY style bagels are known for their slightly firm crust and chewy interior texture. It’s a big softer and larger than Montreal bagels.
Why make bagels at home when it’s so easy to purchase them at the market? Supermarket bagels tend be to rubbery and plastic-smelling. Unless you have local bagel bakery, homemade is the only way to experience a fresh from the oven bagel!
Making bagels takes some time, but its well worth the effort. It takes about 30 minutes of actual work. The remaining hours is taken up by resting the dough in the fridge.
Ingredients
Homemade bagels are made with simple all-natural ingredients! You need 5 ingredients:
- Bread Flour: High protein, high gluten bread flour provides the best chew and structure.
- Yeast: Use your choice of active dry yeast or instant yeast.
- Salt: Kosher salt flavors the dough.
- Water: Warm water to about 90-110℉ to properly activate yeast.
- Barley Malt Syrup: Adds iconic flavor and color to dough. Highly recommend getting this barley malt. Otherwise, sub in honey or brown sugar.
Recipe Variations
Customize your homemade bagels with a variety of different toppings. The most popular toppings are: everything seasoning (mix of poppy seed, sesame seed, garlic, onion, and salt), sesame seed, or shredded cheese.
These toppings are added after the dough is boiled. Brush the bagel dough with egg white wash and generously add seasonings.
Ground cinnamon and hydrated raisins are mixed into the dough to make cinnamon raisin bagels.
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Shape Bagels
Roll each portion into a loose ball. There are two ways to form the bagels.
- 1) Roll out the ball into a tapered rope and then pinch the ends together. Professional bakers usually prefer this method.
- 2) Punch hole and gradually stretch dough. I prefer this much easier method. Detailed step-by-step images below.
- A. Roll dough into a loose ball.
- B. Slightly flatten ball and use thumb to puncture a hole in the center.
- C. Gradually increase size of hole in center of dough.
- D. Holding dough with both thumbs in the hole, gently rotate dough and gradually stretch until the hole is about 2-inches in diameter.
Bagel Float Test
How do you know when the dough is ready for cooking? Test a chilled or rested bagel in a small bowl filled with cold water.
- If the dough floats to the top that means its ready for the next step.
- If it sinks, the dough needs more time to proof. You can either let it rest at room temperature for 15-30 minutes or place it back in the fridge.
Bagel Poaching Liquid
The poaching liquid is a mixture of water, barley malt syrup, baking soda, and salt. Barley malt is optional, but highly recommended. Use a large pot. The simmering water will BUBBLE and FOAM when baking soda is added.
Helpful Yeast Tips
Many home bakers are fearful of working with yeast because of bad experiences or failed baking attempts. Have no fear. When working with active dry yeast, the thermometer is our hero. Read this in-depth guide to baking with yeast for more detailed information.
Otherwise, these are the most important tips to note:
- Yeast needs the proper temperature to active and do its job. It is best to use warm water between 90-110 degrees F. Anything over 130 degrees F will kill the yeast and you’ll have to start over.
- Adding some sugar to the yeast mixture is also helpful. This recipe uses barley malt syrup. The sugar provides the yeast with food to stimulate activity. It causes the mixture to foam and bubble, indicating that the yeast is alive and well.
Related Bread Recipes
Bagels
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 ⅛ cup warm water,, (1 cup + 2 Tbsp) about 90-110℉
- 1 Tablespoon barley malt syrup, (21 g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon dry active yeast
- 3½ cups unbleached bread flour, (455 g)
- 1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
Poaching Liquid:
- 4 quarts water
- 2 Tablespoon barley malt syrup
- 1 ½ Tablespoon baking soda
- ½ Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
Optional Topping:
- egg white wash
- everything seasoning mix, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk warm water, barley malt syrup, and yeast. Let sit for 8-10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. It is ready to use when the mixture is cloudy, aromatic, and foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add flour and salt. Stir until combined. Add all of the yeast mixture to the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes. Stop mixer and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Continue mixing for another 3 minutes on the lowest speed. At this point the dough should be stiff yet supple. Transfer dough to a clean and lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest and rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After the dough has risen, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. I weighed mine out at 4 oz each. Form each piece into a loose ball. To form the bagels, slightly flattened the ball and poke a hole through the center using your thumb. Using both thumbs, rotate the dough and gradually stretch it to create a hole about 2 inches in diameter.
- Place each formed bagel onto a greased parchment lined sheet pan. Mist the bagels with oil or cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Place the fridge to chill overnight.
- The following morning, prepare the poaching liquid. In a large sauce pot, add the water. Make sure the water is at least 4 inches deep. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to keep the water at a simmer and add the remaining ingredients (barley malt syrup, baking soda, and kosher salt.)
- As you are waiting for the poaching liquid to come to a boil, remove the bagels from the fridge. To check if bagels are ready to be cooked, place a bagel in a bowl filled with cold water. If the bagel floats to the surface, it is ready to be boiled. If the bagel sinks, return it back to the pan and let it rest at room temperature for another 15-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Once the bagels have passed the float test, gently lower bagels into the simmering poaching liquid using a slotted spoon. You can add as many bagels can comfortably fit in the pot. Let bagels cook for one minute, then turn each bagel over using the spoon. Let cook for another 60 seconds, then remove using slotted spoon. Place bagel, domed side up, to a lightly oiled parchment lined sheet tray. If using toppings, brush domed tops with egg white and sprinkle toppings.
- Lower oven temperature to 450 ℉. Place bagels in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Rotate pan and check the bottom of the bagels. If they are are browning too much, place another baking tray under the pan. Bake for additional 8-10 minutes until the bagels are a nice, rich golden brown. Cool on wire rack before serving.
Notes
- High protein, high gluten bread flour provides the best chew and structure. You may sub in all-purpose flour. Resulting bagels will be softer.
- If you don’t have barley malt syrup, you may sub in honey or brown sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Your bagels look so good! I would love to make my own bagels, thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Thanks, Rosie! You are very welcome. After making my own, I have a hard time buying them!