Homemade bagels made from plain flour, active dry yeast, salt, sugar and warm water then sprinkled with your favourite toppings. Serve with either sweet or savoury toppings.
Homemade Bagels are far less intimidating to make than you might think. Yes, there are a few processes to follow and a little bit of time involved. But the result are well worth it!
If you're unfamiliar with the process to make bagels, you simply make the dough, allow it to prove, shape it into bagels, boil the bagels then bake them. The smugness you will feel eating and sharing these make the effort all the more worthwhile. It's actually a very similar process to my Homemade Pretzels!
If you're looking for some nice bread to serve with dinner, why not give my Dinner Rolls or my Focaccia a go?
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Ingredient notes:
- Flour: This recipe calls for plain flour. The rising agent is the active yeast.
- Active yeast: Be sure to check the expiry date on your yeast before baking. There's nothing more disappointing than your bread not rising because the yeast was too old!
- Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the boiling water when making bagels helps create a chewy texture and a slightly crispy crust.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.
Step by step instructions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the warm water and sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the yeast, stir again, and leave to sit for 10 minutes until frothy. Add the flour and salt. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and mix on low for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. (Knead by hand if you don't have a mixer.)
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour until doubled in size. Turn the dough out and shape it into a large log. Cut into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.
Make a hole in the centre of each ball, then spin the dough around your fingers to enlarge the hole. In a pot, bring 2 litres of water to a boil, then stir in the baking soda. Carefully lower the bagels into the boiling water, two at a time, for 1 minute on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place them on lined baking trays.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake. Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then brush the mixture over the boiled bagels. Sprinkle each one with the topping of your choice or keep them plain.
Bake for 20 minutes until the bagels are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Serve fresh with your favourite toppings including cream cheese and jam, smoked salmon or just butter.
Recipe FAQs:
Boiling sets the crust and helps give bagels their signature chewiness. The longer they boil, the thicker the crust will be.
Not enough alkalinity in the water (try more baking soda or barley malt syrup) or your oven isn't hot enough.
Yes, but kneading by hand will take longer (about 10-15 minutes) to develop the necessary gluten structure.
Storage:
Fresh bagels are best eaten the same day. Store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze them for longer storage.
Top tips:
This bagel recipe cannot be adapted to be made gluten free sorry. Bagels rely on the gluten from regular flour to give them their elasticity.
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Homemade Bagels
Homemade bagels made from plain flour, active dry yeast, salt, sugar and warm water then sprinkled with your favourite toppings.
Ingredients
Dough
- 450ml warm water
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 750g plain flour (5 cups)
- 2 tsp salt
Other Ingredients
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp sesame seeds or bagel seasoning
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the warm water and sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the yeast, stir again, and leave to sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
- Add the flour and salt. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and mix on low for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. (Knead by hand if you don’t have a mixer.)
- Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out and shape it into a large log. Cut into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.
- Make a hole in the centre of each ball, then spin the dough around your fingers to enlarge the hole.
- In a pot, bring 2 litres of water to a boil, then stir in the baking soda. Carefully lower the bagels into the boiling water, two at a time, for 1 minute on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place them on lined baking trays.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake.
- Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then brush the mixture over the boiled bagels. Sprinkle each one with the topping of your choice or keep them plain.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the bagels are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Freezing: If you don’t want to bake all the bagels at once, freeze the shaped dough in ziplock bags. You can boil and bake them straight from the freezer when ready cooking time may vary). You can also freeze the baked bagels for an easy snack.
- Other Topping Ideas: Sprinkle over poppy seeds, grated cheese or cinnamon sugar before baking.
- Recipe Adjustments: This recipe makes 12 bagels, but feel free to halve it if you need fewer.
- Bagel seasoning: Is a pre-made blend of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, onion and salt. You can find it in the spice section of some supermarkets.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 675mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 8g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Steph says
Hi I know you say plain flour but would wholemeal flour work as well ? I've got some that needs using up
VJ cooks says
Oh I haven't tried that sorry.
Steph Roy says
Also would an electric hand mixer with Dough hooks work too ? Could you include in your recipes that require a stand mixer if an electric mixer would also do the job please thanks ❤️
VJ cooks says
Yes an electric hand mixer will work in any recipe that uses a stand mixer.
Jackie says
Miss 12 had lots of fun making these. Easy to follow recpie and see didn't need much help at all. Really yummy!
logan says
this is very good
Kirthana says
Really great recipe , turned out so well! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe and many others too! ❤️
VJ cooks says
Oh I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback, Kirthana.
Hannah says
Really simple and easy recipe to follow! It was my first time making bagels, and it was a succes. I halfed the recipe and had a family breakfast with them. They now want me to make a full batch.
Will definitely make and use this recipe again!
VJ cooks says
That's awesome! Nothing more delicious than homemade baked goods for breakfast!
Evelyn says
Made these today and they turned out perfect, topped some with poppy and sesame seeds and the rest with the same plus grated parmesan cheese. Instead of freezing dough I cooked them all and popped 6 in the freezer. If I could have I would post a photo.
VJ cooks says
That is so cool! Thanks for the feedback, Evelyn. I'd love to see your photo! If you follow me on facebook or Instagram feel free to tag me!
Georgia says
Such a great recipe I make these bagels probably once a fortnight - very easy to make and they freeze well. So handy to have on hand and my toddler loves them! Thank you!
VJ cooks says
I love this. Thanks so much for the feedback, Georgia.