Homemade bagels that are perfectly chewy and delicious, made right at home. There is something so satisfying about making your own bagels!
My hubby loves bagels but is very particular about them. Packaged ones from the grocery store “aren’t real bagels” and just won’t do for him. He prefers a good deli-style bagel. Nice and chewy and covered in seasoning.
Homemade bagels have become something of a weekend ritual. Well not every weekend, because, hips. But every now and then, we whip up a batch of chewy bagels to munch on with our morning coffee.
Sometimes we enjoy them with some cream cheese. Other times, they turn into egg sandwiches. But everytime they are enjoyed with pleasure. I love seeing the smile playing on my hubby’s lips as he bites into a good bagel. Its the little things.
For me, making bagels at home is the only way I get to enjoy an “everything bagel”. These were always my favourite bagels since I was a kid and nothing else comes close for me.
Since everything bagel spice contains garlic, I can’t eat it anymore (boo food sensitivities). Stores everywhere sell “everthing but the bagel” spice but once again, it has garlic. Instead, I make my own “everything but the garlic” spice at home. That’s what I call it anyway haha. Essentially, I just mix equal parts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and onion flakes. Season them with a bit of salt too and toss it all together. Voila! I get to eat “everything” bagels too!
This last weekend was another bagel weekend and I just had to take some pics and share this recipe with you guys.
Many people are baking bread at home. I see loaf after loaf pop up on my feed and I was inspired. No, these are not sourdough bagels. No sourdough here. Just good old fashioned yeast.
Making bagels at home isn’t terribly difficult. This is especially true if you have a stand mixer that can do some of the work for you. If you don’t, it is still doable but you will need to use more elbow grease.
Making homemade bagels
The process of making homemade bagels takes a bit of time – about 2 hours to be exact. 1 1/2 of those hours is really just letting the dough rise and so it isn’t too much work when you think about it.
The full details are in the recipe below but the process essentially requires a few simple stages:
- First, you make the dough and let it rise.
- Shape the bagels and give them a quick boil.
- Season them and bake them.
This is obviously a simplified list of steps and there is more info in the recipe card below but it really is pretty easy! If I can do it, you can too!
If you give them a try, let me know what you think!
Bon appetit!
-Cathy
Homemade Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar divided
- 3 3/4 cups bread flour (can sub all purpose) + more for kneading
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg white
- seasonings (everything bagel spice, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, pour the yeast mixture, remaining sugar, salt, and flour and mix on low speed for approximately 2 minutes, until dough comes together.
- Transfer dough to a floured surface. Knead by hand for 5 minutes and form into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour. If it is to dry, sprinkle with water but be careful not to add too much at once.
- Grease a bowl (can use the bowl of your stand mixer) with oil and place the dough in it. Cover it with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 hours or until it doubles in size.
- Preheat oven to 425F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Using your fingers poke a hole in the center of each ball and begin to stretch it out into a bagel shape.
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add of honey. Working in batches of 2-4 bagels (as many as can fit in the pot with space to float), boil the bagels for 1 minute on each side. Place bagels on baking sheets.
- Beat the egg white with 2 teaspoons of water to create an egg wash. Brush the bagels with the egg wash and sprinkle with your seasonings. Alternatively, brush the egg whites onto the bagels and dip them into a bowl filled with your seasoning for a more substantial coat of seasoning.
- Bake bagels for 18-23 minutes or until they turn a nice golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Nutrition
