Homemade Bagels
There is not much better than a homemade bagel fresh out of the oven. I couldn’t believe how good these were. They tasted so fresh and chewy! This is actually the third time I’ve made homemade bagels. For the first batch, I wasn’t a big fan of the recipe I used. For the second batch I used the recipe I’m sharing with you today, but I didn’t add enough flour so the bagels were very flat. They tasted great, but they looked kind of funny. So I decided to make a third batch and perfect my technique. Mike wasn’t complaining about this at all – he loved eating all the bagel rejects! These ones turned out great – soft, chewy, and with that unmistakable bagel flavor. Plus, now that I’ve had so much practice, the process of making these isn’t intimidating at all! If you like homemade bread (who doesn’t??), give these a try. And if for some reason they don’t turn out right the first time, they’re definitely worth the extra effort of trying again! 🙂
Homemade Bagels
Ingredients:
Bagel Dough:
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 - 4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
Water Bath
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Directions:
Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook to knead on medium low speed for 5-10 minutes. You can also knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes. Start with 4 cups of flour and add extra if needed as kneading. The dough should be stiff enough not to stick to your fingers much, but will still be pliable and smooth once it has finished kneading. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it is noticeably puffy.
Transfer the risen dough to a work surface and divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth, round ball. Place the balls on a lined or lightly greased baking tray and cover lightly. Let them rest for 30 minutes. They’ll puff up very slightly.
Once they have rested, use your thumb to poke a hole through the center of each ball then twirl the dough and use your other fingers to stretch the hole until it is about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The entire bagel will be around 4 inches across. Place the shaped bagels on a lined baking tray (the same one that you’ll bake them on).
Prepare the water bath by heating the water and sugars to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. Preheat your oven to 425.
Transfer the bagels, three or four at a time, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gently simmering boil, if necessary. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes, flip them over using a wide spatula, and cook 1 minute more. Using a wide spatula, carefully remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels.
Top the bagels with your desired ingredients. If you are going to use a dry topping, such as sesame seeds or poppy seeds, whisk together 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush each bagel with the mixture before topping heavily with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc. If using cheese, there is no need to brush the bagels with an egg white glaze, simply place the shredded cheese on the bagels.
Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re deep brown. Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack.
from King Arthur Flour, as seen on Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
Bagels have been on my ‘to make’ list for awhile, but I keep shying away because the recipes seem complicated. Glad to know these aren’t too hard. The look great!
These sound absolutely fabulous. Yum!
I love homemade bagels SO much.
Homemade bagels are definitely on my bucket list. I should really give them a try soon! I had to buy half a dozen from the grocery store bakery and they were hard as a rock so I made bagel chips instead. I know, shameful, but I will most definitely tackle bagel-making soon!
I haven’t made homemade bagels in years! Definitely going to have to try them again soon!
I do love homemade bagels! I have a recipe that allows me to make the dough the night before, and just bake in the morning 🙂 These look scrumptious!
bagels have totally intimidated me, but you make them look so easy. delicious!!
Megan, these look incredible! i’ve never attempted homemade bagels.. i’m too scared to try it! you make it look easy.. and delicious!
If I may offer some unsolicited advice – 3 minutes in the water bath is way too long! I used to work in a bagel shop where we made our bagels on-site, and I’ve been making them at home ever since, and seriously, they need no more than 30 seconds per side. That way they puff up beautifully and the tops are nice and smooth when they come out of the oven,
Thank you!! I will have to try that next time. I thought mine looked a little wrinkly… thanks for the advice!
Are these still good the day after you make them? I’m worried they might get stale fast.
I’ve always wanted to make my own bagels. These look as good as Panera’s!
i love making bread, but bagels still scare the bejeesus out of me. i need to get over it and try them soon!
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