So we are in quarantine like just about everyone else in the world. Since we now have all the time we could ever want to do any given project, I’ve turned everything into a project! Breakfast has turned into it’s own little event. I’ve been whipping up coconut crusted french toast, funfetti pancakes, brown sugar candied bacon, the list goes on.
I’ve been trying to avoid going into grocery stores altogether by having my groceries delivered. The problem here is so many items are out of stock. This includes bagels.
The other day it rained and we fired up the Disney Plus and I decided it was the day to attempt making bagels from scratch. I feel like basics such as bagels are the toughest to get right.
The ingredient list is quite simple (I had everything in my pantry already). I will say the process to make these are a bit time consuming but you have to trust me on this one -these bagels are worth it. They are New York style so they are chewier than the regular bread like consistency of some.
The original recipe (here) calls for bread flour. The protein in the bread flour makes the bagels chewier. My adaptation calls for plain old all purpose flour and are just as chewy. I just boiled them for two minutes rather than one and it changes the texture.
My recipe is for plain, but you can add any toppings you’d like! I love sesame bagels, you could use poppy seeds, add cinnamon to the dough, the possibilities are limitless. I’d actually really love to add pizza seasonings and top with a sprinkle of grated cheese OMG YES!
NY Style Bagels
yield 8 bagels
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- 1 ½ tablespoons (4 ½ teaspoons) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups warm water (you may need a little more depending on how the dough comes together)
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour (you may need extra for kneading)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- a little oil (whatever kind you like) for bowl
- 1 egg white for egg wash (use a whole egg if you like a darker bagel)
Directions
1. In ½ cup of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
3. Pour 1/3 cup of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup of water. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
4. On a floured work surface, knead the dough for about 7 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.
5. Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
6. Carefully divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
7. Shape each piece into a round, making it as smooth as possible.
8. Gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
9. After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF.
10. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Carefully lower the bagels into the water. I boiled 4 at a time, but you can boil as many as you are comfortable with. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 2 minutes, and them flip them over to boil for another 2 minutes.
11. Once all the bagels have boiled, transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet.
12. Whisk your egg white and brush on the bagels. This will give them a shiny crust. If you want to add toppings to your bagels, do so after the egg wash so they will stick nicely.
13. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
These bagel are so good I will make this a lot I will no longer buy from store again i did everything bagel and onion bagel
They are delish! My kids want them all the time lol
Me too! My kids request these every other Sunday. Topped with everything but the bagel seasoning is delicious but the favorite is jalapeño with cheddar and Parmesan cheese on top.
OMG the jalapeno sounds amaaaazing
I make these all the time now! My kids and I love them! No more store bought bagels!
So great to hear!!
Love them!! Do we know how many calories are in each bagel?
I don’t but I’m sure we can plug the recipe into a recipe calculator online!
Roughly About 210 calories each
Can I use bread flour instead of AP?
Yes!
Can i use my sandmixer?
I do! Use the dough hook.
Yes!
Great recipe. No more store bought bagels for my family! Do you have a whole wheat recipe?
Yay! so glad you like it. I’d just try using whole wheat flour and see what happens. I’ve tried making cinnamon swirl bagels and they were amazing…
This is my favorite bagel recipe! The kids and hubby love it, we never buy from the store anymore. How long do you leave them out before storing in a zip lock baggie? I usually do this too soon and was wondering what works for you?
That’s awesome! So glad you love. I wait until they’re cooled completely to put them in an airtight bag or container. Usually they’re gone before the day is over lol my kids gobble them up!
These look amazing! I saw you mentioned you’ve made cinnamon swirl bagels- what exactly did you add, and when?
Following!! Curious what you did for cinnamon swirl bagels!
Thanks so much for your support Alison! Once you’re kneading the dough on your work surface, sprinkle a good amount of cinnamon (a few tablespoons) and sugar -or brown sugar (1/4-1/2 cup depending on how subtle or not so subtle you like). Knead until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then follow directions per the recipe!
Can you add blueberries to this recipe?
Totally worth a shot! I’d top them with some sugar in the raw. Woah that sounds great!
I’m wondering how these would work with gluten free bread flour.
Hi Kathleen, thanks for stopping by! I’m not sure but if you try, please leave a reply here so others could find out the answer.
I attempted this recipe twice without success. I used a gluten free flour blend. The first time I didn’t have any xantham gum and they didn’t rise at all. The second time I used a food scale to measure the ingredients and added zantham gum- they were better but still no rise. I am determined to figure it!
Gluten free baking is notoriously tough. I commend you for trying! When you figure out the solution please report back here!
I made a double batch of dough and just added 3-4 tsps cinnamon, 2 tsps vanilla extract, 2 tbsps brown sugar and 1/2-3/4 cup raisins to the flour mixture and kneaded it all together. Turned out awesome!!
I made a double recipe and added 2-3 tsps of cinnamon, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 2-3 tbsps of brown sugar and 1/2-3/4 cup raisins to the flour and kneaded it all together then followed remaining steps. They turned out incredible!!
Also made a batch and sprinkled sesame seeds on some and everything bagel slice on others… all were amazing!!
Yeah!! Awesome. So glad you love the recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to share your experience. Please share the recipe on your social media and link back here! I love to spread the love 💕
I’ve made these bagels three times now, they’re amazing! Definitely satisfy a craving for a good NYC bagel!
Ooohhhh yum! Did you stick with the plain every time or did you try some variation?
This was my first time ever making bagels at home…they were the BEST BAGELS my husband and I have ever had! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
That makes me so happy! Please share on social media, it would mean the world 🥰
Can I use Instant yeast? Or does it have to be the active?
Have you ever tried to freeze them before baking? Thinking of making the dough, let rise, shape and freeze. Then thaw/rise before boiling! Have you attempted this? Thanks!
I haven’t tried this. If you give it a shot, please come back to let me know what happens with them!
I want to make these ahead for Easter brunch. Is it possible to do the boiling part and then bake them first thing in the morning?
I haven’t done that. If you decide to try, come back and let us know what your result was!
I just made these. Some plain and some with parmesan on top. Its not my first bagel attempt for the first ive used this recipe. I did add baking soda into the boiling water and they all turned out amazing. I also used bread flour for additional chewiness. The egg wash makes these golden brown and have that bagel flake/crisp we love. Still not quite perfect but a tweak here and there next time will make these just a little bit better. Im thinking a few grain less yeast as i find these a little light. I like my bagels heavy! So good!
I am so glad you’re liking the recipe! This is just a base recipe so it can be tweaked to your liking for sure! So many variations to try…
For the baking stage–instead of an oiled sheet, can I bake them on parchment paper that has some cornmeal sprinkled on it?
Yes for sure!
Can you make the dough ahead of time? Like the night before?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say… If you test it out, please come back and share your findings!
Thank you for the awesome recipe and directions! Any suggestions on the best storing method to finish eating the next day?
Store in an airtight container! So glad you like the recipe 🙂
These bagels turn out perfect every time! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Yay! Makes me so happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipe!
These are awesome! I made them with dried dill and cut up cheddar cheese and they turned out great!
I love hearing everyone’s twist on these!! What a great idea!
These turned out great!
That is awesome ! What variation did you try?
Can you cut the recipe in half? Does it still work?
Sure does!
I just made these and they didn’t rise like yours in the picture. Is there a trick to get them to be puffy?
Oh no! Ok, so a couple of things could have gone wrong and they all have to do with the yeast. Let’s troubleshoot.
* the water was too hot and accidentally killed the yeast so it couldn’t bloom
* you didn’t place the dough in a warm environment to rise
* the yeast was expired
* under kneading/over kneading
Don’t give up on these! They’re worth another try.