I decided to make bagels after watching The Great British Bake Off. There are a lot of recipes that are made on the show that you can of course buy from the shops ready made, but most of the time I prefer to make things at home. You know what’s going into your food, and it just tastes better after the work and the love you put into creating food for your family and friends. Bagels are pretty straightforward to make, the only main difference is that you boil them before baking them – this creates that classic chewy texture bagels are famous for!
Step by step…
I started with a large bowl, I added the strong white bread flour, yeast, salt and caster sugar.
I added water to the flour mixture and brought it together into a dough. Then I used my food mixer with the dough hook attachement to knead it for 10 minutes.
I then left it to rise for 1 hour. I knocked the air out of the risen dough, then cut out the bagel shapes with cookie cutters. You can shape the rings by rolling a sausage and attaching the ends together, but I find cutting them out so much easier and quicker too!
I left them to rise again for 1 hour, then I boiled each bagel for 1 minute in water.
Once they were boiled I dried them off, glazed them with beaten egg and baked them for 20 minutes.
The bagels had a perfect chewy texture and were delicious with a smear of cream cheese! There are so many toppings you could add, from sweet to savoury. I love them with avocado and cherry tomatos, or nutella and banana slices.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
| Baking trays | Silicone Brush | Stand mixer with dough hook |
| Round cutters | Fast action yeast |
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More Bread recipes…
 |
 |
 |
| English Muffins | Soft Pretzels | Tomato & Rosemary Foccacia |
Bagels
Delicious chewy bagels perfect for spreading with cream cheese!
Ingredients
- 500 g Strong white bread flour
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 7 g Sachet fast action yeast
- 310 ml Water
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 Egg beaten
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add the bread flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Make sure to add the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl, then stir together
-
Add the water to the flour mixture and bring it together into a dough
-
Knead by hand, or use a food mixer with the dough hook attachment, for 10 minutes
-
Put the kneaded dough into an oiled bowl covered with cling film, leave it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour
-
Knock the air out of the risen dough, roll out to about 5mm thick, then cut out the bagel shapes with cookie cutters. You can shape the rings by rolling pieces of dough into a sausage shape and attaching the ends together if you like
-
Place the bagel shapes onto lined baking trays, cover with loose cling film and a tea towel and leave them to rise again for 1 hour
-
Pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/220C/425F/Gas Mark 7
-
Prepare a pan of boiling water and add the bicarbonate of soda to it
-
Boil each bagel for 1 minute, flipping it over half way through
-
Once they are boiled, dry them off and glaze them with beaten egg, then bake for 20 minutes
-
Let them cool, then slice and add your favourite toppings!
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 2 days. You can also freeze them
If you like this, check out more of my Bread recipes!
Pin for later!
These look lovely, I am still yet to try making breads, as I am still a novice myself. I shall give it a go soon though. x
Thank you! Oh yes do give it a go, it is great fun and worth the effort! Would love to see photos if you make them 🙂