I decided to make homemade 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. This is because I like to know what's going into my food, and it just tastes better after the work and the love you put into creating it for your family and friends. Making bagels is very similar to making bread, the main differences are of course the ring shape, and that you boil them before baking them - this creates that classic chewy texture bagels are famous for!
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Homemade Bagels
Add the strong white bread flour, yeast, salt and caster sugar to either a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer if using. Add the water to the flour mixture and bring it together into a dough. Then either by hand, or with a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, knead it for 10 minutes.
Once it is soft and supple, put it in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Put it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Gently knead the dough to knock the air out. Then split the dough into nine pieces and roll it into balls. Push your index finger through the middle of each ball to create a hole, then add your other index finger and spin them around to make the hole bigger.
Leave them to rise for 30 minutes on a lined baking tray, then boil them for 30 seconds each side in water with added bicarbonate of soda.
Once they are boiled, glaze them with beaten egg, add any seasonings you want, then bake them for 18 minutes.
Tips for making Homemade Bagels:
- When you are creating the hole in the bagel aim for it to be at least 3cm wide, this will seem large, but the hole will get smaller during the second prove, the boiling and baking.
- If you can, use a spider strainer to lift the bagels in and out of the boiling water, it helps them keep their shape.
- This recipe makes nine good sized bagels, I used around 90g of dough per bagel. You can use this recipe to make bigger or smaller bagels if you change the amount of dough used for each one.
- I seasoned the bagels with sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, and I left some plain too.
What toppings can you put on bagels?
The classic option is a generous smear of cream cheese, however there are endless creative ways to enjoy bagels. Try them toasted with jam and butter, enjoy them with smashed avocado and eggs, or try peanut butter and banana slices.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Baking trays
- Silicone Pastry Brush
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Fast action yeast
- Silicone mat
- Kitchen scales
- Cooling rack
- Spider strainer
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More bread recipes...
Homemade Bagels
Ingredients
- 500 g Strong white bread flour
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 7 g Sachet fast action yeast
- 300 ml Water
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 Egg medium, 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, and separate into nine pieces weighing roughly 90g each
- Shape each piece into a ball, then use your fingers to create a hole in each ball, make sure it is at least 3cm wide
- Place the bagel shapes onto lined baking trays, cover with oiled cling film and leave them to prove (rise) again, for 30 minutes
- 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, so 30 seconds each side. You can boil multiple bagels at once if there is space in your pan
- Once they are boiled, put them baking on the lined baking tray, give them a couple of minutes to stop steaming, then glaze them with beaten egg and add any seeds or seasoning
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until puffed up and golden
- 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
Ashley
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
The Baking Explorer
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 🙂
Cindi | aneasyjourney
These bagels look delicious 😋 When you say strong flour, do you have any recommendations? Find this is key when baking. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
thebakingexplorer
Hi Cindi, any strong white bread flour will work well. I don't have a particular brand that I prefer. I hope you enjoy the bagels!
Nikita Gordon
The best and easiest to follow bagel recipe I have used. Fab results didn’t egg wash but still really good.