Homemade Bagels

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Bagels are a Sunday brunch must and a fun weekend project! With just a few ingredients, they’re way better than store-bought. You can start the recipe the day before or bake and freeze them for later. I love mine with whipped cream cheese, red onions, capers, dill, and lemon zest.

Prep Time45

Cook Time45

Total Time1 30

Course: bread

Cuisine: European

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: bagels

Calories: 337kcal

Author: Ninon Michels

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Sheet Pan
Sauté Pan

Ingredients

For the yeast mixture

2 cups lukewarm water
1 packet active dry yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For the bagel dough

8 cups bread flour (T65 flour)
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons maple syrup

For the cooking water

67 ounces water
1 tablespoon baking soda
4 tablespoons maple syrup

For the toppings

the seeds of your liking: sesame poppy, sunflower, everything bagel mix

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by activating the yeast

In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), stir together lukewarm water, active dry yeast, and granulated sugar.
Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Foam and small bubbles will form on the surface: this is a sign that the yeast is activating.

Prepare the bagel dough

Sift the flour on top of the activated yeast mixture, and add salt and maple syrup.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook. Otherwise, roughly bring the dry and wet ingredients together. Then, pour the mixture onto a floured surface and knead by hand. After 15 minutes, the dough should be smooth and elastic. It should not stick to your fingers.
Cover the dough with a damp kitchen cloth and let it proof for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Shape the bagels

Remove the air from the proofed dough by pressing with your fist.
Then cut the dough into 3 ounces (90 g) pieces.
Using your hands, roll each 3 ounces (90 g) piece into 25 cm (10 inches) sausages.
Wrap the sausage dough around your hand. Using your palm, join the two ends of the sausage dough by rolling them gently on a flat surface until they are sealed. Here is the bagel shape!
Place the bagels onto an oven tray lined with lightly greased parchment paper (you can either brush the parchment paper with neutral vegetable oil or use a cooking spray).
Cover with loose cling film and let the bagels proof for another hour. Alternatively, you can leave your bagels rise overnight in the fridge.

Boil the bagels in a water bath (first cooking)

In a large sauté pan or large pot, bring water, maple syrup, and baking soda to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and dip the bagels into the boiling water.
Cook the bagels for one minute, then flip them over and cook the other side for another minute.
Using a strainer, put the boiled bagels back on the oven tray.
Repeat the operation until all the bagels are cooked.

Bake the bagels in the oven (second cooking)

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
Coat the bagels on both sides with the seeds of your choice (sesame, poppy, sunflower, black sesame).
Bake each batch for 15 minutes until golden.
Serve with the filling of your choice!

Notes

Let the dough rise somewhere warm. Choose the warmest place in your house for optimum proofing. If your oven has a Proof Mode, this is great too!
Traditional bagels undergo two cooking processes. They are first boiled in water, then baked in the oven at high temperature for a short amount of time. These two processes are very important to get golden and super moist bagels.
Adding maple syrup and bicarbonate soda to the cooking water will give the bagels a beautiful dark golden color. Do not skip this step!
Removing the air from the risen dough is a technique called “dégazage”, which literally means “removing gas”. It is an essential step to ensure that your bagels rise and develop nicely.

Nutrition