homemade bagel

As a native New Yorker, I know there&#x27;s nothing better than a fresh bagel schmeared with cream cheese. I no longer live in New York City, and I constantly crave the good old-fashioned bagels I grew up on– flavorful, modestly sweet, chewy ones with soft, shiny crusts. 

These bagels are made the classic way: You boil them in water for a couple of minutes before you bake them. This is probably one of the most bizarre things a person can do to the dough, but it works. So, if good bagels cannot be found where you live, worry no more; this recipe is infinitely adaptable, and the little bit of effort you put into making these bagels is well worth it.

New York-Style Bagel Recipe

/ 6 g active dry yeast

sugar

flour flour

/ 6 g salt

Optional Toppings: (Refer to Notes)

In ½ cup /120ml of the warm water,...

In ½ cup /120ml 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.

Mix the flour and salt in a large...

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.

Pour 1/3 cup / 80ml of warm water...

Pour 1/3 cup / 80ml of 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 an additional couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup/60ml of water. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.

On a floured countertop, knead the dough for...

On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.

Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and...

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, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I...

Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I used a scale to be extra precise, but it’s not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured). Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.

Coat a finger in flour, and gently press...

Coat a finger in flour, and 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. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.

After shaping the dough rounds and placing them...

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 / 220ºC / Gas Mark 7.

Bring a large pot of water to a...

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. 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 1 minute, and then flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you’d prefer a chewier bagel (results will give you a more New York-Style bagel with this option).

If you want to add toppings to your...

If you want to add toppings to your bagels, do so as you take them out of the water. Alternatively, you can use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before baking the bagels. You may want to use the “Optional Toppings” listed above to top the bagels. Use just one topping, or a combination to make your own Everything Bagel Seasoning.

Once all the bagels have boiled (and have...

Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until...

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown (I usually err on the side of 20 minutes).

Cool on a wire rack (Or, if you’re...

Cool on a wire rack (Or, if you’re impatient like I am, slice one of these babies open and spread on some of your favorite cream cheese or softened butter. Take a bite… Oh babyyy!)

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/j2glsbgmls3lgrgadh7d.mp4

This bagel recipe is so easy that you’ll be bowing down to the bagel god after you take a bite out of one of these freshly made homemade chewy bagels!

These homemade Blueberry Bagels have a sweet blueberry flavor and toast up beautifully! You'll love having fresh bagels for breakfast, and they take less than 2 hours to prepare.

Blueberry Bagels

water

(¼ oz.) packet instant dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)

bread flour

honey

salt

cinnamon

blueberries

Combine 2 cups bread flour, yeast, honey, salt, sugar, cinnamon and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on low, slowly add 2 more cups of flour.

Mix on low until most of the loose flour has been worked into the dough and the dough looks shredded, about 2 minutes. Add the blueberries. Dough may get wet as they incorporate, add more flour as necessary. Increase the speed to medium low and continue mixing until the dough is stiff, smooth, and elastic, about 8 to 9 minutes more. Add more flour if necessary.

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a large oiled bowl, and turn it to coat in oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place, until it is puffy and springs back when you poke it, about 20 minutes. It will not double in size.

While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 425°F. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer. Cover until you’re ready to boil the bagels. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper greased with oil or cooking spray. Place a metal rack inside of a second baking sheet and set aside.

Turn the risen dough out onto a dry surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about 3 ounces each, for smaller bagels, or into 8 pieces, about 4 ounces each for larger bagels. Roll each piece into a 9-inch-long rope, lightly moisten the ends with water, overlap the ends by about 1 inch, and press to join so you’ve created a bagel. As necessary, widen the hole in the middle so it is approximately the size of a quarter. Cover the shaped bagels with a damp towel and let rest 10 minutes.

After resting, stretch the dough to retain the quarter-size hole (the dough will have risen a bit) and boil the bagels, taking care not to overcrowd the pan (I could only boil 2 at a time). Make sure they have room to bob around. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side until the bagels have a shriveled look, then remove to the baking sheet with the rack in it. Adjust heat as necessary so the water stays at a simmer.

Stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Once all of the bagels have been boiled, whisk together 1 tablespoon water and the egg white until evenly combined. Brush the egg white mixture onto the bagels. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the bagels.

Arrange the bagels on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 1-inch apart and bake. You may need to do it in two rounds. Rotate the pan after 15 minutes and bake until the bagels are a deep caramel color and have formed a crust on the bottom and top, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes so the interiors finish cooking and the crusts form a chewy exterior.

There's nothing like homemade bagels! Yours look amazing!!

I wish I was one of your housemates. Then I could have eaten 1 of these bagels warm from the oven. I just love bagels. These blueberry ones look perfect Rachel!

I love these blueberry bagels! I have never made homemade bagels but you have inspired me. Perfect comfort food for a cold morning!

I've made bagels from scratch only one time in my life and it was many many years ago. You have inspired me, my friend. These look amazing!! Really amazing!!

Rachel, you nailed it with these bagels. My favorite!

Any idea what the nutrition could be on these?? They're wonderful!

Amazing bagels! Just as good if not BETTER than Panera! And fresh out of the oven is best! Though the next day they tasted just as good!

I JUST made these and ate one already! WOW! It’s incredible. Thank you for the recipe. I’ll DEFINITELY make these again. 
( I used frozen blueberries since that’s all I had This morning and it still turned out delicious).

I love the texture of these bagels....they came out great!  I would like to taste the blueberry flavor more and felt like the cinnamon overpowered that.  The next time I make them, I will not use cinnamon but instead a bit of lemon zest to enhance the blueberry blavor.

Made these bagels yesterday.  They are amazing.  So much better than store bought.

Not a huge blueberry bagel fan myself but I made them for my girlfriend (her fav breakfast food) and both of us ended up eating like 2 of the large ones each.

She said she loved the topping, so if you make it make sure not to skip that step!

Loved these! Was short on time, so made the dough and put it straight into the fridge. Came home six hours later to dough that had doubled. Shaped, boiled and baked the bagels and they were amazing. Family ate them toasted &amp; spread with cream cheese. Heaven! Thank you x

Hi Rachel, if I I leave the dough overnight in the refrigerator the next morning do I need to bring the dough up to room temp or start shaping 
When it’s cold.thanks

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The most viewed homemade bagel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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New York-Style Bagel Recipe

Blueberry Bagels

Top 2 homemade bagel recipes from across the web

The most viewed homemade bagel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

New York-Style Bagel Recipe

Blueberry Bagels

The most viewed homemade bagel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine