Bagels seem really complicated to make at home, but secretly couldn’t be easier. Homemade bagels taste fresher and are cheaper. This easy homemade bagels recipe proves that you can make deliciously chewy bagels in your own kitchen with only a few basic ingredients and baking tools!
Yield: 8 bagels
- 320g lukewarm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast*酵母
- 432g bread flour, plus more for work surface and hands, bagels require a high protein flour. Largely using bread flour is a must.高筋面粉
- 48g wholemeal flour全麦面粉
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or barley malt syrup)*红糖
- 1 teaspoon salt
- coating the bowl: 1 tablespoon olive oil
- egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water
For Boiling
- 2 quarts water
- 60g honey (or barley malt syrup)
Method
Prepare the Dough
- Whisk the lukewarm water and yeast together in a big mixing bowl Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add into the bowl the bread flour and whole meal flour, brown sugar, and salt. Mix well. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes.
- Lightly grease the mixing bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Shape the Bagels
- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it– doesn’t need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a ball.
- Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest for 15-20 minutes as you prepare the water bath.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
Water Bath
8. Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water. Whisk in the honey. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side.
Bake
9. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Slice, toast, top, whatever you want! Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Overnight Make Ahead Instructions:Prepare the dough through step 4, but allow the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator. The slow rise gives the bagels wonderful flavor! In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let the dough rise for 45 minutes at room temperature. Continue with step 5. I don’t recommend shaping the bagels the night before as they may puff up too much overnight.
- Bagel Varieties: Note that the toppings are added after the egg wash in step 9. You can use this bagel recipe to make 100% bread-flour bagels or adding more wholemeal flour by replacing 10% to up to 20%.
lets-playdough.com 