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    Home » Breads » Bagels

    Homemade Mini Bagels

    5 from 4 votes
    Published by Rebecca Eisenberg ⁠— September 20, 2022 (updated February 14, 2023) — 5 Comments

    125 shares
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    This post may contain affiliate links

    easy homemade mini bagels - so cute!

    Learn how to make adorable little mini bagels at home with this step-by-step guide.

    Mini bagels are perfect for making homemade bagel bites, brunch platters, picnic spreads, school lunches, and more!

    a hand holding a mini bagel with cream cheese. a bite has been taken out.
    Jump to:
    • About This Recipe
    • Ingredient Notes
    • How to Make Mini Bagels
    • Let the Dough Rise
    • 🥯 How to Shape a Mini Bagel
    • Boiling and Baking Mini Bagels
    • Substituting Active Dry Yeast for Instant Yeast
    • Storage Notes
    • Practical Tips and Recipe Notes
    • Recipe FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    About This Recipe

    This easy mini bagel recipe is a smaller version of my regular plain bagel recipe. The small size of these mini bagels require enough changes to the base recipe that I wanted to give them their own own home on the site.

    They need less time to boil and less time to bake, for one. And since I hate using more than one sheet pan if I don't need to, I've shrunk the recipe so that all the mini bagels can fit on one pan for baking. You're welcome.

    And while the bagels themselves are smaller, this mini bagel recipe isn't quite a small batch bake, though it is smaller than my full sized bagel recipes.

    You can use this same mini bagel process for making mini versions of any of my unique bagel recipes.

    Go ahead, try making mini egg bagels, mini rosemary olive oil bagels, or even mini jalapeño cheddar bagels! Those recipes will make 16 bagels instead of 12, or you can shrink them by 25% to make 12 mini bagels.

    an assortment of mini bagels. some have been sliced in half. a small bowl of cream cheese is in the middle.

    I like using these mini bagels to make DIY bagel bites, but they were also a hit served up plain at my family's annual lake trip. We put them out on a platter with a bunch of of deli salads (tuna salad, egg salad, guacamole, etc.), cream cheeses, hummuses, etc.

    Unlike full size bagels where you feel obligated to commit to one sandwich filling, people liked being able to enjoy a variety of mini bagel sandwiches in one sitting.

    Mini bagels are also great for kid-sized hands and appetites — these mini bagels will be a huge hit in school lunches and after school snack time!

    Ingredient Notes

    Here are the ingredients you'll need to make these mini bagels. It's everything you need to make regular sized bagels, just in slightly smaller quantities.

    the ingredients for homemade bagels measured out and labeled
    • All-Purpose Flour - Bagels are traditionally made with a higher protein bread flour, but I use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour which has a relatively high protein content for an all-purpose flour. If you're using another brand of flour you may have better results with bread flour.
    • Instant Yeast - Sometimes called "rapid rise" yeast. This yeast does not need to be bloomed in water and can be added directly to the dry ingredients.
    • Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which half as salty as other brands of salt. If measuring salt by weight, it doesn't matter what brand of salt you use. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
    • Sugar - Plain granulated sugar is all you need here. You can also use brown sugar if you prefer.
    • Water - Lukewarm to the touch. Not hot. If you want to be precise, it should be between 100-110F.
    • Egg - For the egg wash! The egg wash gives bagels their shiny browned crusts. If you're adding any toppings to your homemade mini bagels, the egg wash will also help them stick.

    How to Make Mini Bagels

    We're following standard bread dough making procedure for these mini bagels. First, combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Then, pour the lukewarm water into the center of the bowl.

    Hold back about ⅛ cup of water to start, and add it gradually if the dough seems dry. If you live somewhere humid, you may not need all of the water. If you live somewhere dry, you likely will!

    Mix the dough until it comes together in a messy ball in the bowl. This can take a few minutes, and you may need to pause to scrape down the sides a few times to get it to come together.

    Once the dough has come together, increase the speed to medium and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch.

    smooth bagel dough after kneading in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook.

    The mini bagel dough should pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. If it's sticking to the walls or bottom of the bowl, dust in more flour one teaspoon at a time.

    No matter what size bagel you're making, bagel dough is a low hydration dough. It has a relatively small amount of water compared to the amount of flour.

    You'll know the bagel dough needs water if it looks like it's tearing, it's not smoothing out after a few minutes of kneading, or if you can still see dry bits in the bowl that aren't incorporating.

    If your mini bagel dough does need more water, the best way to add it is by dipping your fingers in water and flicking droplets onto the dough. This will help keep you from adding too much water.

    Let the Dough Rise

    Shape the mini bagel dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for one hour.

    The temperature of the water and the temperature of the room the dough is rising in will affect how quickly it rises. Cool temperatures slow yeast activity, warm temperatures speed it up.

    The ideal room temperature for dough rising is somewhere around 70-75F.

    To check if the dough is ready to shape, use the finger poke test. Press a finger gently into the surface of the dough, up to the first knuckle.

    • If the indentation springs back immediately and fills in completely, give it another 10-15 minutes to rise.
    • If the indentation fills in slowly and partially but remains visible, the dough is ready to be shaped into mini bagels.
    • If the dough deflates completely under your finger, it has over-proofed. Knead the dough back into a ball using your hands and let it rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes before proceeding. This isn't an ideal situation, but your dough can likely be saved!

    🥯 How to Shape a Mini Bagel

    Shaping mini bagels is just like shaping regular sized bagels. The bagels are smaller so you have to be a little gentler on the dough, but otherwise you're following the same process.

    nine balls of dough in rows of three on a lined sheet pan. three have been shaped into bagels.

    First, divide the dough into equal portions. For mini bagels, each dough ball should weigh around 50-55 grams.

    If you're combining a few pieces of dough together, stack the smaller pieces on top of the bigger pieces.

    Gently flatten the stack against the counter, then fold the edges up over the center so the dough is smooth against the counter with a seam pinched together on top.

    Then, flip the dough over so the pinched seam is down against the counter. Cup your hand around the dough and slide it toward you. The dough will take on an oval shape. Rotate it 90 degrees and repeat to turn the oval into a round circle.

    Repeat as needed to create tension on the top of the dough and tighten the seam underneath.

    animated gif: pieces of dough stacked on top of each other with the smaller pieces on top of the bigger ones
    step 1: stack dough
    animated gif: the edges of the bagel dough being tucked up hiding the smaller pieces in the center
    step 2: tuck the edges up
    animated gif: a hand cupped around a ball of dough. the dough is dragged forward, the surface tension shaping it into a smooth ball.
    step 3: flip and slide
    [gif] a thumb pokes a hole through the bottom of a round ball of dough
    step 4: poke a hole
    [gif] two thumbs through the hole in the bagel dough rotating it and gentle stretching it
    step 5: stretch
    [gif] a fully stretched out round of bagel dough
    step 6: stretch some more

    If the seams aren't closing up as you create tension in the dough, let the dough balls rest for 5 minutes before you poke the holes.

    To poke the holes in your mini bagels, dust your hands with flour and carefully stick a thumb through the bottom seam of the dough and out the other side.

    Slide your other thumb in and gently squeeze and stretch, rotating the dough through your hands until the bagel hole is at least twice as wide as the sides of the bagel.

    TIP: Quickly repeat the stretching process before boiling the mini bagels to keep the hole from closing up in the oven.

    Boiling and Baking Mini Bagels

    If you've heard me say it once, you've heard me say it a million times: If they're not boiled, they're not bagels!

    Boiling is a crucial step in the bagel making process. It gelatinizes the starches in the outer crust of the bagel, giving them their characteristic chewiness.

    Because these mini bagels are so small, they only need to be boiled for about 20-30 seconds per side.

    three mini bagels in a wire spider being lifted out of boiling water.

    You can work in batches for this step — depending on how wide your pot is you should be able to do two batches of six bagels each.

    Use a wire spider to flip the bagels and remove them from the boiling water with minimal splashing. That said, mini bagels are small enough that a regular slotted spoon can also work just fine here.

    Remove the boiled mini bagels to a lined sheet pan and brush with egg wash.

    twelve boiled mini bagels on a lined sheet pan. a hand brushes one with egg wash.
    twelve baked mini bagels on a parchment lined sheet pan.

    EGG WASH: 1 large egg + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together until well combined.

    You can add any toppings you like to your mini bagels. These are great with my homemade everything bagel seasoning!

    Mini bagels bake for 17-19 minutes at 425F. You're looking for a light golden brown color here. The tops of the mini bagels will brown before the sides do so, at 17 minutes, if the sides are still looking pale, give them the extra two minutes.

    Substituting Active Dry Yeast for Instant Yeast

    Active Dry and Instant yeast are technically the same thing — meaning, they are both saccharomyces cerevisiae, a single-celled living organism used for leavening bread and doughs.

    The only difference between the two types of yeast is that Active Dry yeast granules have a little coating around them which needs to be dissolved to reveal the yeast inside.

    Because of this extra little shell around the Active Dry yeast granules, you'll need to use slightly more Active Dry yeast to get the same effect as using Instant.

    To calculate how much Active Dry yeast to use, increase the amount of Instant yeast by 25%. So for this recipe, you'd be using 5 grams of active dry yeast.

    close up of a mini bagel with cream cheese and a bite taken out of it on a white platter. other mini bagels and a small bowl of cream cheese are behind it.

    Storage Notes

    Mini bagels are best stored in a paper bag inside a zip-top bag, or in a zip-top bag with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture.

    These mini bagels are best eaten within 2-3 days of baking, but can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Do not refrigerate bagels.

    Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

    • To make a mini bagel version of my everything bagels that have everything bagel seasoning in the dough, add 3 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning to the dry ingredients and increase the amount of yeast by 1 gram.
    • The only reason to bloom yeast in warm water before adding it to your dough is to check that it's still alive. Store your yeast in the freezer and you'll never have to worry about this step.
    • If you need to let the bagel dough rest or relax at all during the shaping process, cover it with a damp paper towel to prevent it from drying out.

    Recipe FAQ

    Can I make other flavors of mini bagels?

    Yes! You can use any of my other bagel recipes to make mini bagels. Those recipes will make 16 mini bagels.

    📖 Recipe

    a hand holding a mini bagel with cream cheese. a bite has been taken out.

    How to Make Mini Bagels

    Rebecca Eisenberg
    These homemade mini bagels are soft and chewy, and so easy to make. Perfect for making homemade bagel bites, on brunch platters, in school lunches, and more!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved! Email
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Resting time 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time 2 hrs 5 mins
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine American, Polish
    Servings 12 mini bagels

    Equipment

    • Kitchen scale
    • Large, straight-sided skillet
    • Wire spider
    • Pastry brush
    • Bowl cover
    • Bench scraper

    Ingredients
      

    • 375 grams all-purpose flour
    • 14 grams sugar
    • 8 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
    • 4 grams instant yeast
    • 225 grams warm water
    • 1 egg
    • ⅛ cup any desired bagel toppings
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Mix. Mix flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Make a well in the middle and add the water. Connect the dough hook attachment, start the mixer on the a low-medium speed and give the dough a minute or two to incorporate, pausing and scraping down the bowl as needed until the dough comes together in a shaggy, messy ball in the bowl.
      If your kitchen is humid, hold back ⅛ cup of water and add it 1 teaspoon at a time only if the dough isn't coming together or seems very dry.
    • Knead. Increase the speed to low-medium and let the mixer run for 3-4 minutes, dusting in more flour if the dough is sticking to the bowl. You’re looking for a dough that is smooth and elastic and just slightly tacky to the touch. It shouldn’t cling to your hands or the bowl.
    • Rise. Shape the dough into a smooth round ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Let it rise for an hour in a warm spot (70-75°F) until about doubled in size. When you press a finger into the dough, it should fill in partially but not completely.
    • Preheat your oven to 425°F and fill a wide, high-sided skillet with at least 3 inches of water, and bring it to a low boil on the stove. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
    • Deflate. Gently deflate the dough, knocking the air out of it. Gently knead it back into a ball.
    • Divide. Use a kitchen scale to divide the dough into twelve equal pieces (about 50-55 grams each). Flatten the dough gently against the counter, tuck the edges up and pinch them together on top. Flip the dough over and cup your hand around it. Drag your hand toward your body against the counter to create surface tension and shape the dough into an oval. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat to create a circle shape.
    • Shape. Starting with the first dough ball, dust your hands in flour and poke a thumb through the bottom, pushing any extra seams into the middle. Squeeze gently and slide your other thumb in. Slowly stretch the dough out, rotating it through your hands until the hole in the middle is at least twice as wide as the sides.
    • Boil. Right before dropping each bagel into the water, quickly stretch it out again to prevent the hole from closing up. Boil mini bagels in batches for 30 seconds per side, then remove to a lined baking sheet.
    • Egg wash and toppings. Brush each mini bagel with egg wash (1 large egg + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together) and add any desired toppings.
    • Bake. When all the bagels have been boiled, egg washed, and topped, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake them for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown and shiny.
    • Cool. Remove the bagels from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing.

    RECIPE NOTES

    • Store mini bagels in an airtight bag with a paper towel to absorb moisture or in a paper bag inside an airtight bag. Stored properly, they will stay good for 3-4 days. 
    • If you need to let the bagel dough rest or relax at all during the shaping process, cover it with a damp paper towel to prevent it from drying out.

    YOUR NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes. Only you can see these.
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me how it was!
    Bagels
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sam

      September 20, 2022 at 9:58 am

      5 stars
      These were so much easier than I expected! Who knew bagels were so easy. These are the perfect size snack. I topped them with everything bagel seasoning and they were tasty!

      Reply
    2. Alicia

      October 11, 2022 at 9:50 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe was amazing and so easy to follow! Bagels turned out fantastic and the perfect size for kiddos! Can't wait for them to try tomorrow! Thanks so much for the great tutorials

      Reply
      • Rebecca Eisenberg

        October 12, 2022 at 11:04 am

        So glad you enjoyed them!!!

        Reply
    3. TwoHundredPlants

      December 04, 2022 at 3:41 pm

      5 stars
      These were so simple to make! It's a short fermentation so it's not the most amazing bagels ever, but for "I want bagels in two hours" they will go on my recipe rotation! (I used the leftovers to make bagel bites and those were amazing as well!)

      Reply
      • Rebecca Eisenberg

        December 04, 2022 at 4:39 pm

        Yep these are definitely a speedy bagel! You could reduce the yeast and do a longer ferment time or overnight cold ferment if you really wanted to, but for bagel bites speed is a priority for sure! Glad you liked them.

        Reply

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