Homemade Plain Bagels in Less Than 3 Hours
Learn how to make light, chewy homemade plain bagels with this easy recipe. Made with instant yeast and ready in under 3 hours, you’ll have warm-from-the-oven bagels on your countertop in no time — and ready for slathering with butter, cream cheese, and more. Once you know how to make your own homemade plain bagels, you’ll want to make them again and again (and again!).
Ingredients
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 18 grams sugar
- 10 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
- 6 grams instant yeast
- 300 grams warm water (90°F)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- 2 tablespoons bagel toppings (optional)
Instructions
- Mix. Mix flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Make a well in the middle and pour the water into the center. Use the dough hook on low speed to mix the dough until it comes together in a shaggy mass, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. This can take 3-5 minutes.
- Knead. Increase the mixer to low-medium speed and knead the dough for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch. It shouldn’t cling to your hands or the bowl.
- First rise. Tuck the dough into a smooth round ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl (you can use the mixer bowl). Let it rise in a warm spot (70°F-ish) until about doubled in size, about an hour.
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 425°F and fill a pan with at least 2 inches of water. Bring it to a low boil on the stove while you shape the bagels. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set it aside.
- Pre-shape (roll). Deflate the dough and divide it into eight equal pieces (use a kitchen scale for precision) and shape them into balls. Gently flatten the piece of dough against a lightly floured surface, then tuck the edges up into the middle, pinching them together to form a smooth surface on the underside of the dough. Then flip the dough over, cup your hand around it, pinkie against the counter, and drag your hand towards your body. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat as needed until you have a nice round ball with a smooth surface on top and a pinched-together seam underneath.
- Shape (poke). Starting with the first dough ball you shaped, dust your thumb in flour and poke it through the underneath seam-side of the dough ball, pushing any rough edges into the middle. Slide your other thumb in and gently stretch the dough out until the hole in the middle is at least the same width as the sides. The hole will close as the dough rests and will close again as it boils and bakes, so don’t be stingy.Cover the shaped bagels with a damp paper towel and let them rest for 5-10 minutes until the water is ready to boil.
- Boil. Briefly stretch each bagel again, then gently drop them into the boiling water, top-side down. Work in batches as needed (I can usually do 4 at a time). The bagels will expand, so don’t crowd them. Boil bagels for 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side, then remove to the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake. Brush each bagel with egg wash, making sure to get the sides and centers. Add any desired toppings. Bake until golden brown, 20 minutes.
- Cool. Remove the bagels from the oven. Let cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Try to wait at least 20 minutes before cutting them open, but I honestly can’t blame you if you crack after five.
If the dough looks dry, add up to an additional ⅛ cup water 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing or kneading well between additions to give the water time to absorb. If the dough is too wet and sticky, dust in flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
The longer you boil the bagels, the bigger, airier, and chewier they will be.
RECIPE NOTES
- To test if your dough is ready after it rests for an hour, gently press into it with one finger. If it immediately fills in the indentation when you remove your finger, your dough needs more time to rise. If the indentation only fills in part way or fills in very slowly, your dough is ready. If it doesn’t fill in at all or the dough seems to collapse, your dough has overproofed.
- You can mix in a ¼ cup of your preferred topping right into the dough to infuse your bagels with maximum flavor. Just make sure your topping doesn’t include salt, or it can throw off the chemistry of the dough.
- Store in an airtight bag with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Stored properly, they will stay good for 3-4 days. They’ll get a bit hard after the first day or so, but soften up if you toast them. You can also run them briefly under water (!!!), then microwave them for 10 seconds, slice them, and toast them (or put them on a rack in your regular oven for 10 minutes at 350°F).
- *If measuring salt by weight, you can use any type of salt. If measuring by volume, and using any brand that is NOT Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
- If you cut the bagels before they have time to cool the steam inside will turn the starches to mush. I know fresh-baked bagels are tempting but you really will be a lot happier if you give them some time to cool before slicing!