homemade bagels in less than 3 hours
Once you know how to make your own homemade bagels, you’ll make them over and over again because while you’ll know how secretly easy they are to make, your friends won’t — and getting to bask those impressed reactions? Priceless.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Flour (3½ cups, AP or Bread Flour)
- 1½ TBSP sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast (active dry or instant)
- 300 grams warm water (1¼ cup, you may need an extra ¼ cup/60g more if you're in a dry environment)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- sesame seeds, caraway seeds, minced garlic and fennel seeds, poppy seeds, fresh minced rosemary, everything bagel topping (without salt, preferred), dried onion, dried garlic, pretzel salt, etc. (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and any optional mix-ins together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour the water into the center.If you’re using a mixer, connect the dough hook attachment, start the mixer on the slowest speed and give the dough a minute or two to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.If you’re kneading by hand, pour the warm water into the well and use a wooden spoon or spatula to begin mixing, gradually incorporating more flour until the dough comes together.If the dough looks dry, you may need up to an additional 1/4 cup of water. Add it 1 TBSP at a time, mixing or kneading well between additions to give the water time to absorb. It’s a lot easier to add additional water to dry dough than it is to add flour to wet dough, and bagel dough is a low hydration dough so you definitely you don’t want it to be too sticky.
- Once the dough comes together into a shaggy mass, it's time to knead.If you’re using a mixer with dough hook, up the speed to low-medium and let the mixer run for 3-4 minutes, adding more flour if the dough appears to be sticking to the bowl. If you’re working by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather it into a ball. Fold top of the dough down over on itself, rotating a quarter turn between each fold. Repeat for 8-10 minutes, incorporating as much flour as you can from the counter into the dough.You’re looking for a dough that is firm and stiff, smooth, and just slightly tacky to the touch. It shouldn’t stick to your hands or the bowl.
- Shape the dough into a smooth round ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl (turn it once in the bowl to coat it with oil) and let it rise for an hour in a warm spot (70-72°F) until doubled in size.
- Gently punch the dough down, knocking the air bubbles out of it. Let it rest for 10 minutes. It’s been through a lot.
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and fill a wide, deep pan or large pot (hell, even a wok if that’s all you’ve got) with at least 3 inches of water, and bring it to a boil on the stove.
- Divide the dough into eight equal pieces (use a kitchen scale for precision) and roll them into miniature boules, as described above. (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.)
- Starting with the first dough ball you shaped, coat your thumb in flour and poke it through the seam-side of the dough, pushing any extra 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 here.If you like a bigger hole in your bagel, stretch the dough out again before boiling.
- Cover the shaped bagels with a damp paper towel or clean dish cloth and let them rest for 10 minutes. They, too, have been through a lot.
- Gently drop your shaped bagels into the pot of boiling water, top-side down. You can do this in batches of 2-4 at a time, depending on how big your pot is. The bagels will expand as they boil so don’t crowd them. Let them boil for 1-2 minutes, then flip them over and boil for an additional 1-2 minutes. Boiling for 2 minutes per side results in a slightly chewier bagel.
- Remove the shaped bagels from the water and put them on a parchment or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet.
- Brush each bagel with your egg wash (1 egg + pinch salt + 1 tsp water, whisked together) making sure to get the sides and centers. If you want to top your bagels, now is the time to do so.
- When all the bagels have been boiled, egg washed, and topped, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake them for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove the bagels from the oven and transfer immediately to cool °on a wire rack. Try to wait at least 15-20 minutes before cutting them open, but I honestly can’t blame you if you crack after five.
Video
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 1/4 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).
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