Easy Homemade Bagel Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you boil bagels before baking? ›

What you're trying to do, by boiling or steaming bagels before baking, is to kill the yeast, so the bagels won't rise in the oven and become puffy, rather than staying rather dense and chewy. You're also adding a very thin coating of sugar—malt, in this case—which gives bagels their distinctive shiny crust. Eureka!

Is it cheaper to make your own bagels? Yes! This is one of the reasons we love making them at home. Since the recipe only uses a few staples, you can easily buy the ingredients in bulk and save tons of money if you buy bagels often.

As I mentioned before, bagel-making isn't hard, it's just time-consuming! If you'd prefer to make the dough the day before and boil and bake them the following morning, you absolutely can: Shape the dough into balls, place on a baking sheet, and spray the tops with cooking spray.

Homemade is Better Than Store-Bought

Store-bought options are not usually the healthiest. Many are made with more sugar than necessary and unhealthy ingredients.

A brief boil gives bagels a thin and fairly elastic crust that will still allow the bagels rise quite a bit in the oven, resulting in a softer texture.

Add honey and baking soda to boiling water in a large pot. This will help give the bagels a nice sheen and golden brown color when out of the oven. Add a few bagels at a time to the pot, making sure they're not crowded. They should float immediately when added to the water.

Bread flour – Because of its high protein content, bread flour makes these homemade bagels delightfully chewy. This recipe also works with all-purpose flour, they're just a bit less chewy than bagels made with bread flour. Maple syrup – It activates the yeast and gives the bagels a hint of sweetness.

On average, a medium-sized bagel contains 190 calories, 9 grams of protein, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of fat. In contrast, a slice of white bread contains 67 calories, 2 grams of protein, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 1.5 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of fat.

Well there must be something in New York City's water because believe it or not, one of the reasons that NYC bagels have such a great taste is because of the state's water. Every authentic NYC style bagel is made by being kettle boiled, so they all are exposed to New York water during the process of making them.

Shape each bagel and add them to the cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and let the rolled bagels proof for 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature. Alternatively, the bagels can be placed in the fridge to proof overnight or even up to two days.

Do you flip bagels when baking? ›

After first 6 minutes, the bagels are flipped over to continue baking. Be careful to not burn your fingers. If the bagels are touching when you flip them, gently separate them. This shouldn't take more than 1 minute.

You know those bagels that are very shiny and almost a bit thick on top? Well those bagels may have a light egg wash applied. Sometimes bakers like to add an egg wash after boiling the bagels, before adding the toppings and before baking. It's totally unnecessary, but definitely can happen.

Fresh bagels are best eaten on the same day they're baked. When stored at room temperature in a paper bag, fresh bagels can last for about two to three days. Fresh bagels can last for about three to four months when stored in the freezer, and thawed in a toaster.

Peanut butter is a healthy option, especially low sugar, natural varieties. It offers flavor and protein without weighing you down, and it tastes great on bagels. Try it with a sliced banana! If actual cream cheese isn't your favorite, tofu cream cheese is a delicious alternative.

Bagels will stay fresh and soft (when stored properly) for up to five days at room temperature and approximately three months in the freezer. The bagels sold in sealed plastic bags in grocery stores usually contain preservatives, which make them ideal for storing.

In part, the bagel became largely associated with Jewish culture because boiling bread before toasting it served as a loophole to get around the laws that banned Jews in Poland from baking bread.

If you really want authentic boiled/baked bagels, read on below. But because so much of the flavor and texture of bagels comes from the toppings, you can get away without the pre-boil.

Traditional New York style bagels are submerged in boiling water for a couple of minutes before they're baked. Sometimes called "water bagels," boiling the dough sets the outside to give them a crispy exterior and chewy texture.

Over proofed dough will lose its strength too early and cause the bagels to deflate either during the second rise or while cooking.