Soft and chewy on the inside with a light golden brown outside—these Easy Homemade Bagels are fantastic! Bake them up plain or with everything bagel seasoning sprinkled over the top. Either way, toasted with some whipped cream cheese, they make the perfect breakfast!
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the warm water, instant yeast, and granulated sugar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The mixture should look foamy when ready.
Add in the bread flour and salt, then using a danish dough hook or your clean dry hands, mix together until the dough forms. It should be thick and look dry and scaly. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, then knead the dough with your hands until it's soft and smooth in texture (5-7 minutes).
3 ½ cups Bread Flour, 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
Shape into a ball then place into a greased bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 60-90 minutes. Warmer spots in your kitchen will see a faster rise time.
When the dough is just about ready, adjust your oven to the middle rack and preheat your oven to 425ºF. Prep a large baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (highly recommended) or parchment paper lightly sprayed with a flour-based baking spray or non-stick oil cooking spray (without the spray the bagels might stick).
Before shaping your bagels, prepare your baking soda and honey bath by bringing a large pot of water along with the baking soda and honey to a boil. I also mix together the egg wash mixture at this time then set it aside.
Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the bagel dough into 8 equally sized pieces. You can either eyeball this part or you can weigh each piece so they are all the same size. Mine weighed around 100 g each.
Roll each section of dough into a ball on an unfloured work surface (you want the surface to be a little sticky). Place onto the prepped baking sheet. Next, create a hole in each ball of bagel dough using your thumb and pointer finger. Stretch it out a little bit, but not too much.
Place 3-4 bagels into the boiling baking soda honey bath and leave in for no more than 1 minute (use a timer) per side. The bagels will puff up and look weird and wrinkly, but I they'll smooth out during baking!
Remove each bagel with a fine mesh strainer or flat slotted spatula, carefully letting any excess liquid drip off, then place back onto the baking sheet. Repeat until all 8 bagels have been bathed in the baking soda honey bath.
Brush on the egg wash mixture and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning (if desired).
1 Large Egg, 1 tablespoon Water, Everything Bagel Seasoning
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425ºF or until your bagels have a nice shiny, light-medium golden brown color. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Homemade bagels can be kept in a well-sealed container at room temperature for up to 1-2 days. They also freeze wonderfully too! Let the bagels cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Reheat by bringing them to room temperature the day before then toast them in a toaster oven. Frozen bagels will keep for 1 month.
Notes
Prep time noted above includes making the dough, letting it rest, shaping the bagels, and the baking soda honey bath.If using an induction cook top that boils water within 5 minutes, you can wait to prepare this until after you've shaped your homemade bagels.With all my recipes, I highly recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is heating to the correct temperature. Do not rely just on the oven preheat beep!It's best to use a timer when placing the bagels in the boiling baking soda honey water bath. I recommend leaving them in the water bath for no more than 1 minute per side, 2 minutes max (for the chewiest bagels).An alternatively way to shape the bagels is to roll each section of dough out to about 8-9 inches in length. Then wrap both ends around the palm of your hand and press together to seal.Recipe adapted from my Homemade Soft Pretzels recipe as well as Joshua Weissman's homemade bagel recipe.