Amazing and Soft Homemade Bagels (Makes 8 Bagels)

These soft homemade bagels might be a labor of love but they are worth every single minute, especially when you slather on some soft butter!

Is there anything more amazing than a freshly toasted bagel with some butter slathered on top? Sure isn’t. Guess what’s even better? A HOMEMADE bagel with some butter slathered on top. This recipe takes a few hours (including rise, prep and cook time) and makes about 8 medium sized bagels, but it’s SO worth the time and energy. If you wanted to go the 90’s snack time route, you could probably get away with making 12-14 smaller sized bagels for bagel bites. 

Yeast isn’t scary! Especially in these soft bagels.

Yes, this recipe uses yeast, but don’t worry – it’s not scary! Just make sure your yeast is still active or else your bagels won’t rise and that would just be the worst. I would highly recommend using a stand mixer for these bagels because it will need to continuously knead. 

Once your dough has risen and is ready to be turned into bagels, you’ll need to bust out the kitchen scale. Pro tip: Weigh the WHOLE ball of dough then divide it by 8 so you know exactly how much each piece should weigh. 

Once you are ready to turn your homemade bagels into … well, homemade bagels, you’ll need to form them into balls. Basically you pinch the bottoms on to each other and then literally roll them into a ball until the creases are gone. Let those rise for another 10 minutes and then you’re going to poke a hole in the middle to form it into an actual bagel. 

Alrighty, I couldn’t get a good picture of boiling the bagels but I’m sure you know what a big ol’ pot of boiling water looks like. If you want to top these soft, chewy bagels, you will need to do it as soon as you take them out of the water. Just make sure you brush on a light egg wash then throw on your toppings, like everything seasoning, cinnamon chips, or just leave ’em plain! 

Ah, so pretty and perfect and beautiful. These bagels are seriously so good, it makes me question why I ever buy bagels from the store! These are totally worth the time. 

I personally love my bagel with some butter, but you could also slather on a big pad of cream cheese. If you don’t eat them all within a day or two, you can toss them in the freezer for a bit. 

If you like this blog post, you might like these other ones on The Beard and The Baker: 

Banana Bread + Once Again Hazelnut Spread = Breakfast Goodness

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Maple Glazed Banana Muffins, A Perfect Morning Treat

Soft Homemade Bagels

4.53 from 17 votes

These homemade soft bagels are PERFECT. Finish them with your favorite seasoning and enjoy with a slab of butter or cream cheese.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 bagels

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 envelope active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1 1/2 cups warm water 110 degrees F
• 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons salt

Method

 

1. Place sugar and yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Don’t stir it. Let is sit for about five minutes then stir it together.
2. Sift the flour and salt into your electric mixer bowl. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, then pour in the yeast mixture.
3. Pour in another 1/2 cup of the warm water into the hole. Using a wooden spoon, mix it all up until you have a scraggly mixture. Keep adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time until your dough is moist and firm.
4. Using your dough hook, mix the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add flour if the dough is sticking too much.
5. Brush a large bowl lightly with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm bowl for one hour. Then, punch the dough down and let it rise for another ten minutes.
6. Cut the dough into 8 even pieces and shape each one into a round ball. Using a floured finger, make a hole in the middle and form each ball into a bagel.
7. Place each bagel on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp kitchen towel for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
8. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Using a slotted spoon, lower the bagels into the water. Boil each side for one to two minutes on each side, depending on how chewy you like your bagels.
9. If you’d like to put some toppings on your bagels, do it as you take them out of the water. Brush each one with an egg wash (whisked egg + 1 tablespoon milk) and then cover in your toppings.
10. Place all boiled and topped bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown.

Notes

Optional toppings: sesame seeds, poppyseeds, coarse sea salt, cinnamon and sugar.