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It is 100% possible to make excellent bagels at home without any unusual equipment or ingredients! Follow the step-by-step guide below; wake up to homemade bagels tomorrow 🥯🥯🥯🥯
My bagel-making experiments began earlier this summer in, of all places, the modestly equipped kitchen of a rental cabin at Lake George. We had just tasted the first good summer tomatoes, found at a farm stand in Bolton Landing, and all at once, all I wanted to eat was a good, toasted bagel, smeared with cream cheese, topped with a beefy tomato slice, sprinkled with sea salt.
I’ve longed to find/adapt/create an easy or easy-ish bagel recipe, but past summers have escaped without more than the odd experiment. It was time to take a deep or deep-ish dive.
Having had success using the peasant bread dough to make many various bread forms, I hoped it might take to the bagel format, too, but I quickly learned it would not: the peasant bread dough is way too wet (high hydration*) and my first experiments yielded flat, dense disks, edible but not acceptable.
I’ll spare you all the details, but after many experiments, I’ve learned that the process of making bagels is a real departure from the one I’m so used to. Bagels require kneading, shaping, boiling, and egg washing. But they can, I think, be easy-ish. I find these to be just that, kind of fun to make, very tasty, and perfect for my ideal breakfast this time of year. Good enough for me. I hope you approve.
How to Make Homemade Bagels
• To get that characteristic chewiness—in other words, to ensure bagels don’t simply taste like bread shaped like bagels—the dough needs to be kneaded. After reading a Stella Park’s article, I decided to do this in the food processor, which takes 90 seconds.
• As always, a digitial scale is essential for consistent results, but it’s even more essential here—lower hydration* doughs are less forgiving. I never weigh the water for peasant bread recipes, but I do here, and I also weigh the salt, which, in this humidity, has been feeling lighter in the measuring spoons than usual.
• To prevent the shaped dough rings from turning into pancakes upon being boiled, the dough hydration* needs to be relatively low. In other words, the dough should be relatively stiff.
• If you have the time, an overnight rise in the fridge is best.
• To get that nice, golden sheen during the baking, an egg wash is essential. Commercial bakers often boil their bagels in a lye solution, which promotes browning and gives the bagel crust a crispness. As lye is something I am unwilling to experiment with—remember, I’ve embarked on a deep-ish dive—an egg wash is a fine substitute. It does not help with crispness, but it gives the bagels the look.
• An optional but nice ingredients to use in your homemade bagels is barley malt syrup, which can be ordered online or found in specialty shops. Stella Parks says that in addition to providing flavor, barley malt syrup promotes “a more delicate texture in the crust, one that’s chewy and crisp rather than crunchy and hard.” I’ve had a jar on hand since reading her article, and I’ve been happy with the texture of my homemade bagels as a result, but know that you can create very good bagels at home without it. I recently learned that the chef, David Wurth, of Cross Roads in Hillsdale, who makes exceptional bagels, uses maple syrup in his boiling solution, so if you don’t feel like hunting down barley malt syrup, you don’t have to.
* Hydration is not something I ever talk about here or in my book, because typically I find the concept confuses and intimidates people rather than helps. Hydration is the percentage of liquid in a dough. I mention it today only because I think the most significant difference—more than kneading, boiling, shaping—between bagels and the peasant bread (and so many breads I love) is the hydration. Bagels are low hydration; peasant bread is high. Bagels are not light and airy; they are chewy and dense. These bagels are 69% hydration (calculated by dividing the weight of the water by the weight of the flour), whereas the peasant bread dough is about 94% hydration.
How to Make Homemade Bagels: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Gather your ingredients and equipment. A digital scale and a food processor or stand mixer make this recipe nearly foolproof:
- Whisk together the water and barley malt syrup:
- Add the liquid ingredients to the flour, salt, and instant yeast, and knead for 90 seconds:
- Use greased hands to transfer it to a bowl. Coat it with a little bit of olive or grapeseed oil. On the left: just-mixed dough. On the right: dough after a night in the fridge.
- After 12 hours (or more or less) in the fridge, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Portion the dough into 12 pieces:
- Ball them up:
- Shape them into rings, by using your thumb to poke a hole in the center of the round, then both hands to stretch the dough out and under—don’t be afraid to be aggressive.
- Prepare the water bath by boiling water with barley malt syrup or maple syrup.
- Get ready to boil:
- Boil 30 seconds a side:
- Transfer boiled bagels to a tea towel-lined sheet pan.
- Brush bagels with an egg wash:
- Dip in desired seasonings:
- Bake until golden.
Invite some friends over for brunch. Find yourself some good tomatoes; enter summer-morning breakfast nirvana.
Foolproof Homemade Bagels Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 12-14 hours
- Yield: 8-12 bagels
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Equipment Notes:
As noted above, I find a scale to be imperative here: I use it to weigh not only the flour but also the water, salt, and yeast.
A large sheet pan is so handy — it fits all 12 bagels at once. If you don’t have a large one, use two standard sheet pans, and bake 6 on each.
You’ll need a spider or a slotted spoon to remove the bagels from the boiling water to a sheet pan.
A food processor or stand mixer will allow you to knead the dough quickly and powerfully. I love my 14-cup Cuisinart.
Note: Watch your food processor closely! If you make the larger amount (12 bagels), it’s a lot of dough for even a large food processor. You’ll only run the machine for 90 seconds, but it will work hard during those 90 seconds and may jump around a bit — at any sign of the blade jamming, stop the machine and remove the dough. Also, after you add the liquids to the food processor, begin the kneading immediately to prevent the liquid from escaping through the center hole.
If you don’t have a food processor or a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand briefly, using as little additional flour as possible.
Ingredient Notes:
Many bread authorities swear by using high-gluten flour. This is something I have yet to try, but I imagine it would only improve the chewiness. But if you don’t feel like picking up another product, don’t hesitate to use all-purpose flour, which is what I typically use in all of the breads I bake.
Barley malt syrup is hard to find. Shops like Whole Foods Market typically sell it. I order it online.
For homemade everything bagel seasoning, combine:
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons dried onion flakes
- 3 tablespoons dried garlic flakes
- 2 tablespoons flaky sea salt
Ingredients
For 8 bagels:
- 4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons (13 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tsp (4 g) instant yeast
- 1 1/4 cups (350 g) lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon barley malt syrup, maple syrup, or honey + more for boiling
- grapeseed or olive or other neutral oil
For 12 bagels:
- 6 cups (768 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons (20 g) kosher salt, I use Diamond Crystal
- 1.5 tsp (6 g) instant yeast
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoon (530 g) lukewarm water
- 1 heaping teaspoon barley malt syrup, maple syrup, or honey + more for boiling
- grapeseed or olive or other neutral oil
For baking:
- 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water
- various toppings: everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, dukkah, etc.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), pulse together the flour, salt and yeast (or, if using a stand mixer, stir on low). In a medium bowl, whisk together the water and the barley malt syrup. Add it to the food processor (or stand mixer) and immediately (see notes above for why) blend for 60-90 seconds, standing nearby the entire time — at any sign of the blade jamming, stop the machine. (If using a stand mixer, knead on medium speed for 90 seconds.)
- With oiled hands, transfer the dough from the food processor to the bowl. The dough will feel warm and sticky. With oiled hands stretch the dough up, then down toward the center several times to form a ball. (See video for guidance.) Lightly rub some oil over the dough to coat — this will prevent a crust from forming on the dough. Cover with a tea towel, cloth bowl cover or plastic wrap. Transfer bowl to the fridge for 12 hours or longer.
- Place a large pot of water on to boil. When it simmers, add a big glug (about ¼ cup) barley malt syrup. Preheat an oven to 425ºF. Line two sheet pans or one large pan one with parchment paper (see notes above). Prepare the egg wash if you haven’t already. Place toppings of choice in shallow bowls.
- Remove bowl with dough from fridge. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. For perfectly even bagels, use your scale to portion the dough into 8 or 12 pieces, depending on the quantity of dough you made—if you weighed your ingredients, each dough ball should weigh about 105 to 110 g. Form each portion into a ball, using the pinky edges of your fingers to create tension. After all of the balls have been formed, dust your hands with flour and use your thumb to poke a hole into the center of each dough ball. Use your hands to stretch the dough into a donut-shape—don’t be afraid to really tug outward and under, almost as if you were going to turn the dough inside out but stop before you do. Note: If you don’t pull out and under, the bagels will puff into cone-liked shapes upon baking. Truly: Be aggressive with the shaping. Video guidance here.
- Line a sheet pan with a tea towel. Have a stopwatch (or your phone or a clock) nearby. Drop 4 of the dough rings into the boiling water at one time. Boil 30 seconds on each side. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the boiled rings to the towel-lined pan. Repeat until all of the rings have been boiled.
- Brush each ring with the egg wash. If you are using any toppings, dip the egg-washed bagels into the topping-filled bowls, then transfer to the parchment-lined sheet pan. If you an extra large sheet pan (see notes), you can bake all 12 at once. If you have a smaller pan, bake 6 to 8 at one time.
- Transfer pan or pans to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bagels are evenly golden all around. If you are using two pans, rotate the pans halfway through. Let bagels cool on sheet pans.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Boil & Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: bagels, everything, sesame, food processor, stand mixer
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Susan D says
Your bagels look wonderful and I’m always willing to try a new recipe. Thanks for the write up!
alexandra says
Thanks, Susan!
Dana says
Ali, #1 You never fail to amaze me. #2 Your bagels look awesome. #3 That’s a modestly equipped kitchen!?!? 🙂 Looks nicer and better equipped than my last 4 kitchens. – Hugs!
alexandra says
Oh Dana, thanks!! But what kitchen are you talking about?? I didn’t post any of our Lake George rental house …
Marilena says
These bagels look glorious Ali and I am so eager to try this recipe!
I loved the video too – you are so natural on TV!
alexandra says
Aww, thanks Marilena 🙂 🙂 🙂 xo
Peppermint Dolly says
Oh dear god, these look sensational – I could never make them because if I did – I’d forget the bit about inviting friends over and just eat them all myself!!
Rebecca | http://www.peppermintdolly.com
alexandra says
Thank you, Rebecca!
Trish says
I’m dying to make these but 1question-After its risen overnight and you turn it out and portion and form, do you let them rise again? Or rest? These do look amazing! Thank you so much.
alexandra says
Hi Trish! No rest in between. I think bc, at least where I am right now, it is very warm and humid, shortly after the bagels are formed and stretched, they feel very soft/pillowy/comfortable with their surroundings. Also, I think if you let them proof too much, they’ll deflate in the water anyway. If you need more time, you could definitely shape the bagels, then stick them back in the fridge till you are ready to boil. Many recipes call of another rest in the fridge.
caroline achard says
I bake them and they were a success. Another dough is in the fridge tonight. Next time I’d like to shape them right away, leave them in the fridge overnight (covered) and proceed with the baking the following day. This is what I wanted to do this tonight but I didn’t…..
Thanks a lot for the recipe, another one of yours that is a keeper!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Caroline! Keep me posted if you experiment with another method. I’m curious!
caroline says
This is the 4th time I’m baking these bagels since I saw the recipe in your story. Yes they are easy, and really good! Perfect for breakfasts, lunch boxes… I tried the method shaping them right after mixing the dough but it did not work well: dough is too sticky and needs some rest before you can work with it. Next will be the eggplants, the green gaspacho, thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes 🙂
alexandra says
You are so sweet, thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂 Hope you like the eggplant and gazpacho. Thanks so much for reporting back on the other shaping method—good to know letting the dough rise in bulk first is the preferred method. So happy you like the bagels!
Mary says
Hi Alexandra!
I just tried the recipe and got awesome results. I didn’t use a food processor. I ended up making two batches: the first I accidentally kneaded for too long (10 minutes?) and then the second I kneaded only briefly as you instructed. They both turned out great, and I personally preferred the batch with the extra kneading as it gave the bagel a more dense and bagel-ey texture. Thanks for a fantastic recipe! 🙂
P.s. I am slowly making my way through your book and all the recipes are amazing!
Nora says
You hand kneaded? I don’t have a hand mixer or a food processor 🙁
Bette says
I only have active-dry yeast. that instead? If so, how much? Thank you.,
Lydia says
Have you ever tried a mix of half whole wheat flour and half white?
alexandra says
I have not with this recipe, but you definitely could give it a try. The bagels may be a little denser, but I think the texture will still be really nice. Good luck!
Nancy Perine says
Hi Alexandra! It’s me, Nancy, again. I made pizza from your recipe yesterday. It was such a success that I decided to try your home made bagels. So glad to report, they were equally as wonderful. Everyone loved them!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Nancy! I need to start making them again … gotta get them right for tomato season 🙂 🙂
Lidor says
These bagels are unbelievably good! The recipe is great and the instagram video makes it super easy to follow. I used honey instead of the Malt Barley and they came out fantastic.
My family constantly asks when I am making these again! Thank you!!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Lidor!
alexandra says
Sorry this didn’t meet your standards! Question: what is different about the process in the 1950’s cookbook than this one? I’d love to compare.
M. Hinterberger says
Hi, here’s the recipe ( for 6) 1 cup warm water, 3/4 tspn active dry yeast, 1 Tblspoon malt syrup, 1/2 Tblspoon veg oil( not olive): 3-4 cups bread flour, 1/2nTablspoon salt. Sprinkle yeast over warm water to disdolve. Add the 1 Tblspoon malt syrup then all the rest of ingredients, mixing till dough forms and comes away from sides of bowl. Continue to knead , adding flour as necessary. Bagel dough should be stiff. Work in as much flour as you can comfortably knead. Knead until soft and elastic.
RISING- roll dough into a ball, place in large oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let fully rise until impression made with finger remains( about 1 hour). Punch down , divide into 4 pieces.
After shaping into rings, let rise about 20 minutes till puffy.
BOILING – large pot boiling water with 1 Tablespoon malt syrup. 30 seconds each side.
BAKING – after dipping in topping, 15-20 minutes in 425 degree oven , turning over after about 9 minutes.
alexandra says
Thank you!
Catherine says
Do you have any tips on reheating the bagels if you freeze them to preserve their freshness? I wanted to save some for later since I won’t be able to eat all 8 in a day!
★★★★★
alexandra says
After I freeze, I thaw the bagels at room temperature. Then I simply halve and toast them in my toaster. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions.
Catherine says
Thank you, Alexandra! I’ll try this method.
Sheila says
I sprinkle frozen bagels with some water and heat at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Kathryn says
Hi, A lot of the recipes I read for bagels call for bread flour vs. AP flour. Do you have an opinion on this? I’m wondering if I should try this with bread flour. I’m a new and nervous baker… 🙂
alexandra says
Hi Kathryn! If you can get your hands on some bread flour, go for it. It’s great for bagels. If you can’t, ap flour is fine. But you are correct: a lot of bagel recipes call for high-gluten flour, which includes bread flour. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions along the way 🥯🥯🥯
Louise Thompson says
Hello Miss Alexandra :-). It has been a while 🙂
I made this bagel dough last night, about to proceed. I am not seeing that you bring the refrigerated dough to room temp? Is that right?
alexandra says
That is correct Miss Louise 🙂 🙂 🙂
Louise Thompson says
Thank you, I took a chance…lol. I went to Costco and bought 50 lbs of bread flour, I’m on a bread-baking mission for my little apartment community. Yesterday I made 4 dozen, today I made 4 dozen, and I just realized I can coordinate this in 12-hour fridge-shifts, so I made a quadruple batch a moment ago (5pm). I can make another fridge-batch at 6am, bake the overnight batch by 9am, and then get going again at 8pm. I’m stay-at-home bored silly :-).
I tried lye once, and it made amazing bagels, but it wasn’t worth the stress. These? You knocked it out of the park, again ;-). Thanks!
alexandra says
Oh my goodness, Louise, I can’t get over all of this: you are amazing to bake for your community, and I love that you have a 12-hour schedule in place already. I found a 25-lb bag of flour at Hannaford’s and danced a little jig in the aisle! Happy happy baking to you 🍞🍞🍞💕💕💕🎉🎉🎉
Louise Thompson says
By the way, now that I have plunged relatively cold, out-of-the-fridge dough into the bath, I realize…if they came to room temp, they might get to be 9 inches in diameter…LOL. This is a great dough!
Aislinn says
Quick question – how would I use active dry yeast in this recipe if I don’t have instant yeast?
Thank you!
alexandra says
Hi! Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water with the barley malt syrup. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes or until it looks foamy. Then proceed with the recipe 🥯🥯🥯🎉🎉🎉
Sox says
I’ve made this recipe three times now (all in the last two weeks 😀). Each time I used my bread machine to mix and knead the dough and for rising. They have turned out great each time! Tonight I’m going to try the food processor + overnight fridge method to see if I get different results. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
PS. The link for the shaping video doesn’t seem to be working
★★★★★
alexandra says
I’m so happy to hear this!! Going to fix the video link now. I need to get it off IG somehow. Thanks for letting me know.
Lindsey says
Hi Alexandra,
Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend! Do you have any recommendations for a vegan substitute for the egg wash? By the way- we are obsessed with your recipes, especially peasant bread!! 🙂
alexandra says
Hi Lindsey! So nice to hear all of this. Thank you 😍😍😍 I think you probably could use any alt milk: almond, soy, oat, etc. I also think you might be able to get away with water. I use water to coat the loaves in this seedy sandwich loaf before coating them in seeds. Good luck!
Allyson says
Hi!
Excited to try this recipe this weekend- Question- you say Malt Syrup is optional. I see in Step #2 you don’t have Malt Syrup or Maple Syrup as an option ( like stated in Step # 9 of the post). If I don’t have Malt Syrup for Step #2 could Maple Syrup be used as a substitute ? Thank you!
alexandra says
Hi Allyson! Yes, absolutely.
Kathryn Ashcraft says
Hi Ali, I have made these bagels twice now and they are exceptional! I’ve used honey or molasses in different trials and both were great. I’ve found it tough to get barley malt syrup in the current environment.
Question for you… I thought it would be fun to mail bagels to some friends and wondered if you had experimented with/had experience with par baking? I was thinking of boiling, baking for half the time, freezing and shipping. My idea was that the receiver could then bake for 10-15 minutes and have fresh bagels? Do you have thoughts on this?
★★★★★
alexandra says
So great to hear this, Kathryn! Yes, I imagine it is nearly impossible to find barley malt syrup at the moment.
OK, very interesting question. I’m afraid I don’t have experience, so can’t give you a definite answer, but I think your method sounds very good. Part of me thinks you should just maybe bake them fully, let them cool, and overnight them or freeze them; then ship them frozen. Part of me wonders if you could freeze them after the boiling phase… I am so tempted to try this, and the next time I make these, I definitely will, but I would hate to guide you wrong in the meantime without experimenting first.
So, in conclusion: I think your method is sound!
EllenMarie says
I love this overnight bagel recipe, as it lessens the work in the morning. I made changes, though. I added vital wheat gluten to my AP flour. No need to buy bread flour, just buy a bag of VWG, keep it in the freezer, it lasts forever. I used 1 scant Tbsp of regular yeast, added baking soda to the boiling bath, and boiled for 1 minute each side. I like chewy bagels. I will be trying your other bread recipes soon. They look yummy. Thank you.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Oh I love this! Thanks for sharing so many great tips EllenMarie! I like chewy as well. Will try the baking soda + 1-minute bath method next time.
Ann says
Hello!
I made your bagel recipe today and they are absolutely delicious!
I have a question regarding adding in additional items.
My husband loves cinnamon raisin bagels and my son-in-law loves blueberry bagels. Do you have a recipe for either of these flavors or can you please tell me at what point would I add in the fruit? I am using a Cuisinart as in your recipe.
Thank you so very much!!:))
★★★★★
alexandra says
Hi Ann! OK, question for you: do you have a stand mixer? I’m thinking a stand mixer will more easily incorporate the ingredients without blitzing them (the raisins, blueberries) to pieces.
If you do: for the cinnamon, I would add the cinnamon and the raisins in with the flour. I would try maybe 1/2 cup raisins and 1 teaspoon cinnamon? Maybe more cinnamon?
for the blueberries, I don’t know how to advise, again because I don’t want them to get totally blitzed … I’m thinking add them during the last minute of mixing. Maybe 1/2 to 1 cup blueberries? It might take some trial and error to get it right.
If you don’t have a mixer, I would add the cinnamon with the dry ingredients, but maybe wait to add the raisins till the mixing is done. I might turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead them in by hand; same for the blueberries … as I think about blueberry bagels, they definitely are tinted blue and they definitely have some smushed berries, so I think it will be a little bit about managing expectations, too.
Kyle says
Love the recipe, I’ve been making it every other week for the past two months. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store bought!
Best,
Kyle
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this, Kyle 💕💕💕
Maricar Lavarias says
Hi. First time baker and I wanted to weigh the ingredients, as you highly recommended. My question is for the water… is it 350 grams OR 1 1/4 cups? Because 350 grams converted to cups is almost 1 1/2, not 1 1/4. Just concerned because you noted the importance of hydration in your notes. I am really excited to make these because these are my son’s favorite and your bagels look so good. Thank you!!!
alexandra says
Hi Maricar! Use the weight measure: 350 grams. Good luck! Hope your son loves the 🥯🥯🥯🥯
Maricar says
Hi Ali,
The bagels turned out really well. My son loved them.😊 Thank you for making it really easy for us neophyte bakers.
Maricar
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this! 🥯🥯🥯🥯🥯
Jamie says
Made these today with great results! I had a few dome shaped breads, but I will improve on the shaping. I too am not willing to try lye. And the baking soda I have boiled in for pretzels always leaves a big mess. So glad this one has something easy like maple syrup that I could use. Thanks again for another excellent and easy recipe and for a nice, chewy bagel.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Hi Jamie! Wonderful to hear all of this. Shaping does take some practice — I’m always amazed by how aggressive you need to be to prevent the bagels from doming during the baking process.