An Easy-Peasy Guide to Making Delicious Bagels

Whether you’re a baking master or beginner, this recipe will take you step-by-step through the bagel-baking process and provide you with helpful tips to ensure that your first batch of bagels are out of this world!

Photo taken by Natalie C. Photo taken by Natalie C.
Ingredients
For the dough:
• 3 ½ cups bread flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (about 95°F)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt OR 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• Whatever else you’d like to put in/on your bagels! (ideas: cinnamon + raisins, rosemary + olive oil or sesame + poppy seeds!)
For the boiling liquid:
• 2-3 quarts water
• 1 ½ tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt OR 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 egg white
Directions
1. To make the dough, mix your dry ingredients (flour, yeast and salt) in a stand mixer on medium speed until well-incorporated. Then, slowly add your water and honey. At this point, feel free to add in your desired ingredients to taste.
2. Once everything is well-combined, remove the dough from the stand mixer and knead the dough into a round ball on a floured surface for about three minutes.
Tip: If the dough is too crumbly, wet your hands when kneading. If the dough is too wet/tacky, incorporate a little more flour into the dough. Consistency is key!
3. When you’ve successfully kneaded the dough into a smooth, round ball, pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl and swirl your dough inside of it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour (Picture 1).

4. Once the dough has risen, it’s time to shape your bagels! Evenly divide up your dough into however many bagels you’d like to make (this recipe makes 8 bagels, but, if you double the measurements listed, you can make up to 16!) From here, there are several ways you can shape your bagels:
• If you have a bagel pan (as seen in Picture 2), simply shape each dough ball into flat disks and press each piece into the individual bagel molds.
• If you don’t have a bagel pan, you can shape your dough balls into flat disks and poke a hole into the center of each one using your thumbs. Another method is to roll each dough ball into an 8-inch rope and form a ring by pressing the two rope-ends together.
Tip: For extra smooth bagels, knead each individual ball of dough before shaping.

5. Once you are finished shaping your bagels, cover them and let them rise again for at least another hour. In the meantime, combine your water, honey, baking soda and salt in a large pot.
6. Once your bagels have risen, preheat your oven to 500°F. Bring your liquid to a boil and then set it to medium heat. Boil up to 4 bagels (depending on the size of your pot) for 1 minute on the first side and 30 seconds on the other side, using a slotted spoon and a timer to flip and time your bagels (Picture 3)
Tip: Start by placing one bagel in the boiling water first. If the bagel doesn’t float, allow all of them to rise for at least another 30 minutes.
7. After all of your bagels are boiled – taking care to boil them in batches

8. Set them in a pan and brush them with egg white for a nice golden-brown finish. At this point, feel free to sprinkle your topping of choice (such as sesame or poppy seeds).
9. Lower your oven’s temperature to 450°F and bake your bagels for 10-15 minutes or until the bottom of the bagels are browned to your liking.
10. Cool your bagels on a rack for at least 30 minutes and enjoy!
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