This easy homemade bagels recipe proves that you can make deliciously chewy bagels in your own kitchen with only a few basic ingredients and baking tools! Watch the video tutorial before you get started.
Today I’m teaching you how to make homemade bagels with only a few basic ingredients and kitchen tools. Today you’re going to tackle any fears of yeast-bread baking—and I’m right here to guide you along! This recipe is such a fan favorite that I included it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Bagels, crème brûlée, soft pretzels, and French macarons. What do these foods have in common? Each seem really complicated to make at home. That’s why you’ll often find them on your baking bucket list. But secretly, they couldn’t be easier. Homemade bagels taste fresher, are cheaper, and you’ll earn the bragging rights for from-scratch baking. (P.S. Each of those recipes has a video tutorial!)
Bagels Require a Lean Dough
The first step is to make the bagel dough. You need only 5 ingredients:
- Warm Water: Liquid for the dough.
- Yeast: Allows the dough to rise. I recommend an instant or active dry yeast.
- Barley Malt Syrup or Sugar: Bakeries use barley malt syrup to sweeten the bagel dough—it can be a little difficult to find, but either white or brown sugar is a fine substitute.
- Bread Flour: A high-protein flour is necessary for bagels. We want a dense and chewy texture, not soft and airy like cinnamon rolls. Bread flour is the only solution!
- Salt: Flavor.
Notice how there is no fat? This is called a lean dough. Lean dough is ideal for recipes like focaccia, pizza dough, artisan bread, and cranberry nut no-knead bread. Breads like dinner rolls and homemade breadsticks, and sweet bread, such as cinnamon rolls, include fat for richness and flavor.
You can prepare and knead the dough with a stand mixer or by hand. If you’d like a visual of how to knead the dough by hand, you can watch the full video tutorial in my post on How to Knead Dough.
After the dough has been kneaded, let it rise for 60–90 minutes. Punch it down, then divide into 8 sections and shape into bagels.
How to Shape Bagels
Shaping bagels is easier than it looks. Poke your finger through the center of the ball of dough, then use 2 fingers to widen the hole to about 1.5–2 inches. That’s it! I don’t really do anything fancy and the bagels don’t need to be perfect. Mine never are!
Bagel Water Bath
Bagels must cook for 1 minute on each side in a pot of boiling water. This is actually the most important step in the whole recipe. Why?
- Boiling the bagels gives the bagel its beautiful shine. But looks aren’t everything—this shine is actually a result of the dough’s starches gelatinizing which creates a crisp, shiny coating. I learned this from Cooks Illustrated.
- Boiling bagels cooks the outer layer of dough, which guarantees they’ll hold their shape in the oven.
Add honey or barley malt syrup to the water bath. Why? The sugar adds extra caramelization and crisp. Brushing the boiled bagels with egg wash does the same. Don’t skip either!
Homemade Bagel Varieties
- Plain Bagels: Follow the recipe below. These are excellent as the base for breakfast casserole.
- Cinnamon Raisin Bagels: Follow my cinnamon raisin bagels recipe.
- Everything Bagels: Follow my everything bagels recipe.
- Blueberry Bagels: Follow my blueberry bagels recipe.
- Sesame Seed Bagels: Use 1/3 cup sesame seeds. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. Use more as needed.
- Poppy Seed Bagels: Use 1/3 cup poppy seeds. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. Use more as needed.
- Salt Bagels: Use 1/3 cup coarse sea salt. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. These are pretty salty, so feel free to go lighter on the salt.
- Cheese Bagels (Asiago, Cheddar, etc.): Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the dough when you add the flour. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, sprinkle with extra cheese.
- Cinnamon Crunch Bagels: Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough recipe below when you add the salt. Double the cinnamon crunch topping from cinnamon crunch bread. After brushing the bagels with the egg wash in step 9 below, spoon cinnamon crunch topping on each.
Some readers have used this bagel recipe to make whole wheat bagels by replacing half of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. I haven’t tried it, but I do use some whole wheat flour when making homemade English muffins, another breakfast staple!
Homemade Bagels Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 8 bagels
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make fresh bagels right at home with this tested dough recipe. Don’t skip the water bath and egg wash—both provide an extra chewy and golden brown crust. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360g/ml) warm water (between 100–110°F/38–43°C)
- 2 and 3/4 teaspoons (8g) instant or active dry yeast*
- 1 Tablespoon barley malt syrup, granulated sugar, or brown sugar*
- 4 cups (520g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed*
- 2 teaspoons salt
- for coating the bowl: nonstick spray, butter, or oil
For Boiling & Topping
- 2 quarts (1.9L) water
- 1/4 cup (85g) barley malt syrup or honey
- egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, whisk the warm water, barley malt syrup/sugar, and yeast together. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.*
- Add the flour and salt, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it seems too sticky and clings to the sides of the bowl instead of forming a rough mass around the dough hook or spoon, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and somewhat dry. If it is crumbly and breaks off in pieces, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Knead the dough: When the dough has reached the proper consistency, beat on low speed with the dough hook for an additional 6–7 minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6–7 minutes, until the dough feels smooth, supple, and elastic. (If you’re new to bread-making, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with nonstick spray, butter, or oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1.5–2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Shape the bagels: When the dough is risen, punch it down to release the air. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 ounces (113g) each. Shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole, then stretch and widen the hole to about 1.5–2 inches in diameter. Arrange the shaped bagels on the prepared baking sheets. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 5–10 minutes as you prepare the water bath.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Water bath: Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts (1.9L) of water. Whisk in the barley malt syrup or honey. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop 2 or 3 bagels in at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Boil the bagels for 1 minute, then use a spatula to flip each bagel over and boil for 1 minute more. Using a slotted metal spatula, lift the bagels out of the water, letting the excess water drain off. Place the bagels back on the lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. If you’re adding toppings, dip the tops of the bagels into the toppings immediately after applying the egg wash.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the bagels are dark golden brown. Allow the bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Slice, toast, top, enjoy however you want! Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Overnight Make-Ahead Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 4, but allow the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator instead of at room temperature. The slow rise gives the bagels wonderful flavor! In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let the dough rise for 45 minutes at room temperature. Continue with step 5. I don’t recommend shaping the bagels the night before as they may puff up too much overnight.
- Freezing Make-Ahead Instructions: Baked bagels freeze wonderfully! Freeze them for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm to your liking. You can also freeze the bagel dough. After punching down the dough in step 6, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then punch the dough down again to release any air bubbles. Continue with the rest of step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer | Baking Sheets | Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats | Large Pot (such as a 5- or 6-quart Dutch Oven) | Pastry Brush
- Yeast: Use instant or active dry yeast. If using active dry yeast, the rise time may be closer to 2 hours. 1 standard packet is about 2 and 1/4 teaspoons, so you will need a little more than 1 packet of yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Barley Malt Syrup: This ingredient can be a little hard to find, but truly gives bagels that traditional malty flavor we all know and love. Most natural food stores carry it. I offer alternatives such as brown sugar in the dough and honey in the water bath; I’ve made bagels with these alternatives AND with barley malt syrup and honestly love both versions.
- Bread Flour: Bagels require a high protein flour. Bread flour is a must. Here are all my recipes using bread flour if you want more recipes to use it up. All-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the bagels will taste flimsy and won’t be nearly as chewy.
- Bread Machine: Place the dough ingredients into the pan of the machine. Program the machine to dough or manual, then start. After 9–10 minutes, the dough will be quite stiff. Allow the machine to complete its cycle, then continue with the recipe.
- Bagel Varieties: See blog post above for various add-ins and toppings. Note that the toppings are added after the egg wash in step 9. Some readers have used this bagel recipe to make whole wheat bagels by replacing half of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. I haven’t tried it, but let me know if you do!
- Halve or Double: You can halve this dough recipe by simply halving all of the dough ingredients (do not halve the water or honey for the boiling step). No changes to the recipe instructions. For best taste and texture and to not overwhelm your mixer with excess heavy dough, I do not recommend doubling this dough recipe. Instead, make separate batches of dough.
- Adapted from a mix of recipes I’ve tried: King Arthur Flour, Cook’s Illustrated, and Complete Book of Breads
Reader Comments and Reviews
Tried this recipe tonite. Added sesame seeds to the tops. My whole family said they were better than the ones we get from the bagel shop!! Crunchy exterior with fluffy, chewy center, sooo flavorful! Thanks for a well written, easy to make amazing bagel. ❤️
Fabulous substitute for a birthday cake for my wife who’s vegan! She loves them!
Always been intimidated by working with yeast but decided to try today using this recipe. The entire process was easy (and easy to understand) and they turned out AMAZING! I just did plains sprinkled with a little bit of course salt. Can’t wait to try all the other variations.
Excellent
I’m currently sitting on my kitchen floor watching the bagels bake LOL. So far everything has gone good I just have to wait to see how it tastes, the bagels I have been getting from the store are almost six dollars for four. So if this turns out good I will be making them from now on, thank you so much
I live this recipe the dough came together so easily and right now I am waiting for the hot water bath to boil. Can’t wait to bake them soon enough
Oh man these were delicious! I made these and your Cin-Raisin. The only problem was I had to knead forever. My Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer wimped out…I had to let it rest because it got hot. So I did partly by hand. Altogether the kneading took an hour. I measured correctly and it was the right size. So I don’t know what that was all about. I let it rise overnight and the flavor and texture were amazing. It was worth it.
I did I needed mine by hand it took approx 10 minutes but do far turned out ok I think
What’s the best option for storage container for the week?
Hi Mark, a large tupperware container or storage-sized zip-topped bag work well.
I used my food processor to knead the dough. I’m new to the baking world but tried to follow the directions exactly. My dough seemed a little dry after rising? Like I could shape the dough that well into the circles because it wouldn’t stick together. Did I over knead it? Did the heat from the food processor mess it up? Not let it sit long enough?
Do you have tips for using the food processor? (I don’t have a kitchen aid)
Hi Alissa, We do not recommend using a food processor to mix this dough as it will quickly overwork the dough. Instead, if you don’t have a stand mixer you can simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula and knead the dough by hand.
Thanks so much for this recipe! Honestly, kind of life changing. My bagel habit was getting out of control with rising food costs. While I like the ones at the corner store, these are half the price and 3 times as good! Thanks again
Love the bagel recipe! I wish it made more at a time! I have given a lot away everyone tells me how good they are.
I didn’t make the holes big enough but they are soooo chewy and delish! I won’t be buying bagels again! Easy recipe!
Any ideas on how to make pumpkin, matcha, or chocolate bagels? Love this recipe so much! Thanks in advance for any advise you have.
Hi Lily, we’re so glad these are a favorite for you! We haven’t tested any of those versions, but they would take some recipe testing to perfect. Adding dry ingredients like cocoa or matcha would likely require less flour and additional liquids, while pumpkin puree would likely mean less liquid and a bit more flour to compensate for the added wet ingredient. However, you can use chocolate chips instead of raisins in these cinnamon raisin bagels for a chocolate chip bagel. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
I am anxious to try this recipe. My question is, an I substitute barley malt powder for the barley malt syrup and if so, what is the ratio of powder to syrup?
Hi Eileen! We’ve never tried it. Syrup dissolves easier into the water, so we’re unsure about the powder. The results may not be as intended if you make that swap.
Hi ya! I’ve been trying to make bagels for years, and I keep failing. I dunno if it’s because I can’t find the right ingredients in Brazil or… due to my incompetence, really. hahaha! I read in some sites that adding a spoon of maple syrup to the mixture of warm water and years can help with fermentation? Would you recommend it in this recipe? Thank you so much!
Hi Michelline! Have you tried this recipe? The video tutorial and detailed step by step photos should be helpful. Sugar does help feed the yeast, but we add sugar to the dough here. Let us know if you give it a try!
Just made these for my wife because I forgot to buy bagels while at the store. Made the plain variety, used the wheat Montana brand all purpose flour and they turned out beautiful.
I have made these bagels many times now. We really like them! Any ideas how to make them into blueberry bagels?
Hi Anna, For blueberry bagels, we recommend using dried blueberries and following our cinnamon raisin bagels, swapping the raisins for blueberries. The moisture from fresh blueberries is too much for the bagel dough. Hope this helps!
I am looking forward to making these. I thought I had asked but maybe I did in the wrong place or just can’t find. Can you add the everything bagel toppings into the bagels. I think when the toppings are on top, you loose a lot if them and they tend to get in your teeth/gums more. Yes, I know almost all bagel places put the toppings on top, but I figured if I was going to make my own, why not ask as someone may have tried. Thank you so much for you time and this great recipe.
Can’t see why you couldn’t mix some into the dough, let us know of you try!
I have the dough in the fridge for the night and am going to try and add the everything spice when I make the balls. Thought if I added it before the main rise it would effect it as it has the spice has salt in it. Will probably still put it on the outside after the egg wash, but want to try inside also. I will be sure to let you know how they turn out.
I am not sure what I did wrong but I had to add a lot more flour – the dough was sooo sticky. And then my bagels just sank during the boiling 🙁 it was my first try so I will definitely keep trying but I was super sad lol
Just add a bit of flour when mixing and as you knead the dough..for the sinking mine did to , just gave me a nudge and the floated back to the top and then the second batch didn’t even sink ..so glad to have found this good recipe since I now live in France and bagels when you find real ones are nearly 2 euros a bagel
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s my first time to bake bagels and your recipe didn’t disappoint. More power
Bagels are fresh out of the oven and taste so delicious!!! I am so excited. First time making them and will definitely be making my own from now on instead of buying them!
Do you have a recipe for peanut butter bagels with peanut butter chips?
Hi Sharon, we don’t but let us know if you find one you love!
This is a fantastic bagel recipe – I won’t buy store brands again. I’ve made it with Asiago and pumpkin seed toppings (separately.) Incredibly good.
Hi I have not made these yet but I was wondering if there was a way to make these into bagel thins? Thank you!
Hi Taylor, we haven’t tested these as bagel thins, but let us know if you decide to do any experimenting.
My first time making bagels & These turned out amazing!!
These look delicious! Do you think adding a little malt powder to the flour would impart a malty taste for those of us who don’t have barley malt syrup? Also, thank you for the kneading video!
So yummy!! Can I add dried blueberries to this recipe to make blueberry bagels?
Absolutely. I’d say around 3/4 cup or 90g.
Made with 1tbsp brown sugar and 2tbsp of regular sugar like your cinnamon raisin bagels! I added 3/4c dried blueberries and 1/4c of dried cranberries. Sooo yummy toasted with cream cheese or homemade jam!
I just tried this recipe for the first time. As New Yorkers living out of state we are always trying to find a real NY bagel. We are very pleased with the flavor and chew and will make them again. We would however like to achieve a thicker tougher crust. One that fight you a bit. Any suggestions on how we might achieve this?
Hi Michele, what a compliment to the recipe, thank you. I haven’t tested other ways to achieve a thicker, chewier, tougher crust but if you come up with anything or find anything, let me know!
Turned out the trick to getting the crust ti fight back was leaving them to sir over night. I froze half of dough from that batch and the other half are in the oven now. Bagel and mix dinner for my daughter home for a visit from college. She is excited to try them. I left tjus batch to rest on top of my toaster oven, as we are without heat at the moment. I think I got a better rise thus time
My first time ever making bagels and they came out perfect. I am curious if you have any nutritional facts associated with this recipe? I measured out 8 (4oz) identical bagels and am a little curious what the fat/carb/protein ratio is?
hello! thinking about making this recipe and was wondering if there is a substitute for the bread flour? such as all purpose or self rising, thank you!!
Hi Victoria! All-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the bagels will taste flimsy and won’t be nearly as chewy.