Let me tell ya, these homemade bagels certainly have a special place in my heart. Back when we were in the military, a mama friend of mine would host a play date morning and would have a basket of these bagels out for everyone. I have the best memories of sitting around her living room with my friends, all of us with a bagel and cup of tea or coffee, babies running around with a bagel in hand themselves. They may have been just bagels, but I know it was her special way of pouring into the rest of us mamas.
Though we have all moved to different states and can no longer do our play date mornings, I still like to think I’m keeping her special tradition going by serving her homemade bagels when I have mamas or company over. My littles and hubby love them too, so these days they go pretty fast in our home! Thank goodness they are so simple!
These homemade bagels are really versatile I’ve found! I have tried all kinds of flavors with them and they never disappoint. The kinds we have tried and loved have been…
+ Everything – (This is my favorite seasoning!) *affiliate link
+ Brown Sugar and Cinnamon (I make a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon and add it to the dough)
+ Jalepeno Cheddar (Chop up jalepenos, add to dough, and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top a few minutes before taking them out of the oven)
+ Blueberry
Any flavor I’ve gone with has always been so great! Here’s the basic recipe!
Bagels for Those You Love
Ingredients
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (bread flour is my favorite though)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Proof your yeast by pouring ½ cup warm water, yeast, and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Add in flour, salt, and remaining warm water. Knead the dough using the dough hook attachment for 10 minutes on low speed. You want to make a firm dough that's not sticky (kinda like playdough!). When it's finished, the dough shouldn't stick to the bowl and should be smooth.
- Place dough in large bowl and cover for 1 hour to rise. (Dough should double in size)
- Once risen, punch down and let rise another 10 minutes. While dough rests, proceed to the following steps.
- Preheat oven to 425° and bring large pot of water to boil. (There should be at least 5 inches of water in the pot)
- Divide the dough in half, then each half into fourths. You'll have 8 dough balls. (You can also split the 8 balls in half for 16 small bagels)
- Roll dough into balls and jab a hole into the middle of each ball. Stretch dough until hole is about twice the width of the thickness of the bagel.
- Drop as bagels into pot of gently boiling water. (I normally boil 3 at a time). Boil bagels for 1-2 minutes on each side. (The longer the boil, the chewier the bagel.) As they are done, place bagels on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Brush bagels with egg whites before baking (if baking everything bagels, add seasoning to tops prior to baking!) put into the oven for 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown in color!)
Note: These also freeze really great! Let cool then, put in a freezer safe container/bag! Here are some other great freezer meal ideas!