How to Make Bagels – First Attempt at Bagel Making

It’s been a long night trying to set up this blog and my first official post. And for some crazy reason, I thought it would be a good idea to add in my first attempt at bagel making too. I think sleep deprivation may have played a role in trying to do three things at the same time. Anyway, it all turned out ‘ok’ because the blog is up, my first post is up, and my first attempt at bagel making turned out pretty well. I wouldn’t say it was a complete success because my first batch turned out to be more like bagel rocks, but the second batch turned out pretty darn good!

Before I attempted to make bagels, I watched a helpful video called Susan’s Awesome Bagels. It was very thorough and helped make my first attempt go a lot smoother.

How to Make Bagels – First Attempt Images

Below are some pictures of my first attempt at making bagels.

Bagels boiling in salted water. This helps make the outside crust of the bagels, so don’t skip this step.

I baked my bagels on a pizza stone in the oven, but a baking sheet lined with parchment paper will work too.

Like I said before, my first batch of bagels could have been used as weapons. They were really hard. My second batch was a lot better and I reduced the cook time to 16 minutes. While it isn’t the nice brown you normally see, the outside had a salty goodness, while the inside was soft and chewy. It may be because I opted to not brush the bagels with eggs or I will need to increase the cook time by a minute or two.

If you want to try making your own bagels, watch the video below and go for it!

Have you tried making your own bagels?

Homemade Bagels Recipe

Name: Homemade Bagels Recipe
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups Bread flour; 2 1/4 tsp. yeasst; 1 3/4 cups warm water, between 90-100° F; 2 1/2 cups Bread flour; 2 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 3 hours

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes

How to make a small batch of homemade bagels.

Ingredients

Bagel Sponge

2 1/2 cups Bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeasst
1 3/4 cups warm water, between 90-100° F

Bagel Dough

2 1/2 cups Bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Instructions

Bagel Sponge

Combine all the bagel sponge ingredients in a large mixer bowl. Mix thoroughly and cover. Let the bagel sponge rise and double in volume, about 20 - 30 minutes.

Bagel Dough

Add the remaining bread flour and salt to the bagel sponge. Use a stand mixer with a bread hook to combine the ingredients on low speed for 10 minutes. Occasionally scrape down the bowl. Asses the dough and add more flour or water as needed.
Remove the bowl and cover. Place in a warm place (I place in the oven with the oven light on) to rise for 20 minutes.
Lightly knead to dough again to reshape into a tight ball in the bowl. Cover and light rise again for another 30 minutes to an hour. The dough should double in size.
Remove dough from the bowl to the work surface. Divide dough into 10 pieces. About 3.5 to 4 ounces a piece.
Roll each cut piece into a ball. Coat each ball with flour and cover. Rest for 15 - 25 minutes or when the balls have slightly expanded.
Dust the bagels with flour and press in the centers to make an indentation. Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers.
Boil the bagels in salted water for 2 minutes per side. Remove from the water to a baking rack to drain.
Optional - Use an egg wash (1 egg white beaten with 1 T. of water) brushed on top of the bagels and dip into preferred bagel toppings before baking.
Bake the bagels on a preheated baking stone at 400°F or baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 16 - 20 minutes. Cook longer if needed to achieve a golden brown crust. Optional - turn the bagels mid way through to get even cooking.

Notes

If you need more help, head over to Susan's Cooking School to watch a bagel making video.

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