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Homemade Bagels

May 6, 2011 by Lois Britton 12 Comments

bite into homemade bagels

There’s a bagel restaurant in Poznan; I’ll blog about them later.  The get their bagels from Berlin – 3 hours away, and they’re very proud of them.  From everything I’d heard, bagels are not difficult to make; it’s not like it requires expensive equipment.  Why wouldn’t you just make them here?

Now that Ed and I just whipped up our first batch of bagels ever, on a whim, I can say with confidence, bagels are easy – peasy – 1-2-3sy.  (I believe that’s a quote from the Bunny Picnic.)

After reading several recipes online, we decides on  Emeril’s.  Our bagel mentor, Emeril, is missing a couple of steps, like what do you do with the cornmeal and when do you add the toppings – it was easy enough to wing it.  (I sometimes have similar omissions, but lucky for me, I have Cousin Sue to catch them.)

Ingredients

1 cup warm water (about 110 F or 40 C )
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 tablespoon cornmeal

Directions

  • Combine the water, yeast and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl.
  • Let stand until a foamy layer develops on top, about 5 minutes.
  • Gradually add 2 cups of flour and the salt; stir until combined.
  • Add the additional flour to make a stiff dough.
  • Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed for 5 minutes, adding flour as necessary.
  • Use oil to grease a large bowl.
  • Add dough to the bowl and turn to coat the top in oil.
  • Cover and let rise until almost doubled in size, about an hour.  (You can prepare the dough a day ahead.  At this point, cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.)
  • Punch down the dough; divide into 6 portions.
bagel recipe homemade bagels
  •  Roll each portion into a log shape, and connect the ends.  (You’ll see that some of our logs were longer than others.  The shorter ones almost lost the hole as the dough rose for a second time.)  You can also roll the dough into a ball and poke a hole in the middle, working  and stretching the hole until you have the desired shape.
  • Cover the bagels and allow to rise again for 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees (205 C).
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Reduce heat, until water is at a slow simmer.
  • Use the remaining teaspoon of oil to grease a baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with corn meal.
making bagels
  • Gently place the bagels 2 or 3 at a time in the boiling water (they’ll float); cook for 60 seconds, flip and cook for an additional 60 seconds.  Remove the bagels from the water and place (right side up) on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Add any desired topping – sesame seeds, cheese (dairy free for vegan), toasted onion (we used kosher salt and lots of black pepper).
homemade bagels recipe
  • Bake for 30 minutes and get ready to enjoy a delicious treat – soft and chewy on the inside and a crisp crust on the outside.
Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.

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Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ziggy

    May 7, 2011 at 12:29 am

    I will defiantly have to try this recipe. For some reason I never thought of making my own bagels but now that I think of it nice and warm bagels right out of the oven, that would be pretty good. Thanks for sharing a great recipe.

    Reply
  2. evil cake lady

    May 7, 2011 at 12:59 am

    Nice! I always thought bagels were really difficult so it is nice to see that they aren’t. I actually like the look of the bagels without the hole.

    Reply
  3. Vicki

    May 7, 2011 at 5:16 am

    What a fun thing to make! I never would have guessed they’re easy to make.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    May 7, 2011 at 6:09 am

    It looks yummy.

    Reply
  5. Suzie-Q

    May 7, 2011 at 1:46 pm

    Glad I could help!!!

    Reply
  6. tralf

    May 7, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Yours look much better than any I’ve made. I’ll use your recipe next time.

    Reply
  7. lola

    May 7, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    Lois, They look great? We enjoy making bagels too and, as you said, they are easy and fun. We use a recipe from Baking with Julia cookbook, the guest baker is Lauren Groveman. I baked them on a pizza stone.

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth

    May 10, 2011 at 5:10 am

    I am so intrigued!! I have to try this!

    Reply
  9. ErikaJean

    May 17, 2011 at 3:02 am

    I might attempt this this weekend – they look so good!!

    Found your blog on bloggapedia for Tucson blogs!

    Reply
  10. natural meat winnipeg

    October 26, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    When I was little I use to get my mom to use the bread making machine and make me bread and it was so good. I can’t imagine how good these homemade bagels are.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Bialy or Bialystoker Kuchen - a "bagel" from PL to USA - Polish Housewife says:
    October 6, 2017 at 3:33 am

    […] Bialys have been referred to as bagels that aren’t boiled before baking, I used my bagel recipe and shaped the rolls with an indentation rather than a hole in the middle. They are fabulous. If […]

    Reply
  2. The Kraków Bagel/Pretzel (Obwarzanek Krakowski) - Polish Housewife says:
    March 12, 2019 at 2:01 am

    […] might also find my bagel and pretzel recipes […]

    Reply

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