Want to learn to make delicious, chewy homemade bagels? Look no further! Here are more than 25 fantastic homemade bagel recipes - for all seasons! - for you to choose from!
Who doesn’t LOVE some good bagels?
New York Bagels, Montreal Bagels, random independent bagel shops - everyone seems to have their own preferences on where to get the best bagels, WHICH are the best bagels, etc.
That’s even before you get into favorite bagel toppings, flavours, etc!
IMHO, the best way to have bagels is fresh out of the oven, in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Nothing beats a very fresh bagel, maybe some cream cheese or a little bit of bagel seasoning... while you’re standing barefoot in your PJs, not having to deal with other people!
I’ve covered the basics in my How to Make Bagels post - a nice recipe for a plain bagel - and have a couple other recipes for how to use bagels (Smoked Salmon Bagel Bites & Pizza Bagel Bites).... but the real fun is playing around with all the options.
Here, I have a list of ALL my bagel recipes. A few more basic bagel recipes, some savory bagels, a few more sweet and/or fruit bagel recipes, and even a handful of seasonal and holiday bagel recipes!
If you’re interested in some overview information on the basic ingredients for homemade bagels - and a walkthrough of the techniques of a basic homemade bagel recipe - you’ll find it underneath recipe list, at the bottom of this post.
Anyway, let’s get to it! No matter what you’re in the mood for, you’ll find an easy bagel recipe to suit your needs!
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25+ Fantastic Homemade Bagel Recipes
Want to learn to make delicious, chewy homemade bagels? Look no further! Here are more than 25 fantastic homemade bagel recipes - for all seasons! - for you to choose from!
We'll start with the basics, then move on through savory bagel recipes, sweet bagel recipes, and - finally - seasonal bagel recipes!
Basic Bagel Recipes
These recipes are some of the more standard offerings you'll see in any bagel shop, and a good place to start on your homemade bagel making journey!
These homemade mini bagels are fun to make, and fun to eat! Spread with a bit of cream cheese, use them as a dipper or as a base for canapes!
Everything bagels are one of the most popular bagels out there - and they're easy to make at home.
Here's everything you need to know, including our own recipe blend of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes, and more!
This Pretzel Bagels Recipe makes soft bagels with the traditional flavor & color - of pretzels. They’re absolutely fabulous for as a base for sandwiches!
This Montreal bagels recipe is surprisingly easy to make. These sweet, chewy bagels are as authentic as you can get without a wood fire oven!
This Rye Bagels (with caraway seeds!) recipe makes a fantastic, very classic bagel. Making bagels are easier than you may think - I'll show you how!
If you're looking to put on a batch of bagels, and want to get fancy
with it, try my marble rye bagels.
These marble rye bagels are especially great with smoked salmon
and cream cheese!
These deep, dark pumpernickel bagels are loaded with flavour, featuring caraway seeds both inside and out.
They're easier to make than you may think!
Looking for a bagel that's not only loaded with complex flavour, but also full of fiber?
Look no further: Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels!
Gluten-Free Bagels were one of the huge victories for me, writing Beyond Flour 2.
This gluten-free bagel recipe is a bit fussy to make, but makes LEGITIMATE bagels!
Savory Bagel Recipes
Now that you've got the basics down, let's look at some savory bagel recipes.
These are great on their own, with a bit of cream cheese - plain, veggie cream cheese, etc - or as the base for a bagel sandwich.
These whole wheat spinach bagels pack a LOT of nutrition into a bagel.
A fantastic, tasty, and healthy base for breakfast bagel sandwiches!
If you're a fan of garden vegetable cream cheese, you'll love these
garden veggie bagels!
Bursting with fresh flavor, they great with cream cheese, or used for breakfast sandwiches!
If you enjoy Asiago bagels - and garlic - you'll love this Roasted Garlic Asiago Bagels recipe!
They're SUPER full of flavor and satisfying!
These Roasted Red Pepper Bagels may be a slightly unconventional bagel ... but they are FULL of flavor, and make fantastic sandwiches!
Looking for a departure from sesame or everything bagels? Try these smoky cheese bagels.
Layers of flavour make for a complex tasting bagel!
Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels!
These are traditional bagels – chewy, dense, and wonderful.. and surprisingly easy to make at home.
Sweet Bagel Recipes
Want a breakfast that ALSO feels a bit like dessert - and satisfies your sweet tooth?
Here are a few sweet bagel recipes. These are great with plain cream cheese, any number of sweet flavored cream cheese options, or - in most cases - even with fruit or jam!
This homemade blueberry bagels recipe turns out sweet, chewy bagels that are bursting with fresh blueberry flavor!
Gorgeous color, too!
These homemade Spiced Chai Bagels are deeply flavourful with warm spices and just enough sweetness.
Chewy, easy to make, and delicious!
Tired of banana bread? These Banana Nut Bagels are another great way to use up overripe bananas!
Spread it with maple cream cheese - so good!
These maple spiced pumpkin bagels are loaded with pumpkin, maple syrup, & spices - just like pumpkin pie!
Try your homemade pumpkin bagels with our easy flavoured cream cheese options, recipes in the post.
These Red Velvet Bagels are a flavourful, sweet, & fun departure from regular bagels.
The perfect festive bagel for Valentine's Day or Christmas brunch!
Holiday Bagel Recipes
Want to get a bit extra with your holiday brunch planning?
Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Pride, Christmas... there's a bagel recipe for it!
Looking for a fantastic bagel for Valentine's Day? Try these Heart Shaped Bagels!
Fun to make, cute to serve, fun to eat - and tasty!
Looking for a fun idea for St Patrick's Day breakfast, unicorn birthday party, or a colorful addition to your pride brunch?
These rainbow bagels are fantastic!
The homemade Hot Cross Bagels are fun to make, flavourful, and an excellent addition to your regular Easter Sunday breakfast or brunch!
Paska is a FANTASTIC Ukrainian Easter bread, loaded with citrus flavor, sugar, butter, & eggs.
These Paska bagels are inspired by that bread - all the flavour, just in bagel form!
These Christmas Bagels - done up candy cane style - are fun to make and fun to eat!
Perfect for Christmas morning or a holiday brunch.
These homemade gingerbread bagels are a fabulous addition to your Christmas morning breakfast - or any seasonal brunch gathering!
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Ingredients
While every bagel recipe is going to be different, the basic ingredients are all the same, simple ingredients.
All you really need to make homemade bagels are:
Flour
I usually use all purpose flour, but bread flour works. Sometimes you can substitute whole wheat flour for a portion of the all-purpose flour, but that can change the texture of your bagel dough. I recommend using a recipe that calls for it, rather than winging it.
Yeast
I use active dry yeast in all of my bagel recipes.
A Sugar
This will vary from recipe to recipe, but you’ll use a little bit of SOME form of sugar to help the yeast rise. You bloom the yeast in some warm water, and the sugar is what feeds it and helps it “wake up”.
You can use any kind of sugar, really - granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup - I even molasses in some recipes!
Depending on which recipe you’re doing, you may also use a bit of sugar in the boiling water bath step. This gives a bit of sweetness and flavor to the outside of the bagel, and also helps it brown up when baked.
Salt
This brightens the flavor of your bagels, which would otherwise taste flat.
Egg, Optional
The egg wash is optional when it comes to bagel making, but I tend to do it. It gives the bagel a nice, glossy shine, and helps with the browning.
Equipment
You don’t need a ton of equipment for making your own chewy bagels!
Beyond an oven - and the basic measuring implements - you’ll need:
A Large Bowl: For mixing your dough in. I like to have a second, clean one on hand. I grease the second one, and put the kneaded dough ball in there to rise.
Sheet Pans: I generally use 2 cookie sheets for any of my bagel recipes.
Stand Mixer (Optional): “Kneading” your bagel dough in the bowl of your stand mixer - fitted with a dough hook attachment - is a quick and easy way to do it.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, though, all you need is a clean work surface, and your own hands!
Parchment Paper: I use parchment paper in a few steps, when making bagels. I lay it down as a work surface when dividing and shaping the bagels, and I line the baking sheets before rising and baking the bagels.
I also line my work surface with parchment paper when doing the boiling step - it makes for easier cleanup! I transfer the bagels to the parchment paper to drain a bit, before moving them to the prepared baking sheets.
How to Make Homemade Bagels
While the technique will vary a bit from recipe to recipe, here’s a rundown of the basic steps to bagel making:
Making the Dough
Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl.
Stir in the yeast and sugar, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as you go.
Then, you’ll do the kneading process, one of two ways:
1. Dump it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. (Don’t use TOO much flour, you’ll end up with stiff dough and dense/dry bagels!).
2. Fix your stand mixer with a dough hook, and “knead” the dough on low speed for about 5-7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise - in a warm place - for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Forming the Bagels
Once the bagel dough is done rising, I start preheating the oven, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out into equal pieces
1. Roll each piece of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together.
Then, stretch the center hole of each out a bit to enlarge it, forming an even bagel shape.
The Water Bath
The boiling step is what gives bagels their characteristic chewy texture.
As your shaped bagels are rising for the last time, get a large pot of water boiling.
If you’re using any additives in the water bath - baking soda, honey, etc - I recommend adding them in and stirring well BEFORE the water is boiling.
Bring the water JUST to a boil, then turn heat down a little. You want the water to simmer rather than boil.
2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Use a slotted spoon to remove and drain the boiled bagels, before placing them on a prepared baking sheet.
Baking the Bagels
If doing an egg wash, you’ll brush that over the tops and sides of each bagel.
If you’re adding any toppings - sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coarse salt, etc, sprinkle that over them after the egg wash.
Bake the bagels according to the recipe you’re using, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Leftover Bagels
Once cooled to room temperature, homemade bagels can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days, or in the fridge for about a week.
We’ll usually keep ours in an airtight bag in the fridge.
Best served reheated!
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