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    Home » Recipes » Homemade Bagels

    Rainbow Bagels

    Published: Feb 27, 2023

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    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!

    A platter of brightly coloured homemade rainbow bagels.

    As you might have noticed by now, I like to have fun with making bagels.

    Sure, I have some traditional style bagel recipes - Montreal Bagels, Pumpernickel Bagels, Rye Bagels, Mini Bagels....

    But sometimes I like to make less traditional bagel flavours, like my Roasted Red Pepper Bagels, Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels, or Banana Nut Bagels.

    ... and sometimes, I like to get a bit more weird with it, and make bright colored, beautiful bagels. Those colorful bagels would be things like my Christmas Bagels, Red Velvet Bagels, and bright pink Heart Shaped Bagels.

    Today’s bagel recipe may be a plain bagel *in flavoring* (and that’s adaptable, more on that in a bit!), but these are no ordinary bagels!

    No, today I’m sharing my rainbow bagel recipe!

    These colorful rainbow bagels are a bit of work - kneading 6 different colors into the dough - so they’re more of a special treat than an everyday recipe.

    That said, they’d be a huge hit for certain birthday party themes, St Patrick’s day, and Pride month brunch festivities.

    No worries, though - it’s all fairy simple techniques, that even beginner bagel makers will have no problem with. Just have a littl patience and trust the process!

    A platter of brightly coloured homemade rainbow bagels.

    Rainbow Bagel Backstory

    While I’d love to take credit for the invention of rainbow bagels - I’ve taken every opportunity to rainbow-up anything I can, since I was a toddler - these have apparently existed in some form LONG before I ever developed my own recipe.

    According to a quick search, the inventor was Scot Rossillo, who’s known as a “world premier bagel artist”, and is owner of The Bagel Store, a bagel shop in New York City.

    Looks like it closed down last year, shame. Sounds like the guy had an indelible impact on the bagel industry - proudly straying from normal bagels, and turning out all kinds of gorgeous, colorful bagels.

    Why do I never hear about such things, till they’re gone?

    Oh well - I’ve never even been to NYC, so having heard of him earlier wouldn’t have changed much, I guess!

    Anyway, on to that recipe!

    A sliced open rainbow bagel on a plate.

    Ingredients

    This is a super basic bagel recipe, and uses really simple ingredients. For the most part, you’re likely to have it all in your pantry... and anything you don’t, will be super easy to find in any grocery store.

    You will need:

    All Purpose Flour
    Granulated Sugar
    Active Dry Yeast
    Salt

    The less common ingredient? Food colouring.

    Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue food coloring bottles lined up on a silicone baking mat.

    Food coloring comes in 3 main formats:

    Liquid food coloring: Generally found in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

    Paste food coloring: Usually Wilton brand, you can find this style in craft supply stores and cake decorating supply shops.

    Gel food coloring: Comes in a few brands, also found in the larger craft supply chains (sometimes), and in cake decorating shops.

    I always use gel colors, as they give the most vibrant colors, without adding a ton of liquid. This is especially important when dealing with bagel dough.

    Specifically, I recommend Americolor (what I used when I was in the USA), or ChefMaster (Which is the option more readily available here!).

    At the very least, you’ll need Red, Yellow, and Blue food coloring - Orange, Green, and Purple can be mixed using these primary colors.

    That said, you’ll have an easier time if you just use premade orange, green, and purple food coloring.

    I didn’t realize I’d run out of purple when making this batch, and had to mix it from red and blue. As you can see, my purple isn’t quite as pretty as the premade colors.

    A platter of brightly coloured homemade rainbow bagels.

    Sweet Rainbow Bagel Variation

    As is, this rainbow bagels recipe makes regular bagels, good for making breakfast sandwiches, etc with.

    If you’d like a sweet bagel, you can add an additional 1 cup of granulated sugar - mix it in with the flour, not the yeast.

    When doing sweet bagels, I like to add a bit of flavouring, at the beginning of mixing the dough together.

    Adding 1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract is my go-to, as a fairly neutral flavour that will go well with any sweet cream cheese blend spread on it.

    That said, feel free to have fun with it!

    Lorann Flavor Oils come in all sorts of fun flavors - cherry, grape, cheesecake, blueberry, green apple, mango, and more.

    As an example, if these bagels are intended to be party of something like a unicorn themed birthday party, you can even make cotton candy bagels - just add 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon Lorann Cotton Candy Flavor Oil when you first mix the dough ingredients together!

    When making sweet bagels, it can be fun to spread the cut bagels with cream cheese, then scatter some rainbow sprinkles over it - or mix up a funfetti cream cheese!

    Be a little extra - they’re rainbow bagels, after all!


    A sliced open rainbow bagel on a plate, in front of a platter of homemade rainbow bagels.

    How to Make Rainbow Bagels

    The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

    Make the Dough

    Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or small mixing bowl.

    Stir in sugar and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

    A two part image showing a glass measuring cup of water and yeast, before and after foaming up.

    In a large bowl - or in the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with a dough hook), combine flour and salt.

    Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine and form a rough dough.

    Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.

    A 5 part image showing the dough ingredients being mixed to form a loose dough.

    Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

    Once dough is fully kneaded and is a smooth ball, place it on a clean work surface. I like to use a silicone pie mat, as pictured- but a clean, lightly floured work surface also work.

    Note: use very little flour. Too much flour will dry out the dough!

    A 4 part image showing the dough being kneaded in a stand mixer, to form a smooth ball.

    Divide into 6 equal pieces.

    A 2 part image showing the dough divided in 2 then 6 parts.

    One piece of dough at a time, knead in some gel food coloring, until smooth, intense, and uniform color is achieved. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer, just be sure to wash the surfaces between dough colours.

    Keep the dough balls covered as you work, spray each coloured ball of dough with a bit of nonstick spray when you’re done kneading the colouring.

    An 8 part image showing food coloring being used to dye the dough pieces red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

    Place each in a separate, lightly greased bowl, or space out the individual portions on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper.

    Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour, or until doubled in size.

    A 2 part image showing the 6 colored dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, before and after doubling in size.

    Assemble the Bagels

    Once dough has doubled in size, flatten the red dough out into a rectangle about 5 x 7" in size.

    Flatten the orange dough out to the same size, stack it on top of the red dough, stretching and pressing to uniformly cover the red piece.

    A two part image showing the red and orange doughs pressed out to rectangles, then stacked.

    Repeat - in rainbow order - with the yellow, green, and blue doughs.

    Finally, flatten the purple piece out and stack it on top of the blue dough.

    Press the whole stack down firmly to flatten & even out a bit, and adhere the layers of dough.

    A 5 part image showing all of the doughs being pressed out and stacked in rainbow order, purple on top.

    Using a sharp knife, cut the loaf of stacked dough strips into 8 equal strips.

    A 2 part image showing the stack of dough cut in half, then into 8 strips.

    One strip at a time, twist the dough to form a candy cane-like spiral, then roll under the palm of your hands to form the dough into a smooth log.

    Secure the ends of this spiral log together, repeat with remaining strips of dough.

    A 5 part image showing a strip of stacked dough being rolled into a bagel form and held around a hand,

    Note: I’ll generally form the ring around my left hand, with the join on top of my palm.

    Then I flip it upside down and apply pressure while I roll the dough a few times to secure, while my hand maintains the bagel hole. I hope the pictures show what I mean!

    A 2 part image showing the dough being pressed together, and a finished round of twisted rainbow dough in bagel shape.

    Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, place each formed bagel on a prepared baking sheet.

    Cover with plastic wrap, set bagels in a warm place to rise for another 20 minutes.

    A 2 part image showing 2 twisted rainbow bagels on the silicone work surface, than arranged on 2 parchment lined baking pans.

    Boil and Bake

    Preheat oven to 350F, and bring a large pot of water to a boil.

    Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil. 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the barely boiling water.

    Boil bagels for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.

    Use a slotted spoon to remove the bagels from the water, drain well, and place on a lined baking sheet.

    If any of the bagels have come undone, gently re-form them. If the dough is touching, it’ll bake together!

    A 5 part image showing the formed bagels being boiled, removed from the water, and arranged on the baking pan.

    Bake for 35-38 minutes, until very lightly golden brown.

    Remove bagels from oven, place pans on a wire rack to cool for at least 2-3 minutes before cutting.

    (The bagels are much easier to cut after cooling to room temperature, though!)

    A 2 part image showing 2 pans of rainbow bagels, before and after baking.

    Leftovers

    Once cooled to room temperature, leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container.

    They’ll keep at room temperature for 3 days or so, or up to 5-6 days in the fridge. They’ll be fine a week or more in the fridge, they just won’t taste as fresh!

    Best served reheated.

    A close up photo of 2 brightly colored rainbow twist bagels.

    More St Patrick's Day Recipes

    Looking for more fun, tasty recipes to serve on St Paddy's Day? Here are a few fun Irish - and Irish-inspired - recipes to try:

    Green Velvet Cake
    Irish Stew Meatballs
    Keto Irish Cream
    Irish Pizza
    Shepherd's Pie
    Keto Shepherd's Pie
    Homemade Corned Beef
    Irish Nachos
    Hearty Beef Stew
    Keto Beef Stew
    Reuben Egg Rolls

    A sliced open rainbow bagel on a plate.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

    A platter of brightly coloured homemade rainbow bagels.

    A platter of brightly coloured homemade rainbow bagels.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Rainbow Bagels

    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!
    Prep Time45 mins
    Cook Time35 mins
    Rising time1 hr 20 mins
    Total Time2 hrs 40 mins
    Course: Bread, Breakfast, brunch
    Cuisine: German, Polish
    Diet: Low Lactose, Vegetarian
    Servings: 8 Bagels
    Calories: 236kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    2 Baking Sheets
    Parchment Paper

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 cups Warm - not hot - water
    • 3 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
    • 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
    • 3 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
    • 2 teaspoon Salt
    • Red Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple Gel Food Colors

    Instructions

    Make the Dough:

    • Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl.
    • Stir in sugar and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
    • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine.
    • Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
    • Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
    • Once dough is fully kneaded, place it on a clean work surface. Divide into 6 equal pieces.
    • One piece at a time, knead in some gel food coloring, until smooth, even, and intense colour is achieved. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer, just be sure to wash the surfaces between dough colours.
    • Keep the dough balls covered as you work, spray each coloured ball of dough with a bit of nonstick spray when you’re done kneading the colour ing.
    • Place each in a separate, lightly greased bowl, or spaced out on a large pan lined with parchment paper.
      Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

    Assemble the Bagels:

    • Once dough has doubled in size, flatten the red dough out into a rectangle about 5 x 7" in size.
    • Flatten the orange dough out to the same size, stack it on top of the red dough, , stretching and pressing to uniformly cover the red piece.
    • Repeat with yellow, green, and blue dough pieces.
    • Finally, flatten the purple piece out and stack it on top of the blue dough. Press the whole stack down firmly to flatten & even out a bit, and adhere the doughs.
    • Using a sharp knife, cut the stacked loaf of dough into 8 equal strips.
    • One strip at a time, twist the dough to form a candy cane-like spiral, then roll to form the dough into a smooth log.
    • Secure the ends of this spiral log together, repeat with remaining strips of dough.
    • Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, place formed bagels on the prepared baking sheets.
    • Cover with plastic wrap, allow to rise for another 20 minutes.

    Boil and Bake

    • Preheat oven to 350F, and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
    • Turn heat down a little, allowing 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. Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet.
    • Bake for 35-38 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
    • Remove bagels from oven, place pans on a cooling rack for at least 2-3 minutes before cutting.
      (The bagels are much easier to cut after cooling to room temperature, though!)

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 588mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 3mg

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    Marie Porter


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