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!
Sure, I have a recipe for Pumpernickel bagels - containing cocoa powder, and topped with a mixture of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes, and more - but I tend to think of those as their own thing.
This recipe, though, was developed when I was craving both fresh bagels AND Winnipeg rye bread.
Anyway, this is still a relatively simple recipe, and a great way for first time bagel makers to turn out a good bagel.
Just follow the directions, don’t substitute any of the flours or their measurements/proportions, and you’ll be happy with the results!
Homemade Rye Bagels
If you’ve never made bagels before, you can check out my post How to Make Bagels, to get a bit of a foundation, and some ideas of where to go with it.
From there, I’ve got recipes for Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels,
Pumpernickel Bagels with “Everything” Topping, Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels, and Smoky Cheese Bagels, Roasted Red Pepper Bagels even a recipe for Marble Rye Bagels- something for everyone!
Deli meats are an easy go-to, but my Montreal Smoked Meat or Smoked Chicken Salad are *fantastic options as well!
In this recipe, I used milk instead of warm water to add a little extra richness, and used honey in the boil.
This not only adds a little sweetness, but also encourages a bit of caramelization during the baking. This gives you a darker browning, and a bit more crisp/crunch to the bagel crust.
Ingredients
Unlike most of my bagel recipes - which tend to use only one kind of bread flour - this one uses 3 different kinds of flour:
All Purpose flour
Rye Flour or Dark Rye Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
I find that this gives the BEST overall combination of texture and flavour, and each of these should be readily available in almost any grocery store.
Milk
Honey (Can sub packed brown sugar)
Active Dry Yeast
Caraway Seeds
Salt
Vegetable Oil
1 Large Egg
How to Make Rye Bagels
Full recipe follows in the recipe card at the end of this post, this is the pictorial walk through, with some additional tips
Dough
First thing you’ve got to do? Yeast time!
Measure warm milk into microwave safe bowl. Stir in honey and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
In a large bowl, combine flours, caraway seeds and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and oil, stir well to combine.
Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
Alternatively, mix in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5-7 minutes - that’s how I do it!
(You’ll want to prevent it from drying out, for best results!)
Place bowl in a warm place and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Form the Bagels
Once dough has doubled, punch it down, then divide the lump of dough out into equal pieces - do this on a clean, dry work surface.
We divided the dough into 6 equally sized balls, for a large bagel. You can divide into 8 for medium-large bagels, or 10- 12 for smaller bagels.
There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together...
...or roll each lump into a smooth, tight ball before poking an index finger though. Once you have the center hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole.
Personally, I prefer the latter.
Once you have all of your bagels formed, set the shaped bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to rise for another 30 minutes.
Boil & Bake the Bagels
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. If you’d like, scatter a little bit of corn meal across each.
In a large pot, combine water and honey, bring to a boil over medium heat. I like to lay a sheet of parchment paper out across the other half of the stove, as my work surface.
Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than continue to boil.
2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the gently boiling water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the water - allowing each to drain well - place on the prepared sheet pan,, allow to cool slightly.
Repeat with remaining bagels.
If you'd like, use a very sharp knife to cut some slashes in the top of each bagel.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes (for 6), 37 Minutes (for 8). or 35 minutes (if you're making 10-12), until golden brown - you’re looking for a medium-dark colour, with this recipe..
Serve hot, or allow to cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve toasted, with cream cheese.
A Note on the Nutritional Content
The sugars content information shows as higher than it actually is - the recipe software counts all of the ¼ cup of honey in the boil, though it's not actually all taken up by the bagels!
More Bagel Recipes
Looking for more fantastic bagels to make? Here are some great options!
Banana Nut Bagels
Blueberry Bagels
Chai Bagels
Everything Bagels
Garden Veggie Bagels
Gluten-Free Bagels
How to Make Bagels
Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels
Marble Rye Bagels
Mini Bagels
Montreal Bagels
Pretzel Bagels
Pumpernickel Everything Bagels
Rainbow Bagels
Red Velvet Bagels
Roasted Garlic Asiago Bagels
Roasted Red Pepper Bagels
Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
Smoky Cheese Bagels
Whole Wheat Spinach Bagels
... and a few seasonal / holiday options, too:
Christmas Bagels
Gingerbread Bagels
Heart Shaped Bagels
Hot Cross Bagels
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Paska Bagels
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Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ¼ cup Warm - Not Hot - Milk
- ⅓ cup Honey
- 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 ⅓ All Purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup Rye Flour
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 tablespoon Caraway Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Assembly
- 3 L Hot Water
- ¼ cup Honey
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Measure warm milk into microwave safe bowl. Stir in honey and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, caraway seeds and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and oil, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, mix in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5-7 minutes - that’s how I do it!
- Once dough is nice and smooth, place it in a lightly greased (I use pan spray) bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.Place bowl in a warm place and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled, punch it down, then divide it out. We divided the dough into 6 equally sized balls, for a large bagel. You can divide into 8 for medium-large bagels, or 10- 12 for smaller bagels.
- There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though. Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
- Once you have all of your bagels formed, set them on a baking sheet to rise for another 30 minutes.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large pot, combine water and honey, bring to a boil. I like to lay a sheet of parchment paper out across the other half of the stove, as my work surface.
- Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than continue to 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 the parchment lined work surface, allow to cool slightly.
- Whisk egg together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes (for 6), 37 Minutes (for 8). or 35 minutes (if you're making 10-12), until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Susan N
I love rye bagels but am the only one in my household. At some point can you freeze the dough, or freeze the formed bagels before baking?
Marie Porter
We'll freeze the baked bagels individually (on a cookie sheet), then package them and freeze longer, if needed.