These lemon flavored bagels are soft, chewy and easy to make. You only need 2 ingredients for the bagel dough and the dough doesn’t need any yeast or proofing, but you won’t be able to tell. They have a texture just like classic bagels.
These lemon bagels are so easy to make. They really do taste like traditional bagels as well. They have a slightly crisp exterior and the inside is soft and chewy.
Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Lemon Greek yogurt
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is flour that already has salt and a leavening agent added to it. Self-rising flour is one of the flours I keep in my pantry at all times because I like using it to save a few extra steps and time when baking. However, if you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can make your own by mixing together all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Lemon Greek yogurt: Make sure to use Greek yogurt for this recipe. It needs to be a high protein yogurt and not regular yogurt, which doesn’t have enough protein.
I also added some egg wash to help the bagels brown better and develop a slightly shiny exterior. You can skip the egg wash if you want, but the bagels won’t brown as much. I added some lemon zest garnish as well, but that is optional.
How to Make Lemon Bagels
- The self-rising flour and yogurt are mixed together until a dough forms. The dough is then divided into 10 equal sized pieces.
- The pieces are rolled out into ropes about 8 inches long. Form a circle with the rope and pinch to close.
- Place the bagels onto your prepared baking sheet. If desired, brush surface with egg wash.
- Bake bagels until golden and done. The bagels can also be cooked in an air fryer.
Texture
These bagels have a texture very similar to classic bagels. They are slightly crisp on the outside and have a soft and chewy interior.
Expert Tips
- You can bake these in the oven or in the air fryer. I prefer baking them in the oven because the longer cook time expands the bagels more, resulting in bigger, fluffier bagels.
- Make sure to use a lemon flavored Greek yogurt that has the lemon flavoring mixed into the yogurt and not one that has lemon curd or lemon puree mixture at the bottom.
More Bagel Recipes
2 Ingredient Lemon Bagels
Ingredients
Bagel Dough
- 2 cups (500 g) lemon greek yogurt see note before starting
- 3 cups (405 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
Optional
- 1 large egg, whisked for egg wash finish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix yogurt and 2.5 cups self-rising flour and stir until a dough forms. If your dough is too sticky to work with, gradually add more flour until you have a dough that is tacky but not too sticky. It’s okay if you don’t use up all the flour. Or if the dough is still too sticky, you can add more flour as needed.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Use a scale if possible. Very lightly flour your working surface. Gently roll out each dough piece into a rope about 8 inches long. Try to make the rope as even and smooth as possible. Form a circle with the rope and pinch the ends together. There should be about a 1.25 to 1.5 inch wide hole in the middle of each dough round. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place the bagels onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. If desired, brush the surface of the bagels with egg wash. Adding egg wash will give the bagels a more golden brown and slightly shiny appearance. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and done.
- Let bagels cool slightly before eating. Bagels are best enjoyed soon after they are done baking as that is when the exterior is still slightly crisp. Leftover bagels can be stored in the fridge or freezer. I recommend reheating leftover bagels before eating.
Notes
- Egg wash is optional but your bagels will not have as much of a golden brown shiny finish without the egg wash and will be paler.
- Lemon Yogurt Note: Make sure to use Greek yogurt and not regular yogurt which does not have enough protein. Also make sure to use a lemon Greek yogurt that has the lemon flavor mixed into the yogurt and not one where there is a lemon curd or lemon puree at the bottom of the yogurt. I used Chobani Lemon Greek Yogurt.*
- Self-rising flour note: There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30g) serving). The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour* (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup), or make your own self-rising flour with the recipe below.
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Homemade self-rising flour: If you don't have self-rising flour you can also make homemade self-rising flour. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill which will not work well for this recipe.
- Combine 3 cups all purpose flour, 4 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt. Whisk together until evenly combined.
- Air Fryer Option: You can cook these in the air fryer. To do so, preheat your air fryer to 325F and grease the inner basket. Then put the bagels in and cook for about 11-12 minutes or until golden and done. Please note that you won't be able to cook as many in the air fryer (about 2 or 3 at a time) and that the bagels do not expand/rise as much as the oven version and will stay small.
- Estimated nutrition does not include egg wash.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These came out pretty surprisingly good. They have more of a soft pretzel texture I thought. I made my own self-rising flour, using half whole wheat and half bread flour, and then adding the baking powder and salt to it. I would make these again, and may even try a different flavor yogurt next time, I’m thinking strawberry will be good.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! The soft pretzel texture is likely because of the flour you used. You used whole wheat and bread flour which both contain higher protein which would affect the texture of the bagels.
The recipe was so easy. I made pretzels with the dough. Next time, I will be attempting to make savoury pretzels. Thank you Kirbie!
That’s great! We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
Great recipe! Can’t wait to Make them!
Hope they’re good!
Thank you! Let us know how you like them!
I hope things turn out!
Let us know how these bagels work for you!
We only have plain greek yogurt and stores don’t sell it here in the UK so can we use lemon juice added to it?
Yes. Do you have vanilla Greek yogurt available? If so, you can use that and add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 heaping tsp of lemon zest. You don’t want to add too much lemon juice and should rely on lemon zest for most of the lemon flavor. If you only have plain Greek yogurt that can still work but you would need to add a little sugar. I’m not sure how much without testing.
I was wondering if I could just put lemon juice in my Greek yogurt instead because I cannot find lemon Greek yogurt! These lemon bagels sound delicious.
Can you find vanilla Greek yogurt? If so, you can use that and add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 heaping tsp of lemon zest. You don’t want to add too much lemon juice and should rely on lemon zest for most of the lemon flavor. If you only have plain Greek yogurt that can still work but you would need to add a little sugar. I’m not sure how much without testing.
I love your recipes…thank you….
We’re so glad you are enjoying the recipes!