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Homemade Bagels

These bagels are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside with a bit of a sourdough flavor. For this recipe it’s good to use a pizza stone to bake the bagels and use a pizza peel for transferring the bagels to and from the hot oven.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
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Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 3 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 ½ tbsp granulated yeast
  • 1 to 1 ½ tbsp kosher salt, to taste
  • 6 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

For the Bagel Boil

  • 8 quarts of water
  • ¼ cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Optional Bagel Toppings

  • Sesame seeds or poppy seeds
  • Cornmeal, for the pizza peel (see note)

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl or bucket, stir together the water, yeast, salt, and flour. Let the mixture to sit at room temperature for two to five hours. At this point, you can proceed with making bagels or you can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
  • When you are ready to make the bagels first line a cookie sheet with a dish towel and dust it with flour. Preheat the oven (with the pizza stone inside) to 450°F.
  • Take the dough and break off enough to form a 3-ounce ball. Depending on how many bagels you want to make repeat this with the rest of the dough. Loosely cover the balls with plastic wrap and let them rest for 20 minutes.
  • Bring the 8 quarts of water to a boil. Add the sugar and baking soda. If you are using toppings have them ready to go.
  • While you are waiting for the water to boil, form the bagels. First, dust each dough ball with more flour. Poke a hole in the center of the dough ball and stretch the hole to make a bagel shape. You will want the stretch the hole a lot because it will shrink back once you stop stretching it. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
  • Place the bagels in the boil water. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Boil the bagels for one minute before flipping them over. Boil them on the other side for 30 seconds.
  • Use a slotted spoon to remove the bagels from the water and let the water drain off. Transfer the bagels to the cookie sheet lined with a dish towel. If you are boiling multiple batches of bagels get the first batch of bagels in the oven before boiling the second batch.
  • If you are using toppings, dip the boiled bagels in them to coat them. If you aren’t using toppings you will need to use the cornmeal on the pizza peel. Otherwise you don’t need it.
  • Transfer the bagels to the pizza stone in the oven using the pizza peel. Add water to a boiler tray to create steam while the bagels bake. Bake the bagels for 25 to 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Notes

  • If you are using sesame seeds or poppy seeds for your bagels you don’t need to use cornmeal on the pizza peel.
  • Recipe source: Artisan Bread in Five
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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