Making bread machine bagels is a great way to reduce the time and effort for your favorite breakfast bread. With this recipe and tips, you can make them by hand or with your bread maker.
Recipe: $1.41 | Per Serving: $0.24 | Yields: 6 bagels
I love homemade fresh bagels from the oven, but I hate all of the kneading and work that goes into them. Thankfully, with a bread machine by my side, I can have incredible bread maker bagels with a lot less effort!
Bagels that are made fresh at home are so different than the ones you buy bagged in the store. They're fresher, crispy, chewy, and downright delicious. Like you'd expect from Panera or another bagel making company.
You're going to love these plain bagels because they can be a versatile addition to your breakfast routine. Add everything bagel seasoning, leave plain, or add in spices and dried fruits. There are so many possibilities!
If you love bagels, make sure to check out my Banana Nut Bagels, Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, Blueberry Bagel Bread Pudding, and Cranberry Orange Bagels.
Jump to:
🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- By hand or by machine. Included in this recipe are the steps needed to make it using a bread machine and making it by hand so you can pick or choose whichever feels more convenient to you.
- Simple ingredients. This recipe requires very simple and basic ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and water. This keeps our costs low and the shopping minimal.
- They're perfect! Fresh and hot from the oven, you won't be able to resist these homemade bagels. Made with a chewy exterior and soft center, every bite will have you wondering why you didn't make bagels from scratch before.
🥘 Ingredients
Warm water- You will need warm water that is about 110 degrees F to activate the yeast.
Sugar- Use granulated sugar to feed the yeast and to help the boiling water to give a chewier exterior to the bagels.
Bread flour- This is the gluten structure and base of the recipe. You can use all purpose flour instead, but the taste and texture won't be exactly the same. AP flour may also require less water to hydrate, so add water slowly.
Active dry yeast- Make sure that your yeast has been properly stored and is not expired.
Egg- Brush the tops of boiled bagels with a beaten egg to give them a golden color when baked.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions for Bread Machine Bagels
The by-hand instructions are included on the recipe card below.
Step 1: Place all of your ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed by the owner's manual. Select the dough setting and wait for it to complete.
Step 2: Punch down the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 6 equal sized bagels. (Images 5 & 6)
Step 3: Roll the dough into balls. Flatten them and then use your thumb to create a hole in the center. Place them onto a lined baking sheet. (Images 7 & 8)
Step 4: Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap (Image 9 & 11) and let rest for at least 10 minutes while bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add 3 Tablespoons of sugar to the water. (Image 10)
Step 5: When the water is to a full rolling boil, drop your bagels in 2 or 3 at a time for exactly 1 minute. Flip them over after 30 seconds. (Image 12)
Step 6: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
Step 7: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and set aside.
Step 8: Remove the bagels and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 9: In a bowl, beat your egg with a fork until well broken. Brush the tops of the bagels with beaten egg and add seasonings if desired. (Images 13 & 14)
Step 10: Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. (Image 15) Let rest for a minute before transferring to a wire cooling rack. (Image 16)
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Optimal Rising Time: Allow the shaped dough to rise for up to an hour for chewier bagels. However, a 10-minute rise in a warm spot is sufficient for great texture. I usually just opt for the amount of time needed to bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Shaping Methods: There are two ways to shape your bagels. The preferred method is detailed in the recipe card. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into long snakes and join them to form rounds. However, this method may result in uneven appearances and texture due to imperfect joining. I do not recommend this method if you want traditional-looking bagels.
- Minimize Imprints: To avoid leaving lines on your bagels during the boiling process, opt for a flat utensil like a spatula instead of a slotted spoon or similar device. This helps maintain a smooth surface on your bagels.
- Swapping Sugars: You can omit the water from the boiling water if desired. Alternatively, you can swap all or some of the granulated sugar in this recipe for honey or an alternative sweetener.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can, but there are a few things to note. Using all purpose flour will give you a completely different texture and taste in the bagels unless you add to it an ingredient called Vital Wheat Gluten. This should be added at a ratio of 1-3 teaspoons per cup of AP Flour.
This helps to give the regular flour enough protein to work with to form the gluten you would expect from bread flour.
Unfortunately, overproofing dough is a very real thing and is a possibility with any yeast dough. While recipe cards will give an estimate of how long to let things rise, you should trust your eyes. You know the dough has proofed enough when it has doubled in size.
Overproofing the dough can cause the bread to collapse on itself during the baking process and come out flat.
High-gluten bread flour is commonly used for bagels because it results in the desired chewy texture, but all-purpose flour can be used as well.
❤️ More Delicious Yeast Bread Recipes
If you tried these Bread Machine Bagels, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Bread Machine Bagels
Equipment
- Bread Machine or a large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (110F degrees) ($0.00)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt ($0.01)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar ($0.05)
- 3 cups bread flour ($0.75)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast ($0.38)
Other things needed:
- 3 quarts water (for boiling) ($0.00)
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar ($0.07)
- 1 egg, beaten ($0.15)
Instructions
Bread Machine Instructions
- Place all of your ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed by the owner's manual. Select the dough setting and wait for it to complete.
- Punch down the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 6 equal sized bagels.
- Roll the dough into balls. Flatten them and then use your thumb to create a hole in the center. Place them onto a lined baking sheet.
- Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rest for at least 10 minutes while bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add 3 Tablespoons of sugar to the water.
- When the water is to a full rolling boil, drop your bagels in 2 or 3 at a time for exactly 1 minute. Flip them over after 30 seconds.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and set aside.
- Remove the bagels and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- In a bowl, beat your egg with a fork until well broken. Brush the tops of the bagels with beaten egg and add seasonings if desired.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. Let rest for a minute before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
By Hand Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
- Add the salt, sugar, and vanilla, then slowly mix in the flour until a dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. When you press a finger into the dough, it should spring back quickly.
- Place the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a clean towel, and let it rise for about an hour until doubled in size.
- At this point, you can continue from step 2 above. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, etc.
Meredith says
Delicious!!
Susan says
Made these today I even added grated cheese to a couple of them. They all turned out great. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Michele says
Can you add fresh blueberries to this recipe and at what point should they be added. Thanks
Nicole Durham says
yes fresh blueberries can be added. i recommend making sure that they are washed and dried well, or even frozen before mixing them into the dough just before shaping. ..so make the dough as directed, let it rise, and then punch down and lightly mix in the blueberries before shaping into bagels and continuing as directed. frozen fresh blueberries work best because they're less likely to burst from rough handling, so a good idea is to lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze while the dough is being made.
Rachel says
These turned out wonderful! Making another batch today. Thanks for the recipe!
Nicole Durham says
Glad you liked them!