These homemade cinnamon raisin bagels are soft, chewy, and everything you want in the perfect bagel. With a bread machine option and a by hand option you can choose how much effort you want to put into this recipe, but either way- you know it's going to be good.

I always love buying a bag of cinnamon raisin bagels from the store but I often find myself wishing I didn't have to pay through the nose to get them.
Thankfully, I remembered that I own a bread machine and can just make them myself! So for a while now, I've been doing just that, and honestly, I can't believe it took me this long. These homemade bagels are so good and even better than the cinnamon raisin bagel I was buying before.
So now I'm sharing with you the best cinnamon raisin bread machine recipe and instructions to do it by hand so that with or without a nifty appliance, you can still get your own homemade bagel fill with this cinnamon raisin bagel recipe.
If you love bagels, make sure to check out my Banana Nut Bagels, Bread Machine Bagels, Blueberry Bagel Bread Pudding, and Mini Bagel Pizzas.
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, cinnamon, salt, yeast, and raisins. 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.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Warm water- You will need warm water that is about 110 degrees F to activate the yeast.
Vanilla extract- A flavor enhancer.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer.
White sugar- Use granulated sugar to feed the yeast and make the bagels sweet.
Cinnamon- For added warm spice, you'll need some ground cinnamon.
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.
Raisins- You will need some raisins to add to these bagels.
Active dry yeast- Make sure that your yeast has been properly stored and is not expired.
You'll also need:
Boiling water- you will need a pot of boiling water to cook the bagels in.
More sugar- Adding sugar to the water will help give us that chewy crust we expect from bagels.
Egg white- Brush the tops of boiled bagels with egg white to give them a golden color when baked.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make cinnamon raisin bagels with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Bread machine method:
Place the water, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, flour, and yeast in the bread machine in order of the manufacturers' recommendations. Some want wet first and yeast last but each should be used in the order listed in the owner's manual.
Select the dough setting and wait about 30 minutes until the mixture has stopped and slowed. Add in the raisins and wait until the cycle has been completed.
By hand method:
In a large mixing bowl combine your warm water and yeast. Wait ten minutes until frothy.
Add in the salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and slowly add in the flour until dough comes together. You want it to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour.
Add in the raisins and then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes until it's elastic and when you push on the dough with a finger the dough springs back to fill it in quickly.
Place the dough back into the bowl and cover. Let it rise for about an hour until doubled in size.
Both methods:
Take your proofed dough and divide it into 6 sections. Roll each into balls and then flatten them. Force your thumb through the center and shape it out to a circle with a hole in the middle.
Cover the bagels with a clean cloth and let them rest for 10-30 minutes while you bring a large pot of water with 3 tablespoons of sugar to a boil.
Drop the bagels 2 at a time into the water for 1 minute flipping over at the 30 second mark. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush with a beaten egg white.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F degrees until golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before slicing and eating. Enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
If you want your raisins a little more "mashed" into the dough you can add them in the beginning steps and work them all the way through instead of adding them after the initial mixing.
If you want more cinnamon go for it. This cinnamon and raisin bagels recipe tastes great with another teaspoon added in, but I'm a girl that loves overpowering things with cinnamon when I get the chance haha.
You can also add up to another ¼ cup of raisins if you want them to be more prominent in this recipe.
I do not recommend rolling the dough out into snakes and connecting to form a circle as this leaves uneven sides and a weird line where the two ends meet. This not only makes it look weird but also makes that bite of bagel pretty chewy.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Unlike storebought bagels which seem to last forever, homemade bagels are made without preservatives and have a much shorter shelf life. These bagels can last up to a week at room temperature if stored in an airtight container but I recommend eating them sooner rather than later.
💭 FAQs
This cinnamon raisin bagel recipe is completely dairy free and if you leave out the egg wash at the end it'd be completely vegan too.
You can eat the cinn raisin bagels plain as-is for a great snack or open them up and slather some peanut butter and banana slices in there. Personally, I like mine toasted with some butter spread on them. Yum!
Absolutely! These bagels do great in the freezer if stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Simply place on the counter to thaw and come to room temperature before enjoying.
Check out these other awesome yeast bread recipes!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup Warm water (about 110F degrees) ($0.00)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.02)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt ($0.15)
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated sugar ($0.02)
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.10)
- 3 cups Bread flour ($0.60)
- ¼ cup Raisins ($0.27)
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast ($0.54)
You'll also need
- 3 quarts Water ($0.00)
- 3 Tablespoons Granulated sugar ($0.03)
- 1 Egg white, beaten ($0.08)
Instructions
Bread Machine
- Place the water, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, flour and yeast in the bread machine in order of manufacturers' recommendations. Select dough setting and wait about 30 minutes until the mixture has stopped and slowed. Add in the raisins and wait until the cycle has completed.
By Hand
- In a large mixing bowl combine your warm water and yeast and wait ten minutes until frothy.
- Add in the salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and slowly add in the flour until dough comes together that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. you may not need all of the flour.
- Add in the raisins and then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes until it's elastic and when you push on the dough with a finger the dough springs back to fill it in quickly.
- Place the dough back into the bowl and cover. Let rise for about an hour until doubled in size.
Both methods
- Take your proofed dough and divide it into 6 sections. Roll each into balls and flatten them. Force your thumb through the center and shape it out to a circle with a hole in the middle.
- Cover the bagels with a clean cloth and let rest for 10-30 minutes while you bring a large pot of water with 3 tablespoons of sugar to a boil.
- Drop bagels 2 at a time into the water for 1 minute flipping over at the 30 second mark. Remove and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush with beaten egg white and then bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F degrees until golden brown.
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