Homemade Bagels

Name: Homemade Bagels
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 11
Ingredients: 20 g yeast; 600 g wheat flour; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 tbsp honey; 4 dl water; 25 g butter; 2 tbsp sugar; 0.5 tsp baking soda; 12 tbsp seeds (poppy, flax, chia, sesame or other)

1 hr

2 portions

bread baking american

Plan this

Boiled before they're baked — that's the trick that makes these chewy inside and crispy outside. Top them with seeds or keep them plain, up to you.

Instructions

1
Put the flour in a mixing bowl and crumble in the yeast. The kneading will mix it in properly.
2
Add the salt, honey, and most of the water — hold back about half a dl.
3
Knead in a stand mixer for 10–15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add the remaining water if the dough needs it.
4
Add the butter and knead for another 5 minutes until it's fully worked in. Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled in size, about 45–60 minutes.
5
Divide the dough into 10–12 pieces — use a scale if you want them even (about 90 g each). Roll them into round balls and let them rest for 5 minutes.
6
Press a hole through the centre of each ball using your thumb or the back of a round spoon. The hole should be about 5 cm wide. Cover and let them proof for about 30 minutes.
7
Bring a wide pot of water to the boil with the sugar and the baking soda if using. Drop in 2–3 bagels at a time and let them simmer for about 2 minutes on each side.
8
Lift each bagel into a bowl of seeds and coat it, then place on a baking paper-lined tray. Alternatively, bake them plain or brush with egg and sprinkle seeds on top.
9
Bake in the middle of the oven at 200 °C for 15–20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Per average serving

321

Calories

kcal

9.2

Protein

49.8

Carbs

9.4

Fat

3.9g

Fiber

4.3g

Sugar

156mg

Sodium

Family Portions

2portions

Adults

Children

No children added

Ingredients

salt
0.1 tsp
honey
0.2 tbsp
butter (can be left out)
5 g
seeds (poppy, flax, chia, sesame or other) (approx. 12 tbsp; use whatever you like or skip entirely for plain bagels)
2¼ tbsp
yeast (fresh yeast, crumbled in)
4 g
wheat flour
109 g
sugar (added to the boiling water)
⅓ tbsp
baking soda (added to the boiling water, can be left out)
0.1 tsp
water (approx. 4 dl, hold back about half a dl when mixing)
0.7 dl

Per average serving

321

Calories

kcal

9.2

Protein

49.8

Carbs

9.4

Fat

3.9g

Fiber

4.3g

Sugar

156mg

Sodium

Tips from the kitchen

Hold back that half dl of water like the recipe says. Wheat flours soak up different amounts, and a dough that starts too wet is hard to roll into balls that hold their shape.
Don't skip the 5 minute rest after rolling the balls. The dough relaxes, so when you press the hole through it won't snap back and close up on you.
Make the hole bigger than feels right, around 5 cm. It shrinks during proofing and again in the boil, and a small hole turns into no hole after baking.
Two minutes a side in the boil is the part people rush. Boil too short and you lose the chewy crust, too long and they go wrinkly. Set a timer.
Coat them in seeds straight out of the water while they're still wet and sticky. Wait too long and the seeds slide right off.

Ways to vary it

Mix the seed bowls so each bagel is different. Sesame on some, poppy on others, a few left plain for sandwiches.
If you like a deeper color and shine, brush the boiled bagels with egg before the seeds go on instead of dropping them in the seed bowl.
Swap a bit of the honey-sweet plain dough for a cinnamon sugar version: knead a spoon of cinnamon into half the dough for a sweeter breakfast bagel.

Storage & leftovers

These keep two or three days in a bread bag at room temperature, no fridge needed since cold dries bread out faster. They freeze well, so bag them once fully cooled and they'll be fine for a couple of months. Reheat from frozen in a 180 °C oven for about 8 minutes, or split and toast them.

What to serve with it

Cream cheese and smoked salmon is the classic, with thin red onion and a little dill. For a plain bagel, butter and a soft boiled egg does the job in the morning.

By Untrained ChefPublished 18 May 2026 · Updated 11 July 2026