35-Minute Homemade Bagels

Warm, soft and perfectly chewy, these homemade bagels come together in less than 40 minutes! Although most bagel recipes call for yeast and hours of rise time, this recipe requires little prep and is great for beginning bakers!

When I was a beginning baker, the thought of the word “dough” was intimidating. Yeast, dough proofing, kneading, first rise time, second rise time….the list can go on and on! Although I now have more experience with yeast breads, there are still times when I just don’t want to put the effort into waiting for dough to rise all afternoon. So, when I want something different for breakfast, without any extra effort, I make these easy homemade bagels.

This basic bagel recipe requires only four ingredients and additional ingredients can be added to create a variety of flavors. Soon, you’ll have a bagel factory in your own kitchen! Check out the ingredients and variations of this recipe below:

Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour~ For this recipe, all-purpose flour works best. I have personally not tried using whole-wheat flour, but, if you want to experiment, please let me know your results in the comments!

Plain Greek Yogurt~ In order to achieve the chewy texture that is reminiscent of traditional bagels, you will need to use plain greek yogurt. I used non-fat greek yogurt, but any fat percentage will work. I would not recommend trying regular yogurt because it will make the dough too sticky.

Baking Powder~ Because we’re not using yeast, this recipe requires a large quantity of baking powder to ensure that the bagels rise. Yes, I know two tablespoons is a lot, but trust me, it works!

Salt~ Salt adds flavor, so I don’t recommend omitting it.

Egg Wash~ You will need one egg whisked with 1 tbsp of water to brush over the shaped bagels before baking. The egg wash with ensure that the bagel tops become shiny and golden brown.

Flavor Variations

Plain Bagels: Follow the basic bagel recipe.

Cinnamon and Raisin Bagels: To the base recipe, add 3 tbsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of raisins.

Everything Bagels: Add 2 tbsp of everything bagel seasoning to the base dough and then sprinkle the shaped bagels with another 2 tbsp of seasoning before baking.

Chocolate Chip Bagels: To the base dough, add 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 cup of mini chocolate chips.

The Dance

The steps to making these bagels are simple. Simply whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and any flavor variation ingredients of your choice. Add the yogurt and stir to form a soft, shaggy dough.

On a generously floured surface, dump the dough out of the bowl and gently press the mixture together until it forms a cohesive ball. Split the ball of dough roughly in half (it doesn’t have to be perfect) and shape each half into a thick log. Cut the logs of dough into five pieces, so that you have about ten pieces total. (Just in case you’re wondering, in the pics below, I’m using the cinnamon & raisin bagel variation.)

Taking one piece of dough at a time, begin to roll it out into a thick “rope”. You don’t want to roll the dough too thin because your bagels will end up flat and difficult to slice. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but aim for your circles to be roughly 3/4 to 1 inch thick.

After rolling out your piece of dough, gently press the ends together to form a circle. Place the finished circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment as you make them.

Brush the shaped bagels with egg wash before baking for about 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.

I love serving these bagels fresh from the oven, after allowing them to cool for a few minutes. They are especially delicious toasted and spread with cream cheese, butter, jam or this homemade peanut butter! You can serve these bagels for breakfast or even as a sandwich for lunch. An everything bagel sandwich with egg, cheese and avocado is a favorite of mine!

Get creative and impress your family and friends with these homemade bagels! They’ll never guess that you only spent 35 minutes in the kitchen. 🙂