I learned how to make bagels sometime last year. I found a recipe online, and then jumped in and made my first batch. Since then, I go on bagel-making kicks (like most hobbies in my life) and try new and different methods and mix-ins. I post on Facebook (because whenever you are doing something really cool that you don’t typically do every day, you MUST post on Facebook, right?) and then I started getting requests for recipes! Unfortunately, I can’t, for the life of me, find the original blog post that taught me how to make bagels, so I will do my best to recreate it here!

First, the recipe:

Basic Bagel Recipe
Yield: about 1 dozen

Dissolve 1 tsp. yeast in 1 1/4 C. warm milk

Add:
1/4 C. softened butter
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk

Mix well.

Stir in 3 3/4 C. flour (I usually use all purpose, but use what you would like!)

Knead dough for about 10 minutes, mixing in your flavors as you knead. I have done this by hand, in a stand mixer, and in a bread machine. The bread machine is my favorite way to knead and mix in ingredients, but all methods work fine. To use the bread machine, layer wet ingredients, then flour, then yeast and set it on the dough cycle. Add flavors after the dough has formed a ball and while it is kneading.

I love plain bagels, but my kids like cinnamon, so I usually do one recipe with 1/2 plain and 1/2 cinnamon (add 1tsp. cinnamon as you are kneading, sprinkling as you go). I LOVE the taste of dried onion and shredded cheddar cheese. Don’t be stingy on the onion or you won’t taste it. I just made a batch today with 1 C. shredded cheese, and 1/8 C. fresh minced onion. YUM. I was inspired to make a second batch with 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 C. of Raisin Bran. (Actually, I think I added about 1 1/2 to 2 cups, which may have been too much. I’m one of those “toss it in” type of people and I rarely measure.) Go wild here! Experiment and see what you like!

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. (If using the bread machine, take it out at this point and put the dough in a bowl. So, you are only using the bread machine as a mixer, not leaving it in for the whole cycle.)

Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Punch dough down and shape into small balls, about the size of a raquetball (larger or smaller, depending on your preference).

Poke a hole in the center and stretch, making sure your hole is large (about 1 1/2 to 2″ across).

My original recipe recommends that you flatten the bagels before you boil them, but I never do. If you find that your bagels are super fat, though, you might want to flatten them a bit.

If you are making several flavors, you will want to dump the water between flavors. Trust me. You don’t want your cinnamon bagels to taste like onions.

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