Bagel Boards

Start baking homemade bagels in your own kitchen and enjoy the authentic fresh baked goodness by using the same techniques that professional bagel shops use and get professional results. (i.e. evenly baked, shiny, golden brown, crisp crust with a chewy inside).

Check out all my fast and easy bagel recipes. Bake top quality bagels with the simple bagel recipes posted on this site.

Plain Bagels Recipe

Whole Wheat Bagel Recipe

Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Recipe

Everything Bagel Recipe

Sesame Bagel Recipe

Poppy Bagel Recipe

Sunflower Bagel Recipe

Bagel Boards for Sale

By popular request I am now selling my custom bagel boards! These bagel boards come completely assembled, made with aluminum, cedar and baking burlap. They are used during the first 2-3 minutes of baking to preserve bagel shape and texture.

How To Make Plain Bagels

There are many different recipes and methods for baking bagels. The process that I am going to explain is very similar to what is done in professional bagel bakeries. However, it has been modified to fit the confines of a typical home kitchen.

Baking bagels the authentic way requires a bit of skill and practice, but when done right can produce fantastic results in your own home oven!

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Helpful Tools

• 8 quart stock pot
• standard home oven and range
• large spatula
• large metal tongs
• bread machine
• large handled plastic strainer
• cooling rack
• custom burlap covered bagel boards
• baking/pizza stone (12"W x 12"D) Note: It can be larger but not smaller
• cookie sheet

The Recipe

1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 to 115 F / 45 C)
1 Tbsp dry bread machine yeast
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp barley malt syrup (available at health food or bakery supply stores)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 1/2-5 cups of bread flour
2 tsp of wheat gluten
2 tsp of kosher salt
1/4 cup corn meal

Note: Makes 12 bagels

Mixing The Dough

I like to use a bread machine to mix and knead the dough. So I put all the ingredients directly into the bread machine pan. In order to dirty as few dishes as possible.

1. Pour in 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil.
2. Pour in 1 1/2 cups hot water.
3. Barley malt syrup is refrigerated and doesn't really pour; so I usually scoop 1 Tbsp out and then place the measuring spoon into the warm/hot water until it dissovles.
4. Add 1 Tbsp of granulated sugar.
5. Add 1 Tbsp of bread machine yeast.
6. Add 1 1/2 of the 4 1/2 total cups of bread flour.
7. Add 2 tsp. of wheat gluten.
8. Let this stand for about 5 minutes.
9. Add remaining 3 cups of flour.
10. Add 2 tsp. of kosher salt.
11. Set the bread machine to its dough setting and have it knead the dough for about 20 minutes.

Stuff to do while waiting for the dough...

1. Center baking stone on middle oven rack.
2. Preheat oven to 450 F
3. Fill the stock pot half way with water and bring to a rolling boil.

4. Evenly cover cookie sheet with 1/4 cup of corn meal (to prevent bagel dough from sticking)
5. Wet down the burlap bagel boards liberally with cold water. You may need to do this again just before loading the boards with bagels.

Form and Shape Bagels

Remove dough from bread machine and divide and shape into 12 dough-balls.

Push your thumb through the center making a hole and shape the bagel by rotating it around with both hands. Be sure to make the hole larger then normal as the dough will rise during the baking process.

Boil The Bagels

Using the large plastic handled strainer place 6 bagels at once into the boiling water and gently stir.

Try to keep the bagels submerged in boiling water as much as possible. Boil for about 45 seconds.

When the bagels are finished boiling they should feel a bit spongy and offer little resistance when doing a pinch test.  Be careful they are really hot!!

Note: If the bagels are not boiled long enough they will turn into baseballs in the oven. If they are boiled too long then they will go flat and lose there shape.

It is critical that the bagel boards are wetted down liberally with cold water so they don't get too hot to handle!!

Scoop the bagels out all at once with the strainer and place onto burlap boards bottom-side up (usually a little yellow from sitting on the corn meal).

Note: The purpose of the bagel boards is to provide a non-stick surface that will stay relatively cool in the oven while drying the bottom of the bagels. This allows the bagels to be flipped after 2 minutes of baking and helps to preserve the bagels shape. It also ensures the bagel is baked evenly on the top and bottom.

Set the oven timer for two minutes and place the bagel boards into the oven.

Flip The Bagels

After two minutes flip the bagels.

Set oven timer for another 10 minutes.

Remove The Bagels

When bagels turn a shiny golden brown color carefully remove them with large metal tongs or a spatula and oven peel.

Put the hot bagels onto a cooling rack.

Repeat the baking process for the remaining 6 bagels.

Note: I would reduce the boil time to 25-30 seconds for the second batch to prevent over boiling the bagels. This is due to the yeast being more activated in the remaining unbaked bagels.

Enjoy!!

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How To Make Whole Wheat Bagels

Honey whole wheat bagels are hearty and delicious. Whole wheat bagels are packed with whole grains and are more nutritious then plain bagels.  To make whole wheat bagels follow the directions below.



The Recipe

1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 to 115 F / 45 C)
1 Tbsp dry bread machine yeast
1/4 cup of honey
1 Tbsp barley malt syrup (Available at health food or bakery supply stores)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of bread flour
3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
*1/2 cup of Oats + 1/4 Cup (Optional)
2 tsp of wheat gluten
2 tsp of kosher salt
1/4 cup corn meal (Used to keep the formed bagels from sticking to the cookie sheet)

Note: Makes 12 bagels

Substituting the the plain bagel recipe with the whole wheat one above, prepare the dough using the instructions for making plain bagels. Note the following minor differences in preparing whole wheat bagels.

The only recipe changes are adding honey instead of white sugar, swapping 3 1/2 cups of bread flour with whole wheat flour, and adding an optional 1/2 cup of oats as a last ingredient for the dough.  The boil times for whole wheat bagels will also be longer see below.
(Note: See instructions for baking plain bagels)

Once the dough is prepared it should look similar to the following.

Form 12 equal sized bagels. Then boil the first batch of six. Whole wheat bagels require more time in the boiling water to activate the yeast. Typically the bagels will sink when first placed into the kettle. I usually wait until all bagels are floating and then add an additional 35 seconds, taking care to keep them submerged with the bagel strainer.

Remove at once from the kettle and place onto the bagel boards.

*Optionally dip the tops of the bagels onto a plate prepared with the remaining 1/4 cup of oats.

Place whole wheat bagels top-side down back onto burlap boards and load into the oven. After 2 minutes flip the bagels onto the baking stone.

After the bagels have been flipped set the oven timer for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the bagels when they trurn a nice shiney golden-brown color.

Enjoy!!

How To Make Sunflower Bagels

Sunflower bagels have a great nutty taste and are excellent with vegetable cream cheese or homemade jam.  This is one of the easiest bagel varieties to make.

Simply add one cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds as the final ingredient in the plain bagel dough recipe.
(Note: See instructions for baking plain bagels)

Then follow the remaining instructions defined in the plain bagel recipe and you will have great tasting sunflower bagels.

Enjoy!!