The Best Chewy Homemade Bagels are a bagel lovers’ dream! They are soft and chewy with a slight sweetness from the brown sugar and are delicious with cream cheese or avocado.
I love how easy homemade bagels are to make and how they stay soft and chewy, even after reheating. I love to eat mine right out of the oven with cream cheese or toasted with smashed avocado and a hot cup of tea! Homemade Bagels can be an easy breakfast or a great afternoon snack.
Key Notes about The Best Chewy Homemade Bagels
Stand Mixer
I highly suggest using a stand mixer for this recipe. I don’t particularly enjoy kneading a relatively firm dough for 5 – 10 minutes, so I am very thankful for my stand mixer!
Firm dough
One of the reasons these bagels are soft and chewy is because of the texture of the dough. I find that using almost 2 cups of warm water helps to provide a soft firm dough which equals a soft chewy bagel. I find that lot of times bagels can be a little tough and by the end of the bagel my jaw hurts too much.
In the recipe instructions, I explain what the dough should look like. Basically, you want a dough that holds its shape but is not hard to work with.
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is important in this recipe because it helps to make these bagels chewy, as well as adding a hint of sweetness to them. But if you are like me and you never buy brown sugar at the store don’t worry! You can mix organic granulated white sugar with a little bit of blackstrap molasses until you reach that dark brown sugar color.
Toppings are Optional
Most of the time my family prefers plain bagels, but sometimes we like to put a garlic herb sesame blend on top of a few. We love the way it looks and it tastes great! You could also add toasted sesame seeds or your favorite savory seasoning blend!
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How To Shape a Bagel
Here is my favorite way to shape bagels.
After your dough has doubled in size, divide your dough into 10 pieces. Take one piece and fold the ends over each other.
Flip the dough over. Make a loose claw with your hand over the dough and move your hand and the dough in circular motions. This will create a smooth ball of dough.
Next, using your thumb and index finger, create a hole in the middle of the dough. Place both your index fingers inside the hole, and roll the dough over both fingers to enlarge the hole a few inches to create a bagel shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
I hope you enjoy The Best Chewy Homemade Bagels as much as my family does! Let me know if you make this recipe. Enjoy!
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The Best Chewy Homemade Bagels
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: bread, Breakfast, Snack
- Cuisine: American
Description
The Best Chewy Homemade Bagels are a bagel lovers’ dream! They are soft, chewy with a slight sweetness from the brown sugar and are delicious with cream cheese or avocado.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups warm water
- 1 packet dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tbsp organic dark brown sugar
- 4 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 – 2 tbsp vegetable oil/ ghee
Water for Boiling:
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Optional Toppings
- Garlic Herb Sesame seasoning
- Toasted Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, add half of the warm water, the packet of yeast, and the dark brown sugar. Allow the yeast to proof or get bubby for 5 – 7 minutes.
- Once the yeast is proofed, add half of the flour and the salt. Mix with the dough attachment until everything is combined, then add the rest of the flour.
- Slowly add the water until the dough is soft but firm. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, 5 – 10 minutes.
- If the dough falls off the dough hook once the dough hook is lifted up, then add a bit more flour. You want a soft firm dough that holds its shape.
- Once the dough is smooth and elastic, shape it in a smooth ball. Coat the mixing bowl and the dough with vegetable oil / ghee. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest in a warm spot for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Boil a large pot of water, then line two cookie sheets with parchment paper then set aside.
How to Shape a Bagel
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces. Fold the ends over each other, then flip the dough over. Make a loose claw with your hand over the dough and move your hand and the dough in a circular motion. This will create a smooth ball of dough.
- Next, using your thumb and index finger, create a hole in the middle of the dough. Place both of your index fingers inside the hole, then roll the dough over both fingers to enlarge the hole a few inches to create a bagel shape. Set aside onto the cookie sheet, then repeat with the remaining dough.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the dark brown sugar. The water will start to bubble up a little so be careful.
- Gently lower a couple of the bagels into the boiling water. Boil on either side for 1 minute, then using a slotted spoon return the boiled bagels to the cookie sheet. Repeat with the reamining bagel dough.
- Once the bagels come out of the boiling water, you can add your toppings if you wish. Otherwise, bake the bagels in a 425F oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Allow them to cool, then serve with butter or cream cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
The bagels can last for several weeks individually wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer, or a week or two in the refrigerator stored in a gallon bag.
Keywords: bagels, chewy bagels, from scratch, Homemade, homemade bagels, soft and chewy bagels, soft bagels
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