Before I start talking about how ridiculously awesome homemade bagels are, I need your help!
I recently entered into a recipe contest for Food.com where I made Mexican Breakfast Tostadas with Avocado Pico de Gallo….but I need your vote in order to win! So if you would all be kind enough to jump on over to the site, register, and give me 5 stars… I would greatly appreciate it. I might even come make you these tostadas which include cumin spiced potatoes, black beans, eggs, goat cheese, and a spicy avocado pico. You need a margarita too? I know how to use a blender.
Really though, making breakfast for the special people in my life is my way of showing them I care. A creamy bowl of oatmeal with blueberries to share with my grandma, or a simple bagel sandwich to-go for a friend. My mom is perfectly happy eating toast topped with peanut butter, sliced bananas, and cinnamon. It’s those easy, delicious bites that really demonstrate my appreciation for them.
They do say that it’s the thought that counts…
These homemade bagels were for you, but then I ate them all.
Sorry about that… I told you the thought counted.
Bagels are my total carb heaven and I absolutely love making them! I’m always trying to find healthy alternatives to my comfort favorites, and when I stumbled upon a lower calorie bagel recipe, I was thrilled!
These bagels are fairly easy to make and a fun Sunday adventure. I enjoy toasting mine, topping with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
Don’t act like your days aren’t better when you have bagels for breakfast or dinner. Whatever! Just make them, eat them, and be happy.
Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2-3/4 to 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Place warm water in a large bowl and add yeast, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and salt; mix well.
- Next, add in enough flour to form a soft dough that doesn't stick to the bottom of the bowl.
- You can use a dough hook or your hands, but continue to knead, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
- Next, place dough in a bowl coated with oil, and cover the top allowing it to rise in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and shape into 12 balls. Push your thumb through the center to form a 1 inch hole. Strech the dough to form an even ring.
- Cover, place in warm place and let rise again for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Fill a Dutch oven two-thirds full with water and add remaining brown sugar; bringing water to a boil.
- Drop bagels, two at a time, into boiling water. Cook for 1 minute on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels.
- Place bagels on baking sheets and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool on wire racks. Makes 1 dozen bagels.
I tried to make these, first I followed the recipe as is. The dough was extremely stick even after adding extra flour, the dough never rose, and could t even make a ball with this. It was such a waste of expensive ingredients. Threw the recipe out along with the printed version. Absolutely horrible recipe.
So sorry to hear that! Did you measure your flour correctly using this method? And was your yeast fresh?
These are the most DELICIOUS and easy bagels! I can’t get GOOD bagels where we moved to so I decided to try making my own; it’s very easy to mix up, the taste is PERFECT, they don’t take a lot of labor or time. I will make them again using blueberry, Everything seasoning and anything else I think of!
Yay!! So happy to hear you enjoyed these 🙂 And those flavors sound so fun!!
I was so excited to try these bagels. I followed the recipe as written with the exception of adding the salt at the same time as I started to proof the yeast. My dough never rose even after 2 hours. It was difficult to tell if the yeast was flourishing because of all the cinnamon in the wet portion. So, I started over but this time, I increased the amount of yeast to 3 tsps., and added the cinnamon, salt and raisins with the flour. I also had to increase the flour to 3 1/2 cups.
Ahhh strange, sounds like your yeast just didn’t proof the first time! Glad to know you were able to remedy.
My bagels didn’t rise either, so I started over again but this time, I proofed the yeast, then added the cinnamon and raisins with the flour. My bagels were delicious but didn’t rise like the pics.
I always use bread flour for my homemade bagels and have found it’s way better than AP flour. Has anyone used this recipe with bread flour?
I’m happy to report that in fact these are Amazing with bread flour! I almost cried when I ate one with whipped cream cheese fresh from the oven. So absolutely evil!!! Thanks!!
These were unbelievably delicious! I added a little more brown sugar and raisins because I like it on the sweeter side!
I just made these today and wow! They were awesome. Was so proud of myself for successfully making these! This was my first time ever making homemade bagels. My 6 year old even helped form them into rings. We both had a blast making and taste testing them:-)
can you make using gluten free flour and they still turn out the exact same or is there other changes that need to be made to make them gluten free?
These look so delicious and the recipe sounds simple as well! I have a question though – could I sub stevia for the brown sugar? If so, what adjustments should I make? Thanks!
Hi Steph! I think it’s best to use brown sugar as it helps to activate the yeast, but you could try reducing it!
Thanks 🙂
I made these yesterday, doubled the batch and swapped half the flour for whole wheat and added 1/2 cup wheat germ so the whole wheat didn't make them too heavy. 1 minute each side was too long, they didn't rise later in the oven, but when I dropped it down to 30 seconds per side they turned out beautifully. They are delicious! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
If I want fresh bagels in the morning but don’t want to get up at the crack of dawn, do you think I could refrigerate the dough after the first rising, then take it out in the morning for the second rise?
Hi Caitlin, great question! I think this would work but I’m not positive. You might want to do both rising the night before then bake in the morning.
Again, from my experience with similar bagel recipes, yes you can! So I guess it would work with this one. You might want to take them from the refrigerator about 10 or 15 minutes before blanching though – sometimes it is a bit if a shock for the cold dough! Perfect time to let the oven heat up and get your pot of water ready!
PS I have just retread and realised you asked about leaving overnight after just the first rise. Yes, this has worked for me too!
Could you freeze the bagels that you don't want to eat right away? I'm sure you could, but just wanted to be sure!
I’m sure you could!
Just to share my experience…yes you can! My tip is to cut them in half before you freeze them, then you can toast straight from frozen. Great recipe. I usually do plain or seeded bagels but am going to give these a go.
I froze her pumpkin bagels and they were great the 2nd and 3rd time around!
Do you think they would taste as good with whole wheat flour instead of white? or a mixture of both?
Hi Sarah, I think it depends on what you like taste wise, but I would try a mixture of both first. Let me know how it turns out!
I ran out of regular flour while I was making these yesterday (checking to make sure you have enough ingredients before starting is important!) and so I subbed in around 1 cup whole wheat flour and everyone still loved them.