Everything Bagels
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I absolutely love, love, love bagels. Bagels in all forms – savory bagels, sweet bagels. I’ll eat a bagel for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Always with cream cheese. Mostly toasted, sometimes untoasted. As you can see, I’m not very picky! After discovering Peter Reinhart’s recipe for homemade bagels a few years ago, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve bought bagels from the store or somewhere like Panera or Einstein Bros. I have made tons of different versions of his basic recipe (you can view all of my bagel recipes here), but my favorites have definitely been the Cinnamon Raisin and Blueberry. One of the store-bought varieties I have always enjoyed has been the “everything” bagel, which is usually topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion and garlic, and salt. Since I’ve been on a bit of a bagel kick for the past couple of weeks, I decided that now was a good time to finally whip up some homemade everything bagels.
Now, you can make your own “everything” topping (I’ve included a recipe below) or you can purchase the topping from somewhere like King Arthur Flour. They sell an 8-ounce pouch of the topping, which will last you through at least three or four dozen bagels.
What’s your favorite type of bagel? How do you like to eat it?
One year ago: Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Two years ago: Tin Roof Ice Cream
Three years ago: American Sandwich Bread[/donotprint]
Everything Bagels
Ingredients
For the Sponge:
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 4 cups (500 g) high-gluten or bread flour, (18 ounces )
- 2½ cups (625 ml) water, at room temperature
For the Dough:
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) instant yeast
- 3¾ cups (468.75 g) high-gluten or bread flour, (17 ounces)
- 2¾ teaspoons (2.75 teaspoons) salt
- 2 teaspoons malt powder OR 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
To Finish:
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
- Everything Bagel Topping, for a homemade version, see below
Homemade Everything Bagel Topping:
- 4 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 4 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 4 teaspoons dried garlic, minced or flaked
- 4 teaspoons dried onion, minced or chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or other coarse salt
Instructions
- 1. To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
- 2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speeds with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.
- 3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all the ingredients should be hydrated. If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feels satiny and pliable but not be tacky.
- 4. Immediately divide the dough into 12 pieces for standard bagels, or 24 pieces if you are making mini bagels. Form the pieces into rolls.
- 5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
- 6. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with shaping the bagels by pushing a hole through the center of the roll with your thumb and stretching out the hole to 2 ½ inches in diameter, making sure that the resulting ring has a fairly even thickness all around.
- 7. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- 8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. if it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.
- 9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.
- 10. For Homemade Everything Bagel Topping, combine: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and kosher salt. This makes enough topping for 12 large bagels or 24 mini bagels.
- 11. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-line sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. As soon as the bagels come out of the water, top them with the Everything Bagel mixture.
- 12. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer.
- 13. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Can I half this recipe and make only six bagels?
Hi Lisa, Yes definitely!
Do you use diastatic or non-diastatic malt powder? Thanks!
Non-diastatic
How long will the bagels keep? I was hoping to make a big batch and then store them. Should I freeze?
Hi Allison, I think they’re good for two or three days at room temperature, but longer than that, yes I would freeze them.
This look amazing! My niece is in town and wants to learn how to bake everything bagels – am wondering if you need to use instant yeast or can you use regular yeast?
Hi Chris, For this particular recipe, you do need to use instant yeast. Regular (active dry) yeast requires warm liquid to activate it, and when the dough is mixed (after the sponge is left for 2 hours), no additional liquid is added, which could cause regular yeast to not work.
I didn’t have instant so I used active dry by using 2 cups warm water in the sponge and 1/2 a cup in the dough to activate the yeast. They turned out great thanks for the recipe!
I always use this basic recipe when making my bagels (orange/cranberry, blueberry, or plain) but this was my 1st time doing EVERYTHING. Great proportions on the seasoning mix except, either omit the garlic, or do NOT go for the extended time for extra browning…..garlic burns with extended baking time. Otherwise, Peter Reinhart’s recipe for homemade bagels is a winner!!!!
The “Bagels” look great, but taste much more like soft pretzels that bagels. After making them once (and them turning out to be pretzels), I did a little research online and found the flaw in the recipe…The baking soda in the water. Soft pretzels are made with a Basic (the opposite of acidic) solution in the water. i.e. lye, or baking soda. Bagels are made with a-little syrup in the water, i.e. maple syrup or honey. So I tried the recipe again except instead of 1 tablespoon of baking soda in the water, I did 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in the water. Those bagels were the best I have ever tasted (even from a NY bagel shop!!), and my kids loved them too!! I’ll have to make them again soon.I hope this was a helpful tip.Sincerely,
Jonathan
Made these last weekend, and they were excellent! I had been wanting to try the bagel recipe out of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice for a while, and seeing these on your blog gave me that final push. Thanks for posting a recipe for everything bagel topping, too!
I’ve made bagels a few times, but my husband has been begging me to make everything bagels for him for a while now as he eats one for breakfast every morning at work and he prefers bagel shop bagels, while I prefer to buy him a bag at the grocery store as it’s cheaper! So, I saw this recipe come through on my reader and I knew it was time.
I just pulled these babies out of the oven about a half hour ago and hubs and I just finished taste testing and let me just say, they are AMAZING! I could totally sit down and eat about 3 of them myself for dinner, but I suppose I’ll exercise some restraint ;)
Although they are quite a commitment and are fairly labor intensive there’s just nothing that compares to a fresh, homemade bagel so the time and energy spent was well worth it! YUM! I think I’m going to have to make it a priority to keep some of these on hand. Thanks so much for the recipe!
MMMM these look great!! Do they freeze well?
Hi Tanya, Yes, definitely freeze well! I just wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer ziploc bag.
Oh yeah, those look great. I miss having fresh bagels, and I loved everything bagels with lox. Oh how I miss that!
Oooo, yum! Your bagels look a lot like my favorite bagels. Unfortunately, the bakery that makes them is about three hours away, so getting my hands on one is a rare and special treat. I wonder if I could pull these off. . .
Wow, it never even occurred to me make bagels at home! After recently moving to New York and falling in love with all things bagel, I’m going to have to give this a shot!
Those look wonderful!!! Everything are my favorite bagels topped with vegan cream cheese.
I have never made bagels, but I will have to give these a try.
It would definitely make my addiction to Everything bagels cheaper!!!
I just made these and they turned out beautifully. Thank you! xx
yea, but how did they taste?
Oh yum, these look perfect Michelle, I’m so impressed!
Those look fantastic! I wish I had a dozen ready for brunch tomorrow!
The bagels look just wonderful.
i’ve maded plain bagels before and have always wanted to try everything – these look fantastic ! Just like a real bagel shop :) def. going to give this a try.
Jess
These bagels look wonderful!! I’ve never tried making homemade ones, but will def have to try!
how yummy, toasted for a delicious sandwich! I bet the aroma is amazing as they bake!
Everything bagels are my favorite bagels! I’d never had one until I moved to NYC and now I crave them almost daily!
ooooo, my favorite type of bagel! Now I can make it at home rather than spend a gazillion dollars on them :-D
I am going to need two full-time jobs to keep up with all these things I need to bake from your site… I love your blog, but you’re costing me money, woman! ;o) LOL!!
i love onion bagels! but i make sure i eat gum straight after i have them, and try not to eat them around others because they have a very strong smell!
i also love cinnamon raisin bagels toasted with butter for breakfast, and plain ones with cream cheese and smoked salmon, yummmmmmmm.
i’ve never tried everything bagels, coming from the uk, but they look delicious!
You should try making Jalepeno Cheddar bagels…
They are out of this world with sun-dried tomato cream cheese!
I love everything bagels! They make the best sandwiches… With bean sprouts and everything… Oh yeah… ok I’m officially hungry now!
I can only imagine how great these bagels must smell in the oven when they are baking!
Your bagels look perfect!
L-O-V-E bagels!! : )
Oh these are making me hungry. Everything bagels are my all time favorite.
I recently discovered crackers at Trader Joe’s called Everything Crackers. Same toppings but on a cracker. Am now totally addicted to them.
These look like the real deal – or even better! I’ll take one nice and crispy with load of cream cheese please!
The other great thing about making/having Everything Bagels is that if you have too many and they start to go stale before they get eaten, they slice up and bake into awesome (pre-seasoned) bagel crisps. :)
Excellent variation on Peter’s recipe – everything bagels are my absolute favorite! I can’t wait to make these!
How great do your bagels look?! Perfect!
My favorite bagel is definitely a cinnamon-walnut—raisin bagel with cream cheese. I also love chocolate chip bagels, but those are better toasted with butter.
Noa
These bagels look fantastic!!! :)
Great post. The presentation of the bagels is beautiful – they truly stand on their own! Thanks for the recipe!
The everything bagel is the perfect way to get all of the best flavors! I want to give homemade bagels a try!
I just came across your site and it is wonderful. I haven’t made bagels in YEARS – but I think I’ll give these a try. They will great with some home-grown TOMATOES! I especially like that I don’t have to cook all of them at the same time! My grandson will enjoy these too! Maybe he can even help! THanks for the wonderful site!
I love all bagels and combinations of toppings! I wish I had more time to make them more often because fresh is the best (like most things…). One of my recent favorites was a pumpkin bagel with honey almond cream cheese.
Those look fantastic – as perfect as one you’d buy from the store! Yum!
Oh – My – BAGEL! I love everything – my favorite! Bagels are on my lifetime list of things to make….thank you, thank you for supplying a homemade topping recipe!
Please send a dozen … or at least one. I’m starving! :) These look fantastic. I need to make another batch of bagels sometime. It’s been far too long.
Homemade bagels have GOT to be delicious. I have yet to make them, but they are definitely on the “to do” list. So cool that you can order the “Everything” topping from King Arthur – makes it so much more convenient than having to gather all of the ingredients yourself.
I just started liking everything bagels and this recipe looks delicious!
Everything bagels are one of my all time favorite flavors!! Mmh these looks awesome!
The everything is my favorite too. I’ll eat it with butter or cream cheese. I also like to make my own veggie cream cheese spread that is delicious too. I’ll have to attempt this when the weather is cooler.
Love it! Reminds me the 1st time i ate a bagel… a delight!
Everything are my favorite. Lite light cream cheese, tomato, red onion, sprouts and cucumber. Yum! I thought I would try my hand at bagels then read the recipe. What a commitment. Wow. Yours look amazing.
Thanks a lot for this recipe! It’s great :D
I also am a big bagel lover! My husband has been asking me to make bagels for months and he would love these!
Everything bagels would be my favourite too! These look great!
I came across your site recently and have become addicted. I’ve sat and looked through your recipes for hours. I’d love to see you post a version of Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch bagel which is my absolute favorite. I live in the UK so I can’t buy them and would like to try making them! Thanks for all the great recipes.
These sound crazy good. Awesome recipe!
I’m so impressed when people make bagels! One day I’ll try…one day.