Making homemade bagels has never been easier! There's no yeast, no rising, no boiling. Make them fresh at home and never buy bagels again!
Are you ready for this?!
Homemade bagels made right in your own kitchen. With your own two hands. With just a few simple ingredients. That look just like store-bought. No yeast. No rising.
No. Boiling. Required.
I don’t think I’d be stretching the truth by saying that this is life-changing!
Okay, maybe not.
But being able to make your own homemade bagels easily is a big deal!
All you need is some basic dry ingredients that you will, most likely, already have in your cupboard. And the magic ingredient that makes it all come together is Greek yogurt! That’s it!
I have to say that I’m becoming a huge…HUGE fan of Greek yogurt because it is good for so much more than just breakfast. It provides a good helping of protein with less sugar and carbohydrates than regular yogurt. Bonus, right?
In literally about a minute or two, you’ve got a ball of dough on your hands, ready for dividing and shaping into bagels! And as I mentioned already, there is no yeast in the recipe, so there is no rising (ie waiting) required. You also don’t need to boil the bagels first like in traditional bagel recipes. All you do is mix, shape, brush on an egg wash, sprinkle on your favorite toppings (if desired) and bake!
In a quick 25 minutes, you will have these amazing beauties sitting on your pan, ready for devouring!
These homemade bagels are perfectly bagel-y chew on the outside and tender on the inside. They are ready for a healthy shmear of cream cheese, butter and jam, or your favorite sandwich fillings for a bagel-wich!
Call this a cheater recipe, if you’d like, but no one ever said cheater recipes can’t be good! My sister also said that these look just like store-bought bagels! Who’d a thought they would be so ridiculously easy to make??
~ Lisa.
P.S. Are you looking for a gluten-free version of this recipe? Click on over to my Easy Oh-So-Good Gluten-Free Bagels!
Watch How To Make It!
Ridiculously Easy Homemade Bagels
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (bread flour also okay)
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
Egg Wash:
- egg white from one egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Toppings (optional):
- Sesame seeds
- Poppy seeds
- Flax seeds
- Grated cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven 375 deg F (190C).
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine egg white and 1 teaspoon water. Mix with a fork to loosen egg wash. Set aside.
- Combine all dry ingredients in bowl and stir with whisk to combine.
- Add yogurt to dry ingredients.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients well using a fork or pastry cutter, making sure ingredients are well mixed.
- Using your hands, gather dough into a ball. If it is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water and mix again until it comes together.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough about 10 times and form into a slightly flattened ball.
- Cut dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a log.
- Shape log into a bagel, overlapping and squeezing the ends together well.
- Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Brush bagels with egg wash, making sure to brush around all the edges.
- Sprinkle toppings over bagels if desired.
- Bake for 25 minutes on an upper rack.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing, preferably longer.
- Store in a sealed bag for 1-2 days.
Notes
- Full-fat Greek yogurt, low-fat Greek yogurt, or non-fat Greek yogurt all work with this recipe.
- If you choose to use regular yogurt (not Greek yogurt), start with 1 cup first to see how the dough comes together as regular yogurt is much thinner than Greek yogurt. Add more regular yogurt, a bit at a time, mixing well after each addition, to achieve the proper dough consistency.
- Please note that sometimes measuring flour by volume can vary depending on how loosely or packed the flour is in the cup.
- If your dough is too sticky, add more flour, a little bit at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough comes together and you can handle it.
- If your dough is to dry and not sticking together, add a little more yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough starts to form.
- This recipe makes 8 - 4" bagels. If you want to make larger bagels, cut the dough into 4 or 6 pieces instead of 8.
- Be sure to brush the egg wash on all exposed sides of the bagels (including the inside edges!).
- Bagels will keep for a couple days in a sealed bag.
- They toast up nicely, too!
Nutrition
I wonder how they would taste with flavoured yogurt?
Hey Cindy! I can imagine flavored yogurt having an affect on the taste (and maybe even color!), and it might even be good. Give it a try!
I made these with fat free Greek yogurt. They are beautiful and I love the consistency. Seem like bagels to me. But, they didn’t taste great. Do you think it’s because the fat is missing?
Hi Cheryl! Thanks for the question. Fat can certainly add flavor, but I don't think it would make a huge difference. One other thing to make sure is that you're using baking powder and not baking soda (that difference can definitely influence flavor as too much baking soda tastes very bad). Did you try making any with any other flavorings like everything bagel seasoning or cheese, or topping with cream cheese?
Easy to make and delicious! I make them once a week for my grand children!
Thanks, Elaine! I'm glad to hear you make the recipe so often and that you like them!
Why do you call these bagels? People, words have definitions. This might be some kind of tasty roll, but it is absolutely not a bagel.
I came across your recipe when looking for a semi entry level baking project to have my husband make. With the pandemic, we’ve been cooking a lot more and making more meals for our older neighbors. He loves bagels so we tried them. I read the directions for only half the batch (just in case 🤣) and he assembled and created adding Everything Bagel seasoning on top. They turned out great. We plan on making these with 8 of our
Grandkiddos when it’s safe to have them over again. In the meantime my hubby will be making more of these bagels this week. I’ll ask him to make the gluten free for me. 👍 Thank you for sharing this recipe. We use the plain Greek yogurt for a lot of recipes. It’s a staple.
I'm so glad the bagels turned out, and kudos to your husband for making them! I hope you like the gluten-free version, too. Thanks for your comments!
Hello,
I have tried these twice but they never rise or get larger as they bake, they come out as mini bagels. I followed the recipe exactly, what might I be doing wrong?
Sean
Hi Sean. This recipe, if you portion it into 8 pieces as stated, will make 8 small bagels, not full-size. If you'd like larger bagels, simply cut the dough into 4 pieces instead. If the bagels never puffed up while baking, I would check your baking powder to see if it is still active. The bagels won't puff up if the baking powder is dead. I hope that helps.
I tried this recipe and my bagels ended up super dark and had a strong bitter/sour aftertaste. Definitely could not eat them without cream cheese and smoked salmon to mask the aftertaste. Do you know what could’ve happened?
Hi Samara. It is hard to know what could have happened without having been right there with you, but one immediate thing I can think of is to make sure you use baking powder and not baking soda. Using that quantity of baking soda will make the bagels taste really bitter. Also, check your oven temperature...it might run high (not all ovens work the same) which might have led to the over darkening. It is also good to check the bagels at, perhaps, 20 minutes, for the level of browning.
Do these freeze ok?
I have not tried to freeze them because we always eat them too quickly, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so.
Can we substitute anything for the egg wash? My son is allergic to eggs?
Thanks for the question, Jennifer. Brushing the bagels with milk or melted butter can also work.
Trying to make as close to the traditional bagel as possible without yeast, can we boil these before baking? Thanks
I have never boiled them and I'm not sure how they will turn out if you try. You could try boiling one and see how it turns out compared to the ones that you don't boil. Let me know if you do!
Great recipe! Yes, these aren’t boiled, but these taste great and DO have a nice chew! I made them for the 1st time, and I will definitely make these again!
Thanks for your comments, Cindy! I'm so glad you liked them!
You're just fooling yourself. Not boiling makes these just bagel shaped bread. No chew. Just bread.
Thanks for your feedback!
Can you sub whole wheat flour (or half whole wheat, half white)? These are DELICIOUS.
Hi Sasha! You may have to add a bit more Greek yogurt if the mixture is too dry and doesn't come together into a cohesive dough (since whole wheat flour is heavier), but otherwise, I think it will totally work! Thanks so much!