Looking for an easy bread machine bagel recipe? This 6-ingredient recipe makes delicious bagels in no time!
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I thrifted my first bread machine last year and haven’t looked back. It’s paid for itself many times over, and I love that I can make all kinds of breads, pizza doughs, buns, and bagels, too, without so much active time! Lately, we’ve been experimenting with different varieties of bagels in the bread machine, but they all start with this super simple bread machine bagel recipe as a base. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Table of Contents
Ingredients in Bread Machine Bagels
- Water: Water in the bagels provides hydration for the dough while the water used to boil the bagels helps create a crisp, chewy exterior.
- Salt: Provides flavor and strengthens gluten for a chewy texture
- Sugar: Sugar in the bages provides sweetness to the bagel and feeds the yeast to encourage a good rise. The sugar in the water used to boil helps keep the dough from rising too much in the oven and gives it a good shine and brown color after baking.
- Bread Flour: Provides stability to the bagel and builds gluten for that classic bagel texture.
- Yeast: Rising agent to give the bagel its domed appearance.
- Egg: Used as an egg wash right before cooking, this gives color and shine to the bagels.
How To Make Bread Machine Bagels
Start by adding all the ingredients to your bread machine in the listed order. Set bread machine to “dough” setting. All machines are different, but mine is a 1 hr 30 min setting. Once the dough is done and risen in the machine, lay it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
Divide dough into 8 equal parts. You can eyeball it or weigh it! If you weigh it, it should be about 80g for each bagel.
To shape the bagels, lay each dough section out on the floured surface and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Then, taking your thumb on one side and your middle finger on the other side, poke a hole in the center of the bagel. Stretch the bagel out so the hole is slightly larger than you think it should be because it will shrink as the bagel rises. You can see how I shape my bagels in the video below!
Let the bagels rise for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the boiling water in a wide pot. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, add sugar. The sugar should dissolve quickly, and then you can boil the bagels. Boil each bagel for 1 minute (20 seconds on each side).
After boiling, bake the bagels for 12-15 minutes. I like mine baked for about 12, so they don’t get too dark. When they’re ready to come out, immediately remove them from the baking tray with a spatula and place them onto a wire cooling rack. This will make sure they cook quickly and don’t stick to the pan! Wait for them to cool before enjoying.
Bread Machine Bagel Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup Warm Water water should be warm, but not hot at 105-115℉
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 3 Cups Bread Flour All-purpose flour also works but will slightly change the texture of the finished product
- 2 tsp Yeast
Boiling
- 2 quarts Water Water should be at a rolling boil
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
Baking
- 1 Egg slightly beaten Egg wash
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed in the ingredients list, then set the bread machine to “dough” setting.
- Once complete, lay the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts (about 80g each if you want to measure by weight).
- Shape the dough by lightly flattening each piece with the palm of your hand. Then, using your middle finger and thumb on the top and bottom of the disc, create a hole. Stretch the hold to be a little bigger than you think it needs to be, as it will shrink during boiling and baking.
- Allow shaped bagels to rise for 15 minutes
Boiling
- In a wide pot, add 2 Tbs sugar to 2 quarts of water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Boil bagels for 1 minute each (30 seconds on each side). You can boil multiple bagels at a time as long as they do not overlap.
- Lay boiled bagels on a greased, but unlined baking sheet.
Baking
- Just before baking, brush with an egg wash.
- Bake at 425℉ for 12-15 minutes.
- Once golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack right away. Allow at least 20 minutes to cool before eating.
Video
Notes
Is It Cheaper To Make Your Own Bagels?
Yes, it’s generally cheaper to make your own bagels instead of buying. The cost difference is minimal if you compare the price of homemade versus the cheapest generic brands, however, store bagels usually come in packs of 6, and this recipe yields 8. Walmart’s cheapest bagels are $1.98 for 6, while Aldi’s cheapest plain bagels are $2.15. While you probably have everything this recipe requires on hand, it costs about $1.50/batch of 8 to make ($0.74 for the flour, $0.42 for the egg wash, and $0.34 for yeast with sugar and salt being negligible).
Storing Bagels
Bagels will last for about 5 days in an airtight container or bread bag at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 6 months. If you freeze them, I recommend pre-slicing so you can easily throw them in the toaster to help defrost.
Why You’ll Love These Bagels
This plain bagel recipe is so easy to perfect and versatile! Add toppings like Everything Bagel Seasoning, cinnamon sugar, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds to the top before baking to customize to your liking. They’re quick to make and easily replace a store-bought bagel in terms of affordability and quality!
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