How To Make The Best Bagels

You might also like these recipes for sourdough pretzels, hot dog pretzel buns, and whole wheat burger buns. Here’s a comprehensive guide to making the most perfect bagels you will ever eat. Best of all they are so easy to make – beginner-level easy, in fact. And they have everything you look for in a bagel: a chewy, dense but soft crumb, a deliciously shiny and pleasantly stiff crust, and incredible flavor!

Why you will love this bagel recipe

Perfect bagels each time! Follow the instructions, especially on boiling and proofing times, and you will be enjoying amazing bagels in no time! Easy recipe. One might imagine a specialized bread would be tedious to make, and time-consuming, but the process of making bagels is rather easy. This was one of the first bread recipes I shared with you on Holy Cow Vegan, and they came out perfectly the first time I made them. Even shaping the bagels with that characteristic hole in the center is easier than, say, shaping a pretzel would be. Naturally vegan. Bagels are usually dairy-free and eggless and most bakers do not use non-vegan ingredients, so there are no compromises involved in making these vegan bagels! Loaded with flavor. The bagels are part whole grain, which not only makes them more nutritious than a store-bought bagel, it also makes them more flavorful. Adding the seed topping takes the taste of these yummy bagels up another notch.

What makes a bagel different from other breads

Apart from its distinctive texture and shape, what sets a bagel apart from other breads is the process of making it. Unlike other breads a bagel is proofed, then boiled and finally baked. While most new bakers might balk at the idea of dropping those perfectly proofed, gorgeous bagels in a huge pot of boiling water, rest assured that this will only enhance the bagels and make them even better.

Why are bagels boiled?

Bagels are boiled in order to achieve that characteristic texture. Dropping the proofed bagels into boiling water helps set the starches on the crust and gives the finished bagel that shiny, slightly tough crust you adore. Usually a bit of barley malt syrup or sugar or honey is added to the boiling water bath in order to add more gloss. Some bakers add baking soda to the water to promote browning. In this recipe we will add a bit of maple syrup or sugar for the same effect.

Are all bagels vegan?

Here’s the great thing about bagels: bagel dough does not require milk, eggs or butter, so most bagels you are likely to encounter in stores and bakeries are very likely vegan. But as always, ask if you aren’t sure and read labels before buying. Letting businesses know you are looking specifically for vegan foods can encourage them to stock more cruelty-free products, which is a win-win for us as vegans, the planet and, most importantly, the animals.

How to make bagels

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, turning the sheet around once halfway through baking. Let the baked bagels cool on a rack before serving warm or at room temperature. Check to get new recipe updates by email.

Vegan topping ideas for bagels

Vegan cream cheese. Bagels are amazing with a schmear of cream cheese! You can serve the cream cheese plain or make your own flavored cream cheese by mixing in salt, garlic and herbs of your choice. Or, for a sweet tooth, add cinnamon and sugar or maple syrup. Hummus. Serve with healthy hummus, like this yummy black bean hummus, creamy edamame hummus or eggplant hummus. Butter. Bagels are divine with a pat of vegan butter. Or make a bagel sandwich with peanut butter and jelly. Scrambled chickpea eggs or scrambled tofu eggs. Thinly sliced vegetables, like sliced cucumber, sliced tomatoes, sliced avocados, sliced radishes and sliced onions. Serve these atop the cream cheese. Pickled or fermented vegetables, including sauerkraut.

Storage instructions

Refrigerate: Bagels are best eaten fresh, but you can refrigerate them for up to a week. Freeze: Freeze bagels in a freezer-safe bag for up to a month. Reheat: Reheat bagels in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven until warmed through. These bagels also toast beautifully.