You can start producing these delicious bagels in the bread maker, and they are so easy to prepare that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making your own bagels all along.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 16 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 46 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 bagels |
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ teaspoons yeast
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal (Optional)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 egg white (Optional)
Instructions
- Place water, honey, vital wheat gluten, salt, yeast, and whole wheat flour in the bread maker in that order. Select “Dough” setting. Let the bread maker work, about 2 hours.
- Remove finished dough from bread maker and punch it down on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 equal-sized sections and pat into balls. Push a thumb through each ball to make a hole; shape the bagels as round as possible. Place on a plate and cover with a clean towel; let rest for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a clean towel. Sprinkle a separate baking sheet with cornmeal.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add sugar. Add bagels to the water, 2 at a time. Boil for 1 minute, turning them over halfway through. Remove bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and drain on the towel-lined baking sheet.
- Transfer bagels to the prepared baking sheet. Brush bagels with egg white.
- Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- If you don’t have a bread maker, add the yeast to the lukewarm water and honey for 10 minutes, then add the flour and gluten. Knead, let rise, and follow the rest of the instructions.
- If you don’t have honey, you can use regular sugar.
- Baking time will depend upon the size of your bagels (for example, if you make 4 giant ones, they will take longer to cook). Watch carefully that they don’t burn.
Reviews
I used white whole wheat. The dough looked a bit dry, so I added 2 tablespoons more of water. At the “Add” portion of the dough cycle, I tossed in a handful (probably about a quarter cup) of raisins. I will definitely be making these again, and will try sprinkling toppings like sesame or poppy seeds after brushing with the egg white.
I had to add some extra water to this to get my bread machine to stop whining (about 1/3 cup more). I still had a few “hard spots” and would likely start with an extra 1/2 cup of water next time. As always, homemade bagels made my family ridiculously happy!
This was my second try at bagels, and the first with whole wheat. I don’t have a bread machine, so I made these in a stand mixer. The batch size is a little small for the dough hook, so I finished kneading by hand. I liked the idea of adding gluten instead of mixing the whole wheat flour with bread flour. The result was a nice, whole grain taste and an excellent texture. I did not use the egg wash, but might try next time as the I prefer a crustier bagel. I may also try boiling them a bit longer to see if that helps to develop a chewier crust.