Homemade Everything Bagels

Bagels are easily found in grocery stores and bakeries, but I've always wanted to make them at home. Here is a simple Everything Bagel Recipe that I followed and it turned out great!

But bagels are easily found at the grocery store... why? That's what everyone asked me and my response during the pandemic was... why not? They turned out absolutely great and honestly much better than I expected home made bagels to turn out.

Making these bagels were quite easy, but takes so many steps and definitely a time commitment. I still have so much to learn and that I want to try! When I imagine bagels, my mind goes to the delicious-ness of an Einstein Bagels bagel when you're hungry, or the one trip 2 years ago I had to New York where I had the most delicious (huge) bagel somewhere random in Manhattan. This definitely did not beat either of those memories, but really, if I used half a box of cream cheese... maybe it could?

For those wondering how bagels are done or made, I would categorize it in three steps.

1. Make the dough and let it rise. The dough has yeast, so in order for the bagel to be light and fluffy, the yeast needs time to release air and grow.

2. Boil the bagel. I don't know the precise science, but boiling the bagel adds back a lot of moisture to the outside of the bagel which first expands the bagel and when baked, causes the outside to have that thick and crispy outer layer and fluffy inside layer.

3. Bake the bagel. This is the final touch as it is (obviously) not cooked until the bagel has been baked. This is when the crust crisps out and becomes the perfect golden brown.

For those wondering, I followed this video and recipe by Joshua Weissman to make my bagel, and his video really is so easy to understand!

The pictures here are my first batch, and honestly, the best batch! But I wouldn't say it was perfect. Here are things I've tried, learned, and failed at along the way:

1. Everything bagels are an easy starting point! You just have to make the basic bagel recipe and sprinkle on the toppings before baking.

2. If you add something like red chili flakes or something delicate, it will burn in the oven when it is baked at this temperature.

3. Even if your bagel is not perfect, add some delicious fillings in! I made mine with cream cheese, spinach, and chili garlic sauce and it was so good!

4. Add your mix-in flavors early on in the dough rolling process, otherwise, it isn't evenly distributed.

5. Make sure you grease your pan before baking! My bagels 100 percent got stuck to the wax paper and it was a hilarious process to try to chop off before eating.

6. Honestly, how on earth are rainbow bagels made? My sister and I tried adding food coloring... and it turned into an inedible, tough and chewy mess.

Regardless, definitely give it a try at home! It's a fun activity, especially as we are all stuck at home more. If you try any new flavor combinations, please leave a comment below or share on social media with the hashtag #crafteacoffee!