I’ve finally been able to produce bagels that are like the ones at the bagel bakery: chewy on the outside, soft on the inside. After much trial and error, here’s some hints I’ve found for making a better bagel:
1. Most directions suggest rolling out a rope of dough then forming the bagels by pinching together the ends. I’ve found they hold their shape much better by rolling the dough out and cutting with a doughnut cutter. You can re-roll the “holes” or boil and bake the holes along with the bagels (my 2-yr-old thinks the holes are great).
2. This is probably the BEST HINT I’ve picked up: After you’ve shaped the bagels, place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze. When frozen, store in zip-lock bags until ready to boil and bake. Even though they’ll look small and puny, they will puff up and rise when you bake them – I promise!
To boil and bake:
Bring a large kettle of water to boiling; add 1 tsp. salt (I use kosher) and 2 Tbsp. malt syrup or powder (you can find at health-food stores or through King Arthur). Slip several frozen bagels into the pot – the water should be at a healthy simmer. Cook 2 minutes on one side; then turn over with slotted spoon and cook for 2 minutes longer. Drain boiled bagels on clean dish towel and immediately sprinkle with any desired topping. It’s great to freeze the bagels ahead of time, ’cause you can bake just as many as you need. While it’s not an “instant” breakfast, with this method I can have fresh, hot bagels on the table within an hour. I use a recipe from will work. Even though I have a bread machine, I usually mix up a bigger batch of dough with my KitchenAid mixer to save time and effort.
3. To bake bagels: Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
A. (Good) Bake on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, sprinkled with a little cornmeal. Reduce oven to 425 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake for about 5 more minutes or until golden brown. OR: B. (Better) Place prepared baking sheet(s) – see above – on preheated baking stone. For the last 5 minutes of baking, turn the bagels over and bake on the bare stone.