Sesame Bagels

How to make delicious homemade sesame bagels recipe with a soft crumb and a perfectly shiny and crunchy crust. These bagels are perfect for eating as a savory sandwich for lunch or a sweet version for breakfast or family brunch!

this recipe

Homemade bagels

New York's bagel recipe has already made its way around the world, as these soft and crispy bread are so delicious in both savory and sweet versions.

A very original shape, a bit like a doughnut with a hole in the center, but with a rather firm texture and a nice shiny and crispy crust that makes it so irresistible.

And that ring shape is what makes bagels so special and popular, and what makes them unique from other bun recipes that are usually used for burgers.

This sesame seed bagels recipe sounds intimidating because the bread has to go through a baking step in a hot water bath before being baked in the oven, but that's also what gives it that delicious crispy brown crust.

They are cut in 2 to form a sandwich, usually garnished with different hot or cold fillings, such as smoked salmon, ham or chicken, fresh dill and cream cheese, but they can also be made in a sweet version, spread with honey or a chocolate nut spread and fresh berries.

>> See all bread and bun recipes on the blog

Ingredients and substitutions

Bagel dough

• Flour: Use all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or special bread flour.
• Baker's yeast: active instant yeast or the equivalent in fresh yeast.
• Salt: essential for the dough and to bring out the flavors, weigh the quantity with an electronic scale.
• Water: you can use water or dairy milk ( or plant base milk) or a mixture of both.
• Sugar: Flavored sugar such as cane sugar, dark brown sugar.
• Vegetable oil: preferably olive oil, which gives a delicious flavor that you can replace with coconut oil or melted and cooled unsalted butter.
• Seeds: White sesame seeds, toasted sesame seeds or black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, coarse salt, etc.

Water bath

• Water: A large quantity of boiling water to boil the bagels.
• Sugar: brown sugar or malt syrup, you can also replace it with baking soda like in the pretzels recipe.
• Salt: fine table salt.

⚠️ You will find the quantity and complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

How to make homemade sesame bagels

1 - Rehydrate the yeast

1. In a small bowl place the brown sugar with the dry baker's yeast and the warm water.
2. Mix with a tablespoon and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until small bubbles appear.

Tip: Rehydrating the yeast in a lukewarm liquid at a maximum of 86°F / 30°C with a bit of sugar will help activate the yeast for a better rise of the dough.

2 - Kneading dough

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the flour and salt and turn the mixer to medium-low speed.
2. While the mixer is running, add the olive oil and the yeast, milk and sugar mixture.
3. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes until you get a smooth, soft and slightly sticky dough ball.

Tip: You can make the bagel dough in advance, the day before, and let it grow overnight in the fridge, it will be better and easier to handle.

3 - Shaping the rings

1. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut the dough into 10 pieces (balls of about 90-100g).
2. Form the dough into balls with your hands by rolling the dough on the work surface.
3. Let the dough balls rest under a cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes before shaping.
4. Then press your finger into the center of the ball to make a hole and turn the dough between your fingers to form a smooth ring.
5. Place the bagel ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a tea towel and let the bagels rise for 1 ½ hours until they double in size.

4 - Water bath

1. Fill a large saucepan with water and add the brown sugar, bring to a boil and then lower the temperature a little to just a simmer.
2. Dip the bagels one by one or by two in the water and leave them for about 40-50 seconds per side.
3. Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them back on the parchment paper sheet on the baking sheet.
4. Immediately sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Tip: You can replace sesame seeds with poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, coarse salt, or nigella seeds.

5 - Baking

1. Preheat the oven to 410°F / 210°C and bake the boiled bagels for about 25 minutes until they are golden brown on top.
2. Let the sesame seed bagels cool a bit before moving them to a cooling rack.
3. Cut the sesame bagel in half and add your favorite toppings.

Tip: Be careful with baking, if your bagels are overcooked they will be too dry in the mouth, they are ready when they have a nice golden color.

Bagels filling ideas

Here are some ideas for filling this homemade sesame bagels recipe in a savory or sweet version:

• Smoked salmon, cucumber, cream cheese and fresh dill
• Scrambled eggs, grilled bacon and cheese
• Avocado, smoked salmon and cream cheese
• Peanut butter and raspberry jam
• Banana, almond butter and maple syrup
• Chocolate nut spread and berries

Storage and freezing

At room temperature: Homemade Bagels can be stored under a cloth or in a storage box for about 5 days. You can warm them up slightly in a toaster or in the oven.

In the freezer: Place in a storage bag once they are completely cooled, whole or sliced in 2 you can keep them up to 3 months in the freezer. Let them come back to room temperature slowly or use the toaster to defrost them more quickly.

More buns and bread recipes

• Chocolate sweet rolls with chocolate sauce
• Chocolate star bread
• Austrian sweet buns
• Chocolate babka
• Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese
• Chocolate cinnamon rolls
• Cinnamon sugar pretzels
• German Pretzel

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