Honey Whole Wheat Bagels
By
I used to make these bagels all the time…then I guess I forgot about them. Recently the boys asked, “WHEN are you going to make those yummy bagels again?!” (I think they ended the sentence with “oh our Beautiful Mother Dearest” or something like that.)
Funny how you can completely forget about a particular recipe for a while. I made the requested bagels again last weekend and I think I made quite a few little men (and one tall one) very happy. Wow, is that all it takes?
Making bagels takes a few different steps…but they aren’t hard steps. You mix, rest, shape, broil, boil, and bake. I kinda think it’s fun to say “broil your bagels”, but then again, I don’t get out much.
Honey Whole Wheat Bagels
4 to 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat)
1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 t.)
1 1/2 cups warm water (if you put your finger in and it hurts, it’s too hot and will kill your yeast)
3 T. honey + 1 T. honey
1 t. sea salt
Stir together 2 cups of the flour, the salt and the yeast. Add in the warm water and 3 T. honey. Gradually add in the remaining flour.
Dump it out and knead the flour in until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover the dough and let it take a nap for about 10 minutes. (zzzz)
Divide the dough into twelve equal parts.
Set a timer for 20 minutes. Begin shaping each piece of dough into a nice ball. Stick your finger in the middle of the ball and pull it apart to create about a 2 inch hole.
Lay it onto a buttered cookie sheet or baking stone.
Continue until all the bagels are formed. Let them sit until your timer goes off.
After your 20 minute timer goes off, turn the broiler on in your oven.
Broil your bagels for 2 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile…bring a big pot of water to a boil. Stir in the remaining 1 T. honey.
Put 4-6 bagels into the water, turn down the heat and
simmer for seven minutes, turning the bagels over once during that time.
Continue to boil your bagels until they are all done.
Let them drain on a towel.
Bake at 375 ° for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Slice these, toast them, then slather them with butter or cream cheese for breakfast….oh my goodness.
Now I want to experiment with cinnamon raisin or blueberry bagels…and what other flavors can you think of?
Okay, answer me this….is it fun to say “broil your bagels” or is it just me? Yeah, you know you love it.
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This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.
Haha- “broil you bagels.” Those look fantastic.
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They look great and don’t appear to be that difficult. Panera Bread makes a cinnamon crunch bagel that is absolutely heavenly and much like eating a dessert. It has a hard crusty sugary topping. See what you can do with that idea… hint, hint, hint.
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Kristine Reply:
April 12th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Oh yes, if you can figure that out it would be fantastic! Love Panera bagels!
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These look yummy, Laura! I have my “Gratituesday” post all written for next week and saved. Sorry I didn’t get it done this past week like I had said I would. Happy Easter! Lori in OK
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Those look delicious! I should try making bagels. I haven’t done that in awhile either. Hey, do let me know if you come up with a blueberry bagel recipe! My husband loves blueberry bagels. You could try everything bagels or onion/garlic bagels too…
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I think the fact that bagels are boiled is funnier than broiled. Although when you say broil your bagels it’s funny. Even though I can’t hear you :)
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I like cheese bagels. You could put cheese in your dough and then press the tops of the bagels into shredded cheese after you boil them and before you bake them. You could also put some parmesean into the dough. Mmmm… and on top with some pizza sauce.
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Did you know that the average sized bagel is four servings of bread!
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I was so excited to see this! I had been looking for a bagel recipe for weeks before this and finally just adapted my bread recipe to work with the bagel process. I was wondering, since I saw that you use Nourishing Traditions, have you tried this with sprouted grains? Or Sprouted flour? I’m trying to make the switch but seem to be having some issues with perfecting the end product. I think I’m gonna have to broil some bagels next week! ;)
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Could one still make these bagels without broiling them? I don’t have a broiler on my oven. Of course, then I wouldn’t be able to say I broil my bagels. But I do wonder seriously.
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I love bagels, but since Daddy and I have been on a low carb diet, they’ve been off the menu. These we could do :) Thanks for the recipe and pictures…
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these look delicious!
happy Easter weekend.
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Oooh, thanks! I think I’ll go make some of these for our dinner tonight, actually :) God’s rich blessings to you and yours this Easter!
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oh, wow. I. LOVE. BAGELS!!! I can’t wait to try these! I think today will be a bread-making kinda day for us!
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Can’t wait to try these! I love your step by step directions :) Happy Easter! Tina
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Wow, this looks so neat! I appreciate the visuals with the pics! =) You rock!
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These look great! My husband only likes whole wheat bagels, so this recipe is great. What setting do you broil your bagels on? You’re right that is funny! :)
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okay, you are now my favorite person on the internet
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They were great! Thanks for the recipe and picture instructions!
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Funny, I made bagels this morning too. It was my first time making them and they are yummy. Yours look good, I will have to try your recipe next time.
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Mmmm…these look yummy. We love bagels in this house but dont buy them very often. I may have to try these, though. I have a sweet tooth and like cinnamon sugar bagels. Not healthy and definitely not something I get very often.
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Also…could this be a bread recipe? Seems like it but thought I’d ask if you’d tried it.
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I’m back to comment again…I actually was so inspired to make these yesterday…and I did! I put a link to your site so others can learn this art from you! Thank you so much!
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I made a gluten free version of these for Easter breakfast this morning. They were really good although as usual the gluten free made them a little dense but I’m hoping to adjust. Thanks for the great recipes!
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Hey Laura!
I can’t wait to try out this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
As your friendly Pampered Chef gal, just be careful broiling on your stoneware… it’s actually not made for that much direct, intense heat and can crack your stone! I’m not sure how high your broiler was set… but just a warning that it can crack your stones.
Take care and Happy Easter!!
Debra
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Laura, I sure do love your site and your recipes. It’s just so cool to have someone else do all the legwork and then just give me the finished product–a recipe that works and tastes good! I’m looking forward to trying these.
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Your bagels look so much prettier than mine…I think I’m going to try your recipe. It’s similar to mine, but different enough that it’s worth a shot. Thanks!
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Hey! I just made these for the first time (I didn’t even know you could make bagels homemade!). They are really yummy! The only problem I had was that some of them didn’t really rise very well. Some were small and not fluffy like the others. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Otherwise though, they are really yummy! I’m also really impressed that they are 100% whole wheat and no sugar.
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These looked so yummy I had to try them! Unfortunately mine didn’t turn out so good. I think I probably didn’t knead the dough long enough. They did not raise very much. Next time I will be lazy and knead it in the Bosch (love that machine!) The bagels are baking right now so we will see what the family’s verdict is on them!
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I tried them too and they tasted great. But my didn’t look as pretty either. They looked good until I took them out of the water after boiling. Then they started looking all shriveled up and ugly. They still tasted fine. I’ll definitely try again though to see if I can get it right.
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Hi, I just found this web site and when I have more time I intend to explore it. Thanks for the wheat bagel receipe. Some one asked about putting fruit in bagels. I make english muffins with assorted fruits should be the same principal. I use dried fruits and shake them in flour before stirring them in as the last step.Hope this helps.
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Wow that is a great recipe! Very simple. I can’t wait to try it. Where do you great your wheat flour from?
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I mean *get your flour from. :)
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These look wonderful! I’m going to go try out the recipe today.
Thanks!
Tanja
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Another recipe I’m stoked to try!
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I put cinnamon and raisins in mine. They’re about to go in to broil :)
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Is it possible to over boil them? Should you boil them longer if they still look doughy?
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Laura Reply:
September 4th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I’m sure if you boil them a little too long, it should be okay. But no, if they look doughy I don’t think boiling them longer will help. The water makes them look doughy anyway, I think.
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I used to make bagels like these and remember how great they were! I’ve never seen a bagel recipe which called for the “broil” step, only the boil and bake. Mine turned out fine that way – I wonder if broiling adds any characteristic to them? Have you tried it without the broiling, Laura?
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Laura Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
No, I’ve never tried to do it without broiling. It seems that the broiling hardens the outside of them before I boil them. :)
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Sheena Reply:
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I never broil mine, just boil and bake. But I do put on an egg wash to get a nice chewy crust that is a little shiny.
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Sylvia Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 7:28 am
I never broil mine and it came out looking just like you pics. BTW, do you have any gluten free bagel recipes?
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Laura Reply:
May 1st, 2010 at 4:37 pm
No, I’m sorry I don’t. Hopefully someone else can help us out with one!
I just came up with a HEAVENLY Pumpkin Spice Bagel Recipe. You should try it if your family likes bagels. And by the way… I love your site Laura. Finally a place that loves whole wheat as much as I do. I just started a little blog (nothing as awesome as yours), you should check it out for the bagel recipe. bestofmommachef.blogspot.com
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Wowza! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. After many failed and sad attempts at homemade bagels- I finally have a winner! Woo Hoo! I am linking this recipe to my blog. Hope that’s okay? My hubby is going to be so excited when he sees these!
Janna
adventuresinjannaland.wordpress.com
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I made these today and they are SO good! My boys loved them! I definitely will not be buying bagels any more. Did you ever make cinnamon raisin bagels? I’d like to try making them.
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Laura Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 9:21 pm
No, I never did. We like these plain ones so much, I keep sticking with them!
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My kids and I made these yesterday and we LOVE them!!! I wanted to make more, but I ran out of yeast. Now I can’t wait to go to the store just to buy yeast to make some more! My kids had so much fun with helping me mix the dough and seeing it rise. Thanks so much for the recipe!
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Oh, my husband loves them too! He ate two when he came home from work and tried to go back for more, but I told him to save some for breakfast! :) DELISH!!!
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i had a cranberry bagel, it was pink on the inside and outside and oh so delicious! how fun, definitely going to be making these!
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Can you freeze these at any steps along the process? Can you finish baking them and then freeze them? Would like some way to prepare a bunch in advance and then be able to have them quickly ready later on. Thank you — I’ve been enjoying the recipes!
PS (another topic) — the cinnamon rolls I made from your recipe were too dense, any tips for making them fluffier and lighter?
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Laura Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
I’ve never tried freezing these before baking. I *think* it would work after you broil them…but I’m not sure!
The cinnamon rolls are in general a little dense. You could try adding an egg to the mix to see what happens.
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Sylvia Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 6:31 am
When I make bagels I usually bake them lightly and wait for them to cool. Then I cut them (not all the way through but you can if you like) and the put them in a freezer bag. Bagels freeze very well:)
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Kat Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Thanks for all this information! I really appreciate it. I haven’t tried them yet, but now I have even more reason to get to it!
PS — I’m only now getting to baking with dough things and have really been enjoying myself. Thanks for the inspiration!
This sounds so easy. I never considered making my own becasue I thought it was one of those things best left to “the professionals”. Wondering if you have to broil right away or can you do in batches? My oven stopped working and just have a toaster oven to work with right now and it won’t take a whole batch.
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Laura Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Oh, you can do them in batches, no problem.
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I made a few adjustments 1) I used 3c Whole Wheat flour and 1c Bread flour 2) 2TBSP vital wheat gluten 3) Skipped the “broil the bagel” step (btw I like saying that also…lol) Let the bread machine do all the hard work (kneading). Boiled and Baked!!! The bagels came out absolutely delicious and had the perfect bagel texture. Not too dense. Thanks for the recipe:)
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I love making whole wheat anything (having fresh is so yummy!) and I was excited to see that you had a homeade bagel recipe, so I tried it this morning. So easy, and so yummy. Even my husband, who likes his plain white bagels, said that they were good enough for me to make instead of buying them. Another battle won on the healthy eating front! :)
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I was wondering if you’ve ever tried making an everything bagel? I think I might try adapting your recipe. I was also wondering, do you know the nutritional differences (or if there are any) between hard white whole wheat and hard red?
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Laura Reply:
May 22nd, 2010 at 4:05 pm
No I never did try any other variety of bagel. Someday…
There is no nutritional difference between red or white wheat!
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These sound soo yummy! Unfortunately I’m not a “bread maker” so kneading is foreign to me. I’ve tried it in the past and nothing comes out right. Can I use my dough hook on my Kitchenaid? If so, for how long? Thanks!!
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Laura Reply:
June 10th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
I’m sure you can use your dough hook on your Kitchenaid, but I’m sorry that I have no idea how long to recommend! I’ve not used one, so I don’t know. Probably a little less than the time you use for bread?
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I just found your sight today and i love it. Ty for so many wonderful ideas and inspirations. I’ve been slowely getting back into baking after being sick for some time. It’s nice to find some whole wheat recipies that i can try.=) Ty again.
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