Homemade Sesame Bagels – Home Grown Happiness

These sesame bagels are soft and chewy on the inside, with a beautiful golden crust and a crunch from the sesame seeds.

The dough for these bagels is slightly wetter than a typical New York-style bagel—64% hydration—so it will feel a bit stickier to handle. I like this higher hydration because it makes a softer bagel with an airier crumb. It still has a lovely chewy outer, though, because they are boiled in a water bath before baking. I add an egg wash before baking, too, to help the sesame seeds stick, giving the bagels a gorgeous, shiny golden top.

Here’s how it’s done

1. In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, flour and salt. Mix it with a fork to create a shaggy dough. Then, switch to using your hands to combine it. Place it on a clean work surface and knead until smooth. This can also be done in a stand mixer.

1. Let the dough rise until doubled in size. You can also do this bit in the fridge overnight. A cold-proof is not only helpful to make bagels in advance, it also improves the texture and flavour. After rising, punch down the dough, remove from the bowl and weigh it. Cut it into 8 equal-sized pieces and shape into balls. Let these rest for about 5 minutes to relax the gluten. To shape the bagels, press your thumbs and index fingers into the dough ball to create a hole, then gently widen the hole by rolling the dough around your fingers.

1. Let the bagels have a short second rise at room temperature until slightly puffy. The exact time will depend on your room temperature. In summer, this goes very quickly for me because my kitchen is hot, but in winter, it takes longer. The bagels should look a bit puffed but not fully doubled in size. I place them on individual pieces of parchment paper so it’s very easy to transfer them into their poaching bath.

Poaching and baking

1. After they’ve been poached, place them on a lined baking tray. Sometimes the bottoms of the bagels can bake up quite dark if using parchment paper so I line my pan with a silicone mat to add a layer of insulation. Using a light-colored pan can also help avoid this – or placing another baking pan underneath the one holding the bagels. Brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

1. Bake the bagels in a hot oven for around 20-25 minutes until deeply browned. Let them cool down before serving and slicing. On the following days these are excellent toasted!

Related recipes

Homemade Sesame Bagels

Elien Lewis

These sesame bagels are soft and chewy on the inside, with a beautiful golden crust and a crunch from the sesame seeds.

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Resting time 2 hours hrs

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, New Zealand

Servings 8

Calories 281 kcal

• 300 g water
• 25 g brown sugar or honey
• 7 g instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 470 g bread flour
• 9 g salt

Poaching

• 2-4 litres water
• 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey

Egg wash and topping

• 1 Egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
• 3-4 Tbsp Sesame seeds

• In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast and sugar. If you’re using active dry yeast, let this sit for 5-10 minutes to become foamy. Then add in the flour and salt. Mix it with a fork to create a shaggy dough. Then, switch to using your hands to combine it. Place it on a clean work surface and knead for around 8 minutes until strong and smooth. This can also be done in a stand mixer with a dough hook.

• Let the dough rise until doubled in size. After rising, punch down the dough, remove it from the bowl, and weigh it. Cut it into 8 equal-sized pieces and shape into balls. Let these rest for about 5 minutes to relax the gluten. To shape the bagels, press your thumbs and index fingers into the dough ball to create a hole, then gently widen the hole by rolling the dough around your fingers.

• Let the bagels have a short second rise at room temperature until slightly puffy. The bagels should look a bit puffed but not doubled in size. I place them on individual pieces of parchment paper so it’s easy to transfer them into their poaching bath.

• Bring a pot of water to the boil and stir in the brown sugar.

• Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a baking pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

• Drop the bagels on their parchment paper squares in the boiling water, in batches one at a time. Remove the paper once the bagels are in the water.

• Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds. Remove the bagels from the water using a slotted spoon and place them on the baking sheet.

• Brush them with egg wash and generously sprinkle with sesame seeds.

• Bake the bagels for around 20-25 minutes until deeply browned. Let them cool down before serving and slicing.

Both metric and US cup conversions are provided. Use the toggle to switch between the two.
The hot oven can make the bottoms of the bagels quite dark. I line my pan with a silicone mat to add a layer of insulation. Using a light-coloured pan can also help avoid this, or placing another baking pan underneath the one holding the bagels.

Serving: 1bagelCalories: 281kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 10gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 464mgPotassium: 127mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 35IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Bagels, Sesame seeds

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