As a born and raised New Yorker, one of the things that has driven me crazy about living abroad is not having access to good bagels.  In a crazy attempt to rectify this, I’ve tried making my own everything bagels at home and trust me, they delivered.  I’ve adjusted some other recipes in trying to get the right taste to my bagels as I love a bagel with an extra taste of garlic and onions.  Keep reading for my real New York bagel recipe!

One of the hallmarks of a great everything New York bagel is the garlic and the onions, which a lot of bagel makers seem to forget… My friends as well as my husband joke that I should make bagels professionally as I am that passionate about them, however for now, I make them as a hobby.  Although a sesame, plain, or poppyseed bagel is delicious, there’s something about an everything bagel!

The recipe makes eleven bagels. These bagels are best out of the oven with some smear (cream cheese). As I’m lactose-intolerant, I go with a vegan cream cheese.  You can freeze them to keep them for longer.

I include a printable version of the recipe at the bottom.  I’ve had to adjust a few ingredients as acquiring a few things here in the Netherlands has been a bit tricky.  I’ve managed to DIY most of these parts, namely the onion bits.  I don’t have a mixer myself, so I’ve kneaded mine by hand.  It’s not that bad.

You’ll need a food thermometer, a baking sheet, parchment paper, a large pot, a baster, a slotted spoon, and tongs.  A mixer with a dough hook is nice to have, but not necessary.

Yeastus!

One of the hardest bits of making a good New York bagel is the yeast.  I’ve semi-followed Nora’s recipe shown below for creating yeast.  Her yeast recipe is offline, but she was kind enough to help me out in my desperation for finding a good bagel recipe!

You’ll need to have a new packet of yeast to proof your yeast. I measured out one cup and 3/4 of a cup of water and put it into my water heater.  After this, I let the water get moderately warm prior to pouring it out into a bowl. Then, I used my food thermometer to ensure that the water was at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. (You can heat your water more, but wait until it is at the right temperature before your yeast is put into it.) 

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Throw in your yeast. I used 10 grams of yeast (one and half packets [7 grams were in each packet]).  Then, I put in one teaspoon of sugar.  After waiting around twenty minutes, it was alive with some foamy bits on top.

The next step involves combining your flour, salt, and the remainder of your sugar. (If you have a mixer with a dough hook, you just need to let this go for a bit at a medium speed.)  If you’re lacking one, follow these instructions for truly handmade bagels.

Kneading your bagels by hand

As someone who enjoys baking, but doesn’t necessarily have fancy tools or much kitchen space, I did truly made my bagels by hand.  It wasn’t so bad besides needing to clean things in between.

I mixed my dough by hand, which meant that the dough was quite shaggy at the beginning and my hands were covered in dough. Once it seemed like I had mixed in all of the flour, I dumped out the dough onto a wooden board to kneed it into something that looked decent.  I timed it and it took me about fifteen minutes of kneading to get it into a passable smooth blob.  Roll the dough into a circle.

You’ll need to put a little olive oil on the bottom of a bowl.   Put the dough into the bowl with a clean slightly damp dish-towel on top and wait about 75 minutes.  Press down the dough about half-way through the process.

Making the everything bagel mix

In the meantime, you can make your everything bagel mix.  If you live in the US, you can buy Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel although I also recommend adding 2 teaspoons of onion powder to the mix.  If you don’t live in the US or prefer to make things yourself, no worries: I DIY’d my own mix that I suspect has a bit more bite to it.

*Optional: If you really want to add something delicious on top, dice two onions, then put them into a pan with a little olive oil (just a teaspoon).  Just move them around until the onions caramelize a little.  Set this aside. (They can burn a little, so don’t go too crazy!)

My everything bagel mix is intended to cover the bagels completely on both sides.  There’s nothing worse than an everything bagel with only one side covered.  We’ll put this mixture aside, but it can be made as you wait for the dough to rise. I mixed together two tablespoons of poppy seeds, one tablespoon of onion powder, two tablespoons of sesame seeds, a half tablespoon of salt, two tablespoons of dried garlic flakes.  Sometimes, I make extra.

Divide out your dough into 10 equally-sized pieces with a lightly floured cutting board.   You can go about making the pieces into little balls by rolling their bottom along the edge if you really want to.  

Creating the bagel shape

There are two ways to make the bagel shape. You can make a snake that is 8 inches long prior to looping together the bagel and pressing the ends together with some water.  For slightly more doughy bagels (my preference), you can pinch the bagels with a lightly floured hand until you see a proper hole prior to lightly pulling out the center (be gentle) to create a bigger hole.

Baking and boiling the bagel

Once you’re done, let your bagels rise once more on a sheet of parchment paper.  If they don’t seem large enough, you can preheat the oven to 150 Fahrenheit, turn it off, and let your bagels rise inside for about 10 minutes. (You can skip this step if you feel that your bagels are big enough.)

Get a large pot of hot water going.  Make sure the water is boiling.  (I recommend doing this together with another person to ensure that you nail the timing.) I did each bagel one at a time, but if you have a larger pot, two at a time should be fine if they don’t touch. 

You’ll need a slotted spoon for this. Let each side of the bagel boil for one minute prior to flipping each bagel to boil for one more minute on the other side. Let each bagel drain as much as possible over the pot prior to placing it on a baking sheet.

You’ll want to mix up one egg with some water (about 1/2 cup) in a small bowl for the egg wash.  With a basting brush, you can brush both sides of your bagel with the egg mixture.  This will give your bagels a gorgeous brown color.   Be sure to get both sides!  Decorate with the onion bits last as they make the bagel hard to flip….

After this, you can sprinkle your everything bagel mixture onto the bagel. I often put my mix onto a plate and then press the bagel onto the plate. This allows my bagels to be better covered in the mixture. You’ll need to flip your bagels at some point to get the bottoms.  (Don’t worry if some of the mixture gets on the parchment paper.) 

Preheat your oven to 450 F (230 C).  Put your bagels in the oven for 17 minutes total.  After ten minutes, you’ll need to flip them, which is easiest done with tongs.  Take the bagels out, let them cool, and enjoy. 🙂 

Let me know what you think of this everything bagel recipe!

Yield: 11 bagels

How to make authentic New York bagels at home by a New Yorker

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Cooking/Baking Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Looking for authentic New York bagels at home? This delicious bagel recipe can be made at home no matter where you live. I've adapted this everything bagel recipe to be made without a mixer!

Print

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• Instant yeast (1.5 packets)
• Sprinkle of salt
• 1 cup and 3/4 cup of water at 110 F

Everything Bagel Seed Mix

• 2 tablespoons of Sesame Seeds
• 2 tablespoons of Poppyseeds
• 2 tablespoons of Dried Garlic Flakes
• 1/2 tablespoon of Himalayan Rock Salt
• 1 tablespoon of Onion Power
• Optional: 2 onions diced
• Teaspoon of olive oil

Egg Wash

• One egg
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Measure out 1 3/4 cup of water.
2. Heat the water to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. (Typically a warm sink will be hot enough after a minute.) Use a food thermometer to help ensure that the temperature is right.
3. Measure out 10 grams of yeast and place in the bowl together with one teaspoon of sugar.
4. Wait 20 minutes for the yeast to fully foam and rise.
5. Combine the flour, salt, and the rest of the sugar with your yeast mixture in a mixing bowl. Ideally, you have a mixer with a dough hook to mix this mixture at medium speed until the dough becomes smoother.
6. For those without a mixer with a dough hook, hand mix the dough until it becomes shaggy and the flour is mixed in. After this, you can put your dough on a wooden board to kneed it for about 15 minutes. Roll it into a circle.
7. Put a little olive oil at bottom of a bowl, then place your dough ball inside. Cover with a clean and slightly damp dishtowel. Let it rise for 75 minutes. (Your dough should touch the dishtowel when it has fully risen.) Press the dough down half-way through the process.
8. Optional: Dice two onions, then put them into a pan with a little olive oil (just a teaspoon). Move them around until they caramelize a little. I'd estimate that I cooked mine for five minutes. Set this mixture aside.
9. In a bowl, mix together two tablespoons of poppy seeds, two tablespoons of onion powder, two tablespoons of sesame seeds, one tablespoon of salt, 2.5 tablespoons of dried garlic flakes. Then, you'll want to throw your crispy onion bits (if you chose to do this) into this mixture to coat them.
10. Divide out your dough into 10-11 pieces with a lightly floured cutting board.  You can go about making the pieces into little balls by rolling their bottom along the edge if you really want to.  
11. For slightly more doughy bagels (my preference), you can pinch the bagels with a lightly floured hand until you see a proper hole prior to lightly pulling out the center (be gentle) to create a bigger hole.
12. You can skip this step if you feel that your bagels are big enough. Once you're done, let your bagels rise once more on a sheet of parchment paper. If they don't seem large enough, you can preheat the oven to 150F, turn it off, and let your bagels rise inside for about 10 minutes. 
13. Get a large pot of hot water going. (Have a kitchen timer and a slotted spoon next to you.)
14. Cook each bagel for one minute on each side using the slotted spoon to flip them. Drain them as much as possible before placing them on the baking sheet.
15. Mix up one egg with some water (about 1/2 cup) in a small bowl for the egg wash. With a basting brush, you can brush both sides of your bagel with the egg mixture. 
16. Sprinkle your everything bagel mixture onto the bagel. A trick is to put a bit of the mix onto a plate. Then, press one side of the bagel into the plate for fuller coverage once the bagel has cooled off a little.
17. Decorate with the onion bits last (if you choose to make them). You'll need to flip your bagels at some point to get the bottoms. (Don't worry if some of the onion gets on the parchment paper.) 
18. Preheat your oven to 450 F. 
19. Place your bagels into the oven for 17 minutes. Flip with tongs after 9 minutes.
20. Let them cool for ten minutes. Enjoy with cream cheese!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 247Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 703mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 8g