Name: Bread Machine Bagels
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1¼ cups warm water; 3½ cups all-purpose flour; 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar; 1½ teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (I use quick-rise yeast); 1 egg (for egg wash on bagels before baking); Favorite toppings (such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds, shredded cheese, coarse salt, etc.)

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Save time by making homemade bagels with your bread machine. These Bread Machine Bagels are soft, chewy, and so much better than store bought!

I know bread machines are very 1996, when people wore pagers and watched Party of Five.

But if you’ve got one of these appliances on a basement shelf somewhere, dust it off. Because it makes the bagel making process so much easier!

Since a friend of mine shared her homemde bagel recipe with me earlier this year, I’ve been tinkering, and I’m happy to say that I’ve made my best batch yet using my trusty bread machine,

The bread machine does a lot of the heavy lifting in this simple recipe: Dump the ingredients in, push a button, and the mixing, kneading, and rising are all magically taken care of. Game changer.

So even if this is your first time making homemade bagels, you can easily make your own fresh, chewy, homemade batch.

Want more bread machine recipes? Try these Simple Bread Machine Rolls

Ingredients you need for bread machine bagels

Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but you can also use bread flour
Sugar: I use granulated sugar (you use less than two tablespoons of sugar for the whole recipe)
Salt: I use regular table salt
Yeast: I use quick-rise yeast
Egg: You will use this for the egg wash on the bagels before baking (note: it does NOT go into the dough!)
Favorite toppings: Try poppy seeds, sesame seeds, shredded cheese, coarse salt, etc.

Supplies you need for bread machine bagels

Bread machine: I’ve had my bread maker since the 90s but scroll to the recipe card for links to new models
Large saucepan or stockpot: You’ll fill this with water to boil your homemade bagels
Baking sheet: In the past, my bagels have stuck when I used an ungreased baking sheet, so now I line my baking sheet with a silicone mat (affiliate link). You can also use parchment paper.

How to make this bread machine bagel recipe

First, Place water, flour, sugar, and salt in the bread machine pan (in that order). Using your finger or a spoon, make a small well in the top of the flour and pour the yeast inside, then cover yeast with the flour.

Set the bread machine to the “dough” setting and press start. The dough setting will mix the dough and allow for a dough rise.

Here’s what that magic looks like inside your bread machine:

When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, punch down the dough in the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes. Remove dough from bread machine and divide it into eight equal pieces, then shape each into a small ball of dough by rolling it gently in a circular motion on the (un-floured) counter.

I’ve also been working on perfecting the shape and size of these bagels, since my early batches looked, admittedly, a bit irregular. After doing some research, I picked up a couple of useful pointers:

Use a kitchen scale: I bought this scale (affiliate link) and use it to weigh all of the dough balls so they’re roughly the same size. This not only makes the batch look more uniform, it also means they’ll bake more evenly.
Roll the balls the right way: It’s actually best to roll the dough on an un-floured surface, because the stickiness of the surface helps the balls form a better shape. I used this super helpful tutorial to help me get the shaping just right.

As you can see, they’re still not all perfectly round, but perfection is overrated, right?

Once you form the dough balls, coat your finger in flour and press into the center of each dough ball to form a ring, gently stretching the ring into a bagel shape. Cover bagels with a damp, clean towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bring a large saucepan or stockpot of water to a boil. I add about 3-4 quarts of water to my pot. I’ve also been adding 1 tsp of baking soda to the water, which is supposed to result in a chewier bagel.

Place bagels 2-3 at a time into the boiling water with a slotted spoon (or by gently lowering them into the water). Let bagels sit in boiling water for 1 minute, then flip and allow to sit in water for an additional 1 minute (the longer they are in the water, the chewier the texture will be).

Remove from water and place on baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Using a pastry brush, brush bagels with egg wash (1 beaten egg plus 1 tablespoon water). Add your choice of toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and shredded cheese to the top of the bagels if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter, cream cheese, lox, or whatever you like!

How can I make whole wheat bagels?

Yes. If you’d like to add the flavor and nutrition of whole grains, I would recommend swapping one-third of the all-purpose flour in this recipe with white whole wheat flour. I have not tested this recipe with all whole wheat flour. It’s likely to produce denser and heavier results.

Can I make these bread machine bagels in advance?

Yes! Here’s a tip from a reader: In the evening, follow the recipe through shaping the bagels. Let the shaped bagels sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, and then put them in the fridge (covered in plastic wrap) overnight. In the morning, take out the bagels and allow them to come to room temp for one hour, and then boil and bake per the recipe. Then enjoy a fresh, chewy bagel for breakfast!

How to store homemade bagels

These bread machine bagels are best when eaten the day of baking. You can store any leftovers in a zip-top bag or sealed container on the counter. You may experience a bit of shrinkage as the bagels they lose moisture. Keep in mind that these bagels don’t contain any preservatives, so like any homemade bread, they should be eaten within a few days.

You can also freeze the bagels, sealed tightly in a freezer bag.