Learning something new gives us a dopamine rush. Whenever we learn something new our brains form new neurons and connections. This is especially good the older we get. I love to cook and love to learn new techniques and recipes. The other day I did a video about learning how to make bagels from scratch on my wood cookstove.

After my first attempt was a success, I got that dopamine rush! I am excited to share my simple recipe with you.

Making bagels always seemed like hassle, so I really never attempted to make them. With the help of my friend Linda’s recipe, that all changed. She told me bagels were simple and I could do it. She gave me easy directions over the phone, and I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and try making bagels. It just so happened, I had a bowl of sourdough fermenting to bake in the morning. I would use the sourdough for the bagels. I like making things simple. I use my sourdough to make a variety of foods like biscuits, brownies, pancakes, pizza crust, calzones, cookies, pies, fritters, breads, and now BAGELS!

Doug and I were excited to have fresh sourdough bagels with cream cheese for breakfast. I decided to use half the dough for bagels and half for bread. The first time I made them, they tasted amazing. I just made them a little too big. They tasted just like the ones from a bakery. I was so proud of myself that I called everyone I knew and told them of my new accomplishment. I froze a bunch and have given away many. I have even shared this recipe with many of the Amish ladies in our community. Whenever I go and visit, they keep telling me to thank my friend who gave me the recipe. Each of these Amish ladies all used different bread recipes and each recipe worked fantastic in making the bagels.

My goals of becoming sufficient in all my cooking needs just got a whole lot closer. Bagels were the only bread item that I would periodically buy from the store. Well, no more “store bought” bagels for me. I thought you might want to try this simple, easy recipe.

Easy Bagels

4.97 from 31 votes

Ingredients
  

  • Use any bread dough recipe that has risen and ready to be baked I use my sourdough recipe
  • 1 Tbsp Baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • Toppings for bagels (optional) such as cinnamon & sugar, sesame seeds, course salt, onion flakes

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, and add 1 Tbsp baking soda and 1 Tbsp sugar. This is what gives it that bagel sheen and gives it that slightly chewy texture.
  • After folding dough the last time, take out a small piece that fits inside your palm and roll into a ball and place on a piece of parchment paper. When parchment is filled, push your thumb inside the center of each to make a hole.
  • Gently drop the bagels in the boiling water. Make sure not to crowd the bagels together so that they are all touching (3 or 4 work well.) They need plenty of room to do their bagel dance. Lol. Boil 1 minute on each side. I use a spatula to flip. After two minutes, remove bagels with spatula and set on baking sheet with parchment paper on top.
  • This is the time to add toppings on top of the bagels if you would like.
  • Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
  • Let cool, serve sliced in half toasted with some grass fed butter and cream cheese.
  • Freeze any leftovers for another time.

Video

I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and let me know if you think this is something you can make?

Your friend,
Stacy