Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bagels — Making bagels at home with this easy recipe will leave you wondering why you hadn’t tried it sooner! These are the BEST cinnamon raisin bagels I’ve ever had. Soft, chewy, and subtly flavored with cinnamon and plenty of raisins!
Easy Homemade Bagel Recipe
I have a soft spot for cinnamon raisin bagels. I ate one almost every day for most of high school and college. And these are the best ones I’ve ever had.
Making them has been on my culinary bucket list for a few years, but I was avoiding it because I thought they were hard to make. They’re not. And I can happily check bagels off the bucket list.
The issue is that with any sort of yeast recipe is that there are so many recipes for the same thing; sort of like chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Some recipes really over-complicate things compared to others, when the end result should be the same. A cookie should really just be a cookie, or in this case, a bagel.
I looked at the infamous Peter Reinhart recipe from his book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. It’s all over the internet, but begins by making a dough sponge, allowing that to rest overnight, and then you pick up the next day, which stretches bagel-making over 2 days.
I can hardly get my readers to chill their cookie dough for 2 hours. Two day yeast recipes aren’t happening.
I looked at this Food Network recipe for inspiration for the water, flour, and yeast ratios. But like almost all bagel recipes, it has you boil the dough before baking it. The reason for boiling the dough is because the water helps create a chewier, heartier, thicker crust.
After making the dough, a two-hour rise, shaping the dough into bagels, and another 30-minute rise, the last thing I wanted to worry about was bringing water to a boil and dealing with that, so I didn’t.
This is a very straightforward yeast recipe, taking under 3 hours from start to finish. Like all my yeast bread recipes, I try to spell out every last detail to give the best chance for success, but always trust your instincts and watch the dough in front of you and if you think it needs more flour, more time to rise, or a cooler oven, do it.
Bread-making is weather-dependent and dough in humid Houston in the summer is going to need more flour than in dry San Diego.
It’s a dreamy dough to work with. Soft, smooth, and not at all sticky. Unlike cinnamon rolls where the dough should be moist, loose, and shaggy so the finished rolls are light and fluffy, bagels are chewier and denser.
So this dough is thick, dense, and very well-floured, perfect for newer bread makers who aren’t used to handling sticky dough.
I have Lindsay’s July Kitchen Challenge to thank for the nudge to make these. I wished I had tried making bagels ages ago because we loved them and they’re easy enough.
A homemade fresh, warm, toasted cinnamon raisin bagel slathered with butter or cream cheese is truly heavenly.
What’s in Cinnamon Raisin Bagels?
To make these easy homemade bagels, you’ll need:
- Warm water
- Granulated sugar
- Instant or active dry yeast
- Bread flour
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Raisins
- Yellow cornmeal (for sprinkling on the baking trays)
How to Make Homemade Bagels
Make the dough and put it in a bowl and wait about 2 hours for it to grow.
The photos were taken about 2am, when I do my best bread-making.
Everyone else is asleep and I’m working on blog stuff and the yeast are working, too. Perfect match.
Punch it down, divide it into 6 or 8 golf balls.
Stick your thumb through the middle of each.
Put them on baking sheets.
Wait another 30 minutes or so…
…And then get them wet. I simply just submerged the dough in a bowl warm tap water for a minute, and the bagels turned out with plenty of chewiness and crustiness.
I don’t like overly crusty breads, and the submersion method produced plenty of crustiness. I actually wouldn’t want any more and I’m glad I didn’t boil them. My jaw doesn’t need that much of a workout.
Place moistened or boiled pieces of dough on baking trays that have been sprinkled with the cornmeal. Bake the cinnamon raisin bagels until golden, domed, puffed, and done.
How Long Do Homemade Bagels Last?
Extra cinnamon raisin bagels will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Can I Prep the Dough Ahead of Time?
I’ve had a few readers ask about making the dough ahead of time and leaving it to rise overnight so they can have freshly baked bagels in the morning. I haven’t tried this myself, but here are my thoughts.
After the first rise, I would just pop the bagels into the fridge, covered, and then the next day, take them out, let them come up to room temp for 30-60 minutes (just so they’re not chilled and look plumped), dunk in water, then bake from there. If you give this a try, let me know!
Tips for Making the Best Homemade Bagels
The cinnamon flavor is nice but subtle, and there’s plenty of moist raisins throughout, but if you’re not into cinnamon and raisins, you can omit and make plain bagels.
Or use dried blueberries instead of raisins, add seeds like poppyseeds, or use garlic salt instead of cinnamon for savory bagels. The vegan dough is a blank canvas for your favorite type of bagel.
These bagels freeze beautifully and can easily be reheated in the toaster or in the oven.
Pin This Recipe
Easy Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
These are the BEST cinnamon raisin bagels I’ve ever had. Soft, chewy, and subtly flavored with cinnamon and plenty of raisins!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, warmed to packaging directions (about 125F for Red Star Platinum
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more if needed and for flouring work surface
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon, or to taste
- 3/4 cup raisins
- water for submerging or boiling
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal for sprinkling on baking trays, optional but recommended
Instructions
- Warm 1 cup water to manufacturer’s packaging directions, about 45 seconds in the microwave. Take the temperature with a thermometer. If you don’t have one, water should be warm to the touch, but not hot. Err on the side of too cool rather than too hot because you don’t want to kill the yeast.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or large mixing bowl), add the water and sugar.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the top. Wait 5 to 10 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. This means it’s alive and will work. (This is called proofing and technically with instant dry yeast you don’t have to proof it, for active dry yeast; you should. I do it regardless.)
- Add 2 1/2 cups flour, optional salt, and knead for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dough comes together in a nice, round, smooth ball. This is a thick, dense dough. It should be smooth and not sticky. If your dough is sticky or isn’t coming together, add another tablespoon or two of flour, as needed, until it does. Bread making is very climate and weather dependent. In the summer or in humid climates you may need slightly more flour than you do in the winter or in dry climates.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon and raisins over the smooth mound of dough. It will look like a lot of both, but allow them to be kneaded in for 2 to 3 minutes, or as long as necessary to distribute. If the raisins are being stubborn and want to fall out, push them in with your fingers. Note – Cinnamon and raisins may be omitted for plain bagels.
- Place dough in a cooking sprayed or lightly greased large bowl, cover with plasticwrap, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 2 hours. *
- Punch dough down, and turn it out on a Silpat or lightly floured work surface.
- Divide dough into 6 to 8 equal-sized portions. (I made 8)
- Roll each portion into a ball.
- With your fingers, make a hole through the middle of each ball. Stretch the opening, shaping dough into a bagel shape. Dough will tend to spring back and want to recoil, just re-stretch and re-shape. Push in any raisins that try to escape.
- Place dough on two Silpat-lined or greased baking sheets, cover with plasticwrap, and allow dough to rise in a warm, draft-free environment for about 30 minutes, until bigger, but they won’t have doubled. I use the preheated oven trick again.
- In the final minutes of rising, preheat oven to 400F. If you were using the oven as your rising spot, remove dough before preheating the oven.
- Before baking, to create a chewier crust, submerge each portion of dough into a pot of boiling water and boil for 1 to 2 minutes, flipping over halfway through. The longer the dough boils, the chewier and thicker the bagel crust will be. I personally do not like overly chewy bread with a thick, crusty crust and skipped boiling. My bagels were plenty chewy just from submerging in warm water.
- Instead, I submerged each bagel in a bowl of warm tap water for about 1 minute.
- Place moistened or boiled pieces of dough on baking trays that have been sprinkled with the cornmeal; about 1 tablespoon per tray. This prevents the bagels from getting too well-done or burning on the bottoms.
- Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden, domed, puffed, and done. If you boiled them, they may take a few minutes longer to bake; if you made 6 rather than 8 bagels, they may take slightly longer to bake. Watch your bread, not the clock, when evaluating if they’re done. I preferred my 18 minute bagels to the 20 minute bagels because they’re softer.
- Allow bagels to cool on baking trays momentarily before serving. I recommend toasting them and serving with honey butter or cream cheese.
Notes
- *Tip – Create a warm environment by preheating your oven for 1 to 2 minutes to 400F, then shutting it off. This creates a 90F-ish warm spot. Slide the bowl in quickly, close the door, and wait for the dough to rise. Just make sure your oven is off.
- Extra bagels will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. I have not tested freezing the dough after the first rise and after shaping, but before the second rise, and don’t know if this would be successful.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 30mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 8g
More Easy Bread Recipes:
Raisin Bread For Raisin Lovers — The Raisin Bread for Raisin Lovers is chewy and has a hearty outer crust with a dense, soft, and moist interior. It’s excellent toasted with butter and sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar.
Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Butter – A goofproof, foolproof, no-knead recipe that’s perfect for the first-time bread maker.
Cinnamon Swirl Bread – As close to a cinnamon roll as a bread can get and still be called bread rather than dessert!
Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls — These overnight cinnamon rolls are ultra soft and fluffy thanks to the buttermilk in the dough. Top them with homemade cream cheese frosting and enjoy!
Easy Sourdough Bread — This easy sourdough bread recipe uses yogurt and sour cream in place of a traditional sourdough starter, which makes it possible to prep a loaf in less than a day!
Soft & Fluffy Sandwich Bread — This sandwich bread is soft, fluffy, light, and moist. It’s made with a secret ingredient that keeps it moist and fluffy — oatmeal! It’s the perfect bread for a PB&J or grilled cheese sandwich!
The BEST Glazed Orange Rolls— These homemade orange rolls are filled with a buttery orange filling and are topped with a simple orange glaze. They can be prepped the night before, if needed.
For me, the bagels were lacking salt. But in fairness, she said “to taste” so I will try adding more next time. Regardless, an easy fix by sprinkling some over my cream cheese. Otherwise, these were fantastic – and this was the third recipe I tried. These are my winners.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these are your winners from the recipes you’ve tried!
Yes salt is so personal, you can always add more later though as you said. Sometimes people say I loved this but too salty, which you can’t un-do so I always let people salt to their tastes in recipes like this.
Hi Averie,
Love all of your recipes. I have a question….. if I want to make everything bagels do I still put those ingredients into the dough and then knead ? Or should I traditionally keep those on the top ? And what step would I do this.
Thank you.
Stay safe out there. !!!!
I would start with just on top, but if that doesn’t give you enough flavor you could incorporate some of it into the dough.
I am offering a suggestion that really helped with the raisins. My mom used to make soft raisin cookies where you boil the raisins to soften them. So, I boiled 1C raisins in about 1/2 C water. Cooled them a bit. Used the leftover raisin liquid in my warm water with the yeast. I never had to push in a raisin this way after kneading in my mixer. Tastes great too! Keeps bagel soft inside and the cinnamon worked better into the batter with them. I also used sparing pinches of sugar on top b4 baking. Yummy!
I have been scouring Pinterest for bagel recipes, watching videos, etc., and this recipe had all easy to find ingredients unlike others out there. I decided to boil mine before baking and had no trouble with goopiness. I tried to handle the bagel as little as possible once in the water, using two spoons to flip and transfer to baking sheet. It smells amazing!! Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!!
Thanks for the five star review and glad this recipe was easy to follow for you and had common ingredients that were easy to find!
Hi Averie, this is my third time making these….and they turn out perfect all the time….great for breakfast or a grab and go …. they are baking as we speak…thanks for sharing your recipe!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you have made these 3 times and that they turn out perfectly every time!
I am a complete rookie when it comes to baking, but I am working on my skills and techniques! I love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing. These were incredibly easy to make and they turned out perfect! I’ve made these bagels twice so far! The only problem I ran into was my bagels sticking to the cookie sheet! The first time I made them I dunked them in warm water for a few seconds, and I used a nonstick cookie sheet and sprinkled corn meal on it. The bagels were so stuck to the sheet that I had to use a spatula to get them off. So, the second time I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and also used corn meal and they still stuck. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love the bagels. Yes a Silpat will change your baking non-stick life forever! https://amzn.to/2rLDQFM
I just finished making this recipe and they turned out perfect! Perhaps a bit too many raisins for my preference (easy fix next time), but aside from that this recipe was great and very easy to make! I didn’t boil them, just dipped them in hot tap water. I also didn’t have any cornmeal, but they didn’t burn at all and popped right off the baking sheet! Both my boyfriend and I are students so any chance we have to save money on food is taken and this recipe will save us a few dollars each week so thank you for that! :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
UPDATE: I just used this recipe again but subbed garlic salt and cheese, once again this recipe was perfect even though I forgot to dip them in water before baking. Will use this forever!
Glad that the savory version came out great and that you’ll use this recipe forever!
Hi Vicki – how much cheese did you add? Did you use the same amount of sugar? Thanks :)
I tried putting the first three bagels and near boiling water for about one minute. They became seemingly waterlogged and one fell apart. Did I do something wrong here? Remaining bagels were briefly dipped in the water and seem fine. I don’t know baking results just yet but thought I’d go ahead and post while I’m waiting .
I have only ever dunked the dough just for a few seconds and haven’t ever had any issues with them falling apart and would recommend just a quick dunk like you did with the rest.
First, thanks for a wonderfully easy recipe! I’m a breadmaking rookie, so the simplicity of the recipe helped me to be confident in giving the bagels a try. I used Gold Medal bread flour and Red Star Platinum yeast. Proofing was very easy. I live in (currently very humid) Alabama, so I had to play around with the added flour. Probably didn’t add enough, as the dough remained pretty tacky, but I didn’t want to over-flour. Both dough rises went great. I may not have adequately “punched down” the dough well as the bagels were very “fluffy” after 2nd rise. They were very pretty though! I submerged them in the hot water bath one at a time using my hands for 30 seconds, and had the same problem with “goopiness” others commented on. They didn’t seem to hold their shape well and baked up with more of a cookie profile — flat bottom with domed top. Any ideas you have about improvements will be a blessing! I’m hooked on cinnamon raisin bagels, so will definitely make them again!
Thanks for trying the recipe and with bread-making, so much of it is trial and error and very climate dependent. You could always just skip the water bath and see what happens. Yes, they are a little goopy after you pull them out but Ive never had them bake flat. I always use King Arthur flour, it’s my gold standard, so maybe switch up your flour? Or don’t submerge? And if you check into bagel recipes on foodnetwork or allrecipes, there are soooo many (many seem very complicated) but maybe could be helpful or help with a lightbulb to go off, like oh yes that’s a great idea and I’m going to try that, after you read thru the recipe and the comments. Glad these tasted great!
I, too, am a huge cinnamon-raisin bagel eater(I always try to diversify but come back to CR. No other bagel fills the void. I think you know!) but now that I cannot find any good bagel purveyor in the locale I moved to, I was not eating them at all. But I tried out this recipe and, boom, here comes a real winner. Better than the bagel I used to eat back on campus, which was quite famous there. Honestly, to a bread-machine person like me this is way more time/attention commitment than I am typically willing to make but I am definitely making another batch before long!
Thanks so much, Averie!
I can’t wait to make these at home!! Thanks for sharing!
Will this work if I use chocolate chips :)im excited to try
Probably! Although I haven’t tried personally. LMK how it goes!
Hi, I had the same gloopy dough situation after dunking in the water. I measured accurately and used bread dough, so not sure why. I did add about half a tbsp extra water after initially mixing the dough, as it seemed too dry. Anyway, I baked the bagel gloop, and it dried out remarkably well, even if the bagels are a little flat. Next time I’m just going to try misting the bagels with a warm water spray instead of dunking, as they came out plenty chewy.
I did add about half a tbsp extra water after initially mixing the dough, as it seemed too dry. <---- that could have been the issue. Sometimes just the smallest amount of extra water can make dough get too moist. But it sounds like you saved it! And I think misting is a great idea next time :) Glad these worked out for you! LMK how future trials go!
Hi Averie, I have a question for you! Is there any way to “make ahead” with these? So that I can bake them fresh first thing in the morning? Maybe after the second rise, before the boiling? I could just leave them to rise in the fridge? What do you think? Thanks!
After the first rise, I would just pop them into the fridge, covered, and then the next day, take them out, let them come up to room temp for 30-60 mins, give or take, just so they’re not chilled and look plumped, dunk in water, then bake from there. LMK how it goes!
Snow days bring out the baker in me. I tried these today and they were tasty (I compromised–I didn’t boil them on the stovetop OR use warm water–I used a bowl of water heated to the boiling point) but I think I’m impaired when it comes to shaping breads. Some looked like bakery bagels (I made 8) and some were kinda flat. When they rose the second time, some of them looked like they were losing the hole in the middle so I wiggled out the hole again–maybe I over-flattened them when I did this? And yes, I used bread flour and they rose properly both times so I think either my technique for getting them out of the water (a spatula) or for shaping them is to blame. But anyway, a fun treat–I’m pretty excited to be able to make bagels at home and they were simple to do.
Glad to hear you tried them and yes the finished shape does have to do with the shaping and how gentle you handle the raw dough through the process. So just be mindful and you’ll have bakery-looking bagels always :)
I was just wondering how you measure your flour, and specifically how many grams of bread flour is used in the recipe. Thanks!
I measure it in a measuring cup and I don’t know how many grams it weighed.
I tried this and submerged the bagels in warn water like you said. However, the dough is now complete goopy and a mess. Was this supposed to happen? Do you have any recommendations on preventing it from happening in the future?
No it shouldn’t be goopy. Most bagels are boiled for a few minutes; I simply dunked mine. I am not sure where things went wrong for you. Did you use bread flour? Did you measure properly? What brand – I prefer King Arthur to all others. I would let the dough dry out and bake them anyway and see what happens. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Do you think this can be made with AP Flour? We keep AP, White Whole Wheat, and vital wheat gluten in the house, as a general rule (I tend to always substitute whole wheat, when possible, but we buy bagels on a weekly basis from Dunkin Donuts or Brueggers, so if I can make them from scratch, that would be immensely healthier, even with white flour, I imagine). I am excited to try this!
If you want your bagels to taste like DD’s or Brueggers, you’re going to need to use bread flour for that classic bagel texture. AP will probably ‘work’ but it’s not going to give results as close to what bagels taste like.
beautiful pic’s and I just love bagels!! Do you have any idea if another type of flour would work? ( like almond flour)
No you have to use flour with gluten for this recipe to work. Bread flour is recommended and at the very least, all-purpose flour. I wouldn’t even try it with whole wheat b/c there’s not enough gluten in that flour for this recipe to work as written.
Have you tried Bake M Bagels? It’s an organic vegan bagel you keep in your freezer and then pop in the oven when you want a fresh bagel. They are delicious and come in a bunch of favors. They have them at Whole Foods and other organic/natural markets or we get them online. You should try them, for sure!!!
No I haven’t tried those. I’m sure they’re great – but things like that from WFs tend to be out of my budget when I can make 6 of my own for about 75 cents total :) But a fun concept it sounds like!
I think I somehow missed this post. Glad you reposted on FB. YUM. Seriously love cinnamon raisin combo. How could you not though?
Well so glad you saw it then! I have been trying to repost 1-2 things a day there and have found a surprising amount of people who say it’s news to them – so glad it’s working and not overkill :)
You’ve done it again. I’ve been dying to try my hand at making homemade bagels. But I canNOT resist a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast. MMM!
And they’re so much simpler than other recipes I looked at. Thanks Aimee!
I made these today, the “plain” version. I used parchment paper on my baking sheets and when I went to lift off the dough to submerge them in the warm water, they we slightly sticky and deflated somewhat. So I just baked the rest without the water bath, for fear of flat bagels. Maybe I need to use more flour next time?? Either way, they look delicious. Next time I will try greasing the parchment to see if that helps.
I never bake on parchment because it’s slippery (bad for cookies – I want the traction of a Silpat) and semi-tacky/wet for something like a wet bagel. I would bake on just a sprayed cookie sheet if you don’t have Silpats (best $20 you will ever spend though!)
As for them deflating and being slightly sticky…I am thinking that your dough could have possibly used a little more flour. 1/4 cup, give or take. I would try a bit more flour.
Also I swear by King Arthur’s bread flour and regular AP flour. It’s maybe $1.50 to $2 more per 5 lb bag but it’s money well, well spent. The brand of flour can make a difference, i.e.Gold Medal, Pillsbury, generic all have less protein so less structure in your baked goods. Use King Arthur when making bread, I swear by it :)
I’ve been a bit hesitant to try out making bagels at home for the same reasons. These look wonderful, and so good to know that they don’t take days to make! Looking forward to trying these beauties!
Thank you thank you thank you!! I’ve been looking for a foolproof recipe for cinnamon raisin bagels. Love it!
Enjoy!
I’m trying this recipe for the first time today. My children love cinnamon raisin bagels and I wanted them to try a homemade version :) Not sure how you only got 8 bagels out of this: I got 13! I thought I was making them golf ball size per your instructions. Maybe I’ll end up with smaller bagels as a result. Either way, thanks for the recipe!
The dough should be divided into 6 to 8 portions, and it will likely be about golf-ball size before rising for the 2nd time – but 6 to 8 portions is what a 2.5 cup of flour recipe typically makes if we’re talking dinner rolls, pretzels, or in this case bagels. If you divided it into 13 portions, I think your bagels will be about half the size of average bagels, more like mini bagels. Won’t effect taste but may need to reduce baking time slightly. LMK!
Just finished the second rise and put them in the oven. Some of them are small but most of them look to be about the size of regular bagels. Since these are for my kids, smaller bagels won’t make much of a difference :)
Well that’s great then that they rose to a more normal size and yes, smaller is just fine for kids :) Or anyone, really! Enjoy those warm, fresh bagels! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Mmm, bagels are probably the one bread product I’ve wanted to try making for so long, but have just been a little intimidated for some reason (probably because growing up in NY state and spending time living near NYC means you have plenty of bagels to purchase right outside your door!). These look amazing — and without the water boil! I’ve never seen a bagel recipe that doesn’t call for boiling the bagels in water before baking, but I like that you were able to pull it off. I always thought the water boil gave the bagels a bit more chewiness?
Thanks for simplifying the bagel making process and eliminating the boiling of the dough step, that always seems daunting! Bagels have been on my to-do list for awhile now too, I need to take the plunge and just do it!
Cinnamon raisin bagels take me right back to childhood. They were a weekend treat when I actually had time to enjoy them. I have so been wanting to make some. This seems like a great recipe! Great idea to swap dried blueberries!
I hope you get a chance to try these!
Ohhhh I need to make homemade bagels so badly! How pretty!
These look fantastic!! I’m also a sucker for cinnamon raisin bagels! Mmmm!!
I’ve been wanting to make bagels for a while too, so thank you for simplifying the process–now I know which recipe I’ll be using!
Ok if you try them, LMK! :)
Your bagels look amazing!!!!! I haven’t made bagels in the longest time, I’ll have to make some soon again! I’ve only ever made savory ones, I’ll have to give some sweet ones a try too! Yours look fabulous!!!
I’m so glad you posted homemade bagels! They have been on my “culinary bucket list” for a long time now, too! (along with english muffins, monkey bread, chocolate cake, peanut brittle, spaghetti squash, quinoa, stuffed peppers and a medley of other intimidating dishes). Maybe now I’ll have the courage to try – just have to decide between savory or sweet….
Ahhh! I am in love with this recipe!! Can’t wait to try it!!
Oh yum, these look delicious! Really, really, really yummy!
Also, not sure if you know, but whenever I click on the ‘comment’ field in your comment box and ad pops up. Just thought you may not be aware…
These look so wonderful! I have a bagel most mornings and have been wanting to make them for awhile. I found the best cinnamon bagels at the grocery store once, but haven’t been able to find them since. I’m thinking this might be a good recipe to start out with! :)
Cinnamon Raisin bagels are the variety I choose every time! These look amazing. I have always thought bagels would be too hard to make. You give me inspiration to try.
I have been wanting to try making bagels. These look perfect! I love cinnamon raisin too.
Homemade bagels have been on my bucket list forever but I just never can find the time for the two-day recipe, etc. But this … this I can do! I always loved cinnamon raisin when I was a kid – my sister and I would fight for it whenever my dad got bagels : ) And I love that lace tablecloth/napkin – it’s so pretty!
Thanks, Ashley – and yes this recipe is very do-able!
The tablecloth was a steal of a find at my local thrift store for 39 cents!
wonderful!
you are the queen of no knead breads and now bagels!
I hate all that waiting crap.
Way to go girl.
Oh yes, I see now. I did miss where it says to turn off oven after 1 to 2 min. of preheating to 400. Thank you for setting me straight on that! I can’t wait to try this recipe now. Thanks again!!
Michele
Ok good!
Not gonna lie, these are some of the best homemade bagels I’ve seen!
Thanks, Carrian! I appreciate it!
Congrats on shortening your bucket list! :D Your bread recipes always look so do-able, even for someone who’s deathly afraid of yeast. I think I’ll add these bagels to my own bucket list – they look scrumptious!!
WOW AVERIE! THESE LOOK SOOOO GOOD
yummy, this looks so good
i have a soft spot for cinnamon raisin bagels too… but sometimes i just toast bread , spread a little butter and top it with cinnamon and raisins.
:-)
Your method sounds like what I should try sometime!
Oh my! How beautiful!
I’ve never made bagels myself – I’ve always been too intimidated. But these sound totally do-able! :)
Being totally addicted to bagels, I’m loving this cinnamon raisin version!
These look wonderful Averie! Bagels have been on my 2013 bucket list since Jan 1. I don’t know if I can make them as beautiful as yours though! Cinnamon raisin is my favorite (and Kevin’s too!) and I ate them ALL of the time in high school before swim practice. With a thick slather of cream cheese. Such pure comfort food! And I love how easy this recipe is because like you, I’ve looked into other bagels recipes and it makes me go running for the hills! It’s fabulous that this recipe only yields 6-8 bagels too. Perfect amount for us before they get dense!
I made sure that the recipe was do-able and that it didn’t produce too many at once. I had been looking into bagels for a good couple years I think and always was too ambivalent about any recipes I had seen to even start adapting them. But then got inspired to finally tackle them and so glad I did. I find them easier than cinnamon rolls or sweet rolls, because there’s no filling to make and roll in and then there’s no need for a glaze/frosting post-baking. Definitely a do-able recipe! :) And I didn’t know you were a swimmer!!
You and I working on the same wavelength these days! :)
I have to admit, I like these more than my Gevrek recipe. I am a sucker for raisin bagels!! Although in high school I mostly ate Twix Bars for breakfast, right before 1st hour. :-D
I ate Twix bars and Snickers AFTER school…same wavelength as you though! :) What I wouldn’t give to be able to eat bagels and cream cheese and Twix and Snickers all day long, every day, again :)
I never knew the words “bagels” and “easy” could be in the same sentence! But these definitely look worth trying! Last time I made bagels the results were so worth it but it was so many steps and took so long! How long did these stay fresh for before they became dense? Thanks!
I would say 3 days but toasting them brought an extra day of life into them. It’s a small-ish batch recipe too for that very reason – so you don’t end up wasting any due to batch size! If you’ve made bagels before, I think you will be very happy with how much easier this recipe is than most!
These would make a wonderful treat on a lazy weekend morning. By the way, I admire that you are up baking and doing blogging stuff so late.
It’s the only time of day to get any true writing work done. The rest of the day, I’m just putting out fires or doing photography!
Homemade bagels have been on my bucket list for a long time as well! These are gorgeous Averie!!!
Thanks, Aimee!
Mmmm, I love bagels. For some reason we don’t eat them much at home, but when we go down to my parents’ house, they’re sooo good :) I usually go for a sweet/savory combination- an everything bagel toasted with strawberry jam- but a cinnamon raisin with butter sounds fantastic! Way to go for checking something else off your list!
You know I worked in a bagel shop for about 5 years and I ate at least one a day, sometimes up to 3 daily! Cinn Raisin and Choco Chip were my favorites and I preferred them simple – toasted with just a little melted butter. That first picture is making me DROOL.
The boiling vs steaming debate is HOT in the bagel world. Some purists say that if it isn’t boiled, it isn’t a real bagel. NY bagels, which East coasters claim to be the only real bagel, are always boiled. We steamed ours – make a 100 pound batch of dough, shape them all, proof for a couple hours, stick the rack in the walk in freezer, and then stick the trays you want to bake in the pre-heated oven. The first 15 seconds was a BIG BLAST of steam and then cook. So good, and they had the chewiest crust. I loved them!
GF bagels just suck.
I totally forget your bakery/bagel shop job, every time. Every time you tell me, it’s like news to me! I honestly am so happy I didn’t boil these. Between the bread flour and homemade vs. commercial kitchen bread recipes always being denser/heavier/chewier anyway, the soak method was perfect! The only GF brand of bread I’ve ever tried that was decent was Rudi’s but it’s pricey and I didn’t try the bagels, just a bread. I can imagine bagels are very, very hard to duplicate properly!
I may not be a sweet bagel lover but I share my love of chewy bread. My favourite flavour is has to be caramelised onion bagels with cream cheese. I have not made these in such a long time because the weather is too cold for the yeast to get going, damn winter!
I think I might give these ago, as I have always used sourdough to make my bagels. I am keen to try a new recipe
Bagels are on my bucket list, too. I’m happy to hear they’re not hard to make. Your bagels look beautiful.
I have never tried to make bagels. This looks like an excellent one to start with!!! I love cinnamon raisin bread!
It’s been too long since I’ve made bagels. Yours look terrific.
I love reading how you go about formulating your own recipes-drawing inspiration from other sources and manipulating the details. That’s what is so cool about baking, it is a science and an art!
I’m such a sucker for cinnamon-raisin bagels! If you have leftovers, I’m coming over for breakfast – there’s nothing better than homemade, right?
And thanks for the pin! :)
I don’t understand how the plastic wrap won’t melt in a 400 degree oven even if you turn it off I’d be afraid to try it. These do sound great though.
At NO POINT in this recipe or in any other would you ever be putting anything with plastic wrap on it in a 400F oven.
If you are talking about creating a warm, draft-free environment, where I suggest as a tip to put your oven onto preheat but then power it off after 1 minute, where I said the oven temp probably gets to about 90F in that 1 minute, like a warm summer day. But in 1 minute it does not get to 400F. And I repeated to make sure your oven if off.
The issue with trying to provide tips is that some people skim or read quickly and miss the gist of the tip.
It’s just a tip and if you have another warm, draft-free environment you like to use with your yeast dough, go for it! I was just sharing what I do.
Oh my goodness girl! I’m so proud of you that you made up these bagels. They look amazing and perfect, especially the ones with the melted butter, um, yum! I love butter on my bagels. You have inspired me to make my own pizza dough at last. If you checked bagels off your list, then I need to check pizza dough off my list. I had some terrible dough from TJ’s this past weekend and I think that was my nudge to try making my own.
Oh my goodness, are you up till 2:00 every night? How do you do it? You inspire me girl! xoxo, Jackie
No, I’m not up til 2am every night – I’m up til 5am! I sleep from 5 to 8am and then it starts over :) I have more work than hours in the day and life won’t always be like this, but for now, it is. So, I just go with it :)
And make your own dough! That yeast recipe is one of the easiest ones; super forgiving and I get tons of people who tell me it’s their fave pizza dough. I just had a girl from Italy write to me today saying it’s her favorite pizza dough. And she’s Italian!
Making bagels is an overwhelming thought, but you’ve made it so simple and easy to follow. This on a Sunday morning, with butter is all I wish for now..
Enjoy them! :)
These look delicious!
I have always wanted to make bagels. I need to try these…er, but with no raisins. ;)
These look incredible! I love that they’re light and fluffy while still being chewy. And I LOVE that you turned it into a one-day process.
oh wow, these look incredible!
I must admit that bagels are on my try list, too, but I have never attempted them because, as you know, fast and furious is my kind of recipe and it seems that all bagel recipes always seem so hard. I read your recipe frontwards and backwards about 4 times and I think it sounds easy as can be, if just a little bit more time required that most of your bread recipes. Seraphim absolutely LOVES bagels and lately he has been eating 2-3 bagels with cream cheese and lox for breakfast and sometimes for a snack in the afternoon before dinner. I would love to try these soon. He doesn’t like raisins but plain or sesame…think it would be easy to just leave out the raisins or do I need to tweak somewhere else, too?
Nope – just leave them out. I think I mentioned that in the recipe section but I know it’s very long :) I try to write out everything I possibly can but I know sometimes the details are overly detailed :) If you leave those out, then I would probably leave out the cinnamon, too. If you’re doing sesame, I would probably add it right after dunking in the water and before baking, just dip the tops. But watch them like a hawk – I have a feeling they could be prone to burning. And honestly, this recipe Michele for an experienced bread maker like you is not a biggie, at all. It’s got a 2 hour rise, shape the dough into bagels, let them rise another 30 mins, dunk in water, bake. Really not bad at all! I think cinnamon rolls are a bigger pain than these, for sure! So LMK if you try and what he thinks. And if you’re making them plain, add some salt – they’ll need it.
OH. MY. GOSH. I’m not home right not, but when I am, you know what I’ll be making. There’s nothing quite like oven-fresh bread. I just made soft pretzels for the blog! It’s great to have a reason to make lots and lots of bread. ;) Wonderful job again Averie!
Great job on your pretzels – it’s always nice to check an item like that off the list! I felt that way at least when I finally did pretzels. And these, Kelly, you will probably love! LMK if you try them!
Gosh those look so incredible Averie! So delicious!
These look so good and your food photography never ceases to amaze me!
Thank you!!
These look like wonderful bagels!! I have a little cookbook called the Bagel Bible but I haven’t made any in years. I’ve tried baking them with and without a boiling water bath first and I like them best after they’ve had a little “swim”. I didn’t realize warm water would work–I’d like to try it. I’m always learning new things reading your blog–love that!
I love the name of that cookbook! And I had never made them before so I don’t know if I am or was missing anything but I just couldnt bring myself to deal with a boiling kettle of water and stand there while it came up to a boil. So I said forget it – and just used hot tap water. Worked like a charm :)
My boy has a cinnamon raisin bagel every morning! He’ll LOVE these!
Bagels sound incredibly hard to make. Yours look totally perfect! Great job!!
I love bagels, these look divine! And I love that you added a full tablespoon of cinnamon, no skimping on that! :)
It the entire batch of dough, 3+ cups of bread flour, it honestly doesn’t even really make the bagels that cinnamon-ey! That dough can really take a lot. It’s quite the sponge!
oh my. i love bagels. i love cinnamon raisin bagels. and i need these bagels. no boil? genius. also, i love that you called san diego dry – i’m from there but don’t live there now – come to utah. then you’ll see dry ;)
I have people write to me from all over and sometimes the way they describe their dough, I can almost just tell they live in humidity and then I ask them where they live and they say Birmingham or Tampa :) I know there are places far drier than here like where you are!
Cinnamon Raisin Bagels are one of my favorites (the other being Blueberry) and I cannot get over that I can possibly make these! I am so happy but also very worried of the danger this can lead to.. bagels all the time!
Please LMK if you try them!
They are now in the oven…they smell soooo good!! I will let u know how they turn out! :)
Just tried them…A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I made them plain with some seeds on top and ate them with cream cheese and smoked salmon…sooo good!! :) Thank you for your wonderful recipes… I check your blog everyday to see what’s new and I’ve basicly been trying one of ur recipes everyday! Thanks to you now I have more confidence and know that I can make delicious food!!! :)
What an amazing comment and thing you’re doing – trying one of my recipes everyday! Thank you! I’d love to hear the other things you’ve been trying. Feel free to drop a comment in on the post with what you tried. I love hearing people’s experiences and so glad that you have more confidence in the kitchen.
And I can’t believe you already made these bagels (less than 12 hours after I posted them) and with success! Plain and with seeds. My husband would love them with lox and cream cheese. That would be his dream :) He would have loved your bagels!
I sent you an email with some pictures of what i’ve tried so far. Yeah my husbands love bagels as well, we have breakfast sorted for the next week :)
Sorry I meant “my husband loves”, I havent got several husbands lol :)
Ha! You’re right, it takes every ounce of self-control I have to chill my cookie dough for 2 hours. A 2-day recipe? No thank you! But THIS I could do. I’ll probably wait till fall–my bread-making tends to be seasonal. Cooler weather brings out my nesting instincts. Thank you for a do-able recipe!
Cooler weather definitely brings out my nesting instincts, too, and makes me want to bake. Ironically when I made these in San Diego it was about 62F and ‘chilly’ as the summertime goes! :)
Bagel for breakfast, my favorite way to start the day off! Never actually thought to bake my own bagels, this post gives me just enough confidence to give it a try! Beautiful pics.
Thanks, Daniela. I appreciate the compliments!
My favorite bagel has always been cinnamon raisin loaded with raisins. Yours look perfect! I made bagels once years ago, and I’m so ready to make them again. Your breads always inspire me to get in the kitchen and get it done!
Love to hear that! Keep me posted if you try these!
These look so plump and chewy and wonderful! I am doing the July challenge as well. Mine are proofing as we speak (cinnamon raisin too, of course. Is there any other flavor???). But I can already tell they are not going to be as perfect as yours!
Oh please – they will be lovely! I was actually going to wait and do these in a week or so but noticed it had a 7/21 cutoff which is Sunday and it was either now or never type of thing – I don’t post yeast recipes midweek usually b/c they take forever to write so put them up on the weekends when I have more time. Can’t wait to see your bagels!
They are gorgeous and I cannot believe you did not boil them! I mean, they look like you boiled them and anything cinnamon is always a winner around here. Thanks for reminding me about Lindsey challenge. I need to start making some bagels!
You have so many ‘harder’ bread recipes like firmer dinner rolls, seeded rolls, buns, etc. I seriously cannot keep track of them all – and I know you have bagel recipes! But these were my first. And the boiling thing – not necessary for me. They were PLENTY chewy with the classic bagel texture after a 1 minute sit in the warm tap water. I actually am so glad I didn’t boil them because for me, they would have been just too much. I hate jaw-ripping bread where you have to gnaw on it to eat it. lol
This is so cool that you mage bagels! It’s definitely on my culinary bucket list too, but I am slightly terrified. So glad yours turned out so beautifully! Cinnamon raisin is really the best flavour for bagels :)
I was terrified too and thought they’d be an inordinate amount of work – and yes, they are more work than a loaf of bread, but totally worth any little bit extra time needed. And this recipe is as streamlined & easy as I could make it!
Wow! These do seem much more simple than the PR version. I’ve made another version that was somewhat simple, but does require boiling. It’s been a long time.. maybe I’ll try this next!
Enjoy & LMK if you try them. They’re as easy as a yeast dough bagel recipe gets – I cut out what I thought were any unnecessary steps and my carb-addicted husband scarfed these like nobody’s business :)
I used to eat a cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast every day in high school too. I have been intimidated by the two-day recipes out there but yours seems easy and straightforward. Will have to try this soon!
Yes these are as easy as bagels get – none of that 2-day business!
Fresh bagels are the best. These look great!
I love this recipe Averie! Especially since it doesn’t require a specific bagel pan or anything. I used to be obsessed with blueberry bagels growing up… my brother and I would get into fights over the last one haha! Definitely on my list to try baking. :)
I really wanted to make blueberry bagels but it’s such a ‘specialty’ item & wanted to post something more universal, so to speak – but I love bb bagels!