Sesame Seed Bagels

Homemade Sesame Seed Bagels

Making homemade bagels from scratch is the bread project that pays off with every bite. Once you’ve had one still warm from your own oven, studded with sesame seeds and sporting that unmistakable chewy crust, the grocery-store kind loses its appeal. This sesame seed bagel recipe uses a classic yeast dough with a little egg and oil for richness, kept soft enough to shape but firm enough to hold its ring through the rise and bake.

The egg in this dough gives these bagels a slightly softer, Montreal-style texture rather than the dense chew of a classic New York bagel. Both are valid; the egg version is a little more forgiving for home bakers.

Forming the rings is the most satisfying part. Rolling each piece into a 12-inch rope, bringing the ends together with a generous overlap, and pinching firmly creates a seal that won’t come apart in the water bath. Skip the overlap and your bagels will snap back into hot dog shapes as they rise.

The recipe ends by saying “bake or fry," which is old-school shorthand for the traditional boil-then-bake method. Don’t skip the boil; that’s what makes a bagel a bagel and not a roll with a hole.

Pro Tips

• Boil each formed bagel for 60 to 90 seconds per side in water with a tablespoon of barley malt syrup or honey before baking; the sugar gives the crust its signature shine and deepens the color.
• Proof the shaped bagels for 20 minutes before boiling for an airier crumb; unproofed rings bake up dense.
• Brush the boiled bagels with an egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) before sprinkling with sesame seeds so they stick.
• Bake at 425°F (220°C) on parchment paper for 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden brown.

Variations

• Swap sesame seeds for everything bagel seasoning (poppy, sesame, dried garlic, onion, salt).
• Add 1 cup of raisins to the dough along with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon for cinnamon-raisin bagels.
• Replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for a nuttier, more rustic bagel.