Easy Frugal Vegan Homemade Bagels Recipe

I'll be honest, while I've known how to make homemade bread pretty much since forever, most of the time my kids would prefer store bought bread to homemade, and even if they'll eat homemade bread, they don't want it when its no longer fresh, unless its made into french toast.

Recently, though, I made bagels, and the kids loved them so much, even when they weren't fresh, and got upset at me for not making enough. They asked me to keep them in stock in the house for sandwiches. Previous times when I'd made bagels, they were difficult to make, had lots of different ingredients that I didn't always have on hand, but this new recipe I made them with, based off of this one, is made with ingredients any cook should/would have in the house, and they come out terrific.

Because I am gluten free, I can't tell you what these taste like, or how they compare to other bagels, other than giving the solid glowing reviews from my kids. I can tell though that they're fluffy, easy to cut, have the outside that is just the tiniest amount tough to give it that chewiness that bagels need.

Hopefully you'll love these as much as my kids.

I know these will be a staple in mine.

This recipe makes 16 normal sized bagels, or 32 mini bagels. If that's too much for your family, feel free to cut the recipe in half.

I made gluten free bagels as well, but that recipe still needs tweaking before I post it.

By the way, when I say easy, I don't mean its a recipe that takes five seconds to make. There are quite a few steps or it wouldn't be bagels (bagels need boiling then baking), but no special equipment needed, or special ingredients. The only thing not easy about making this is the steps.

Easy Frugal Vegan Homemade Bagels Recipe

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water, plus more as needed
7-8 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon salt
3 liters water
1 tablespoon molasses or other dark sweetener, such as jaggery syrup, agave nectar, date syrup, or maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
Toppings (optional)
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Garlic powder
Onion flakes
Coarse salt

Instructions:
1. Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water together. Let proof.

2. Once you see the bubbles in the yeasty water, add the flour, 1 yeaspoon salt, and up to one more cup warm water. Mix well until you have a good dough. If its too dry, add more water. If it's too wet, add more flour.

3. Once fully mixed, knead for about five minutes, then let rise until doubled.

4. Divide your dough into 16 equal pieces, or 32 if you're making mini bagels. I first divide into two, and then each piece into two, and so on and so forth.

5. Shape each into a ball, then poke a hole with your fingers into the middle and pull out so you have rings, and let rise for 20 minutes.

6. Bring 3 liters of water along with the syrup and salt.

7. When the water is at a rolling boil, drop in a few bagels at a time, making sure you leave enough room for the bagels to double in size while in the water. Set a timer for 1.5 minutes, then flip over in the water, and boil for 1.5 more minutes.

8. Remove from the pot, straining well (don't let there be lots of liquid on your baking sheet or it'll cause an issue later) and place on a lined baking paper.

9. When you've boiled all that will fit on one baking sheet, top with whatever toppings you want, or leave out. No need for an egg wash, this will stick to the wet bagel even without.

10. Bake at 425 until golden brown, shifting your trays in the oven as needed so that both layers get a consistent amount of heat at the top and the bottom.

11. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before eating.

Enjoy!

Have you ever made bagels before? What was in them? Does this look like a recipe you'd try, or does it look/sound too complicated? Are you a bagel fan? What is your favorite type?