Vegan Bagel Recipe (soft & crispy) (2024)

FAQs

What makes bagels crispy? ›

Moisture: Wetter dough means crispier bagels.

Contrary to what you'd expect, the higher the water content in your dough, the crispier your bagel. In the end, it's a matter of preference, so don't be afraid to tweak to your liking.

Swapping in ½ cup of whole-wheat flour for ½ cup of the bread flour will make the bagels slightly less chewy but will also give them a boost of flavor.

There's nothing quite like the dense, toothy texture of bagels. In their most basic form, bagels are vegan, made from just flour, water, yeast, and salt. But other non-vegan ingredients—including dairy, honey, and eggs, along with less easily identifiable animal products—commonly appear in commercially produced bagels.

If you want a thinner crust and airier texture in your bagels, shorten the boiling time slightly (around 45 seconds, instead of the 60 seconds called for in the recipe). The shorter boil means the crust has less opportunity to preset, which allows more rising, and thus a “fluffier” bagel.

If your dough is too wet, it'll create large holes in the crumb of the dough and your bagels will be more like French bread, with a fluffy interior (see top photo). When too much flour is kneaded in, bagels become dense, hard and tough, instead of crisp and chewy.

Tough and Matte

The loss of air and super-long fermentation can also make bagels seem tough rather than chewy, so be careful when pushing the upper limits of the proof time.

Bread flour – Because of its high protein content, bread flour makes these homemade bagels delightfully chewy. This recipe also works with all-purpose flour, they're just a bit less chewy than bagels made with bread flour. Maple syrup – It activates the yeast and gives the bagels a hint of sweetness.

Your bagel is made of starches, and letting it sit out means it is losing water to evaporation, which causes them to tighten up, and your bagel to get hard. However, saving your bagel is only a matter of reversing this process, aka using an oven.

Q: Are your products vegan? A: All DKB bread products are considered vegan and do not contain any animal products, however, our limited edition DKB Snack Bars (Trail Mix Crumble and Oat-Rageous Honey Almond™) are NOT considered vegan as they contain organic honey. Q: Do you make a gluten-free bread?

Trader Joe's is known for its innovative and affordable food options, and their vegan bagels are no exception. From classic flavors like Plain and Everything to their seasonal Pumpkin variety, Trader Joe's has something for every palate.

Why do you put baking soda in bagels? ›

Baking soda makes the water more alkaline, giving the bagels a pretzel-like quality that contributes to their chewiness. Just one teaspoon helps the bagels develop a shiny, dark-brown exterior as they bake.

Bagels are boiled in water usually 30 to 60 seconds before hitting the oven. This boiling causes the starch on the exterior of the bread to gel and create a barrier from the interior dough.

A New York–style bagel is always boiled in water that has had barley malt added, which gives a bagel its signature taste, texture, and leathery skin.

In order for the bagels to develop that well-browned exterior and slightly dense chewy texture, they must be boiled briefly before baking. This works because the boiling water sets the exterior crust before it hits the oven, preventing the bagels from rising very much, while further developing that browned exterior.

Bread flour – Because of its high protein content, bread flour makes these homemade bagels delightfully chewy. This recipe also works with all-purpose flour, they're just a bit less chewy than bagels made with bread flour. Maple syrup – It activates the yeast and gives the bagels a hint of sweetness.

Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.