These are the best cinnamon raisin bagels you will ever make at home!
Bagels can be very fun to prepare at home. In fact, they’re actually quite easy if you follow a few simple steps. But at one time I most definitely did not know what I was doing, and that’s why on more than one occasion I prepared what I lovingly referred to as “bagel dunkers.” U-shaped oddities that couldn’t really be sliced in half so my best option was to just dunk them into things.
There’s nothing quite as pathetic looking as an unraveled bagel. The good news is that this is pretty easy to avoid. When you roll out the dough and shape it into a bagel, you really need to pinch the ends together firmly.
Pinch it like you’re mad at it. Teach that dough a lesson. Squeeze it around until there’s very little sign of a seal. If you don’t firmly seal the ends together the bagels may come undone while you’re boiling them. You’ll wind up with bagel dunkers (which are still delicious).
You don’t want to let that happen with these perfect cinnamon raisin bagels. They are chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside and better than anything you’ll buy at the supermarket. I promise.
Homemade Bread Flour
This recipe calls for bread flour. Learn how to make your own bread flour from all-purpose flour using my tutorial!
Baking With Yeast
This recipe uses active dry yeast. Yeast is an ingredient many novice bakers fear, and I’d like to change that! So what is yeast, and how does it work? Can you substitute one variety for another? Check out my article What is Yeast to learn more!
The Best Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 13 ounces bread flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
- 2/3 cup seedless raisins
Instructions
- Whisk/sift together the flour, salt and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the Red Star Yeast, water and 2 tablespoons sugar. Allow it to proof for 5 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer. Mix on low speed for 5 minutes and then turn the speed up to medium and allow it to mix for an additional minute.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gradually kneed in the raisins by hand, a few at a time. Use your fingers to separate any clumps and disperse them evenly.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow the dough to double in size, approximately 1 hour. Remove the dough and punch it down.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet. Using a kitchen scale, measure out 3 ounce balls. Roll each ball into a 5-inch log. Join the ends and very firmly pinch them together. There will be approximately 1 additional ounce that can be rolled into a bite sized "chef's" bagel. Once all of the bagels are rolled out, cover and let them rest for an additional 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bring a large pot of water to a boil with the remaining sugar. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- In batches, boil the bagels for 30 seconds per side.
- Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them on the prepared sheet tray. Bake for 12 minutes, flip, and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Cinnamon Vogue says
Teach that dough a lesson.You are funny Jennifer. This is a Bagel that is definitely better than anything you find in the supermarket and so healthy to boot. Of course Cinnamon makes it so. Just under two hours to make is perfect.
Heather says
Made these today and they turned out perfectly! I made mine 2.7 oz each, just because I liked that size (and it gave me one to eat and still have 8!) will definitely make again!
Elle says
Amazing recipe, great for vegans like myself, who want to make homemade bagels and have been looking for a recipe. Super easy, very well written and very easy to follow along. Thank you!
Jennifer Farley says
This makes my heart happy to read :)
Elle says
I’m glad! Have a really great thanksgiving weekend, Jennifer!! :)
Dani says
I’ve made a number of bagels recipes and this one is by far the best for cinnamon raisin, boiling in sugar makes such a huge difference. Had to make adjustments to the flour due to altitude but I do that with any recipe. Perfect amount of cinnamon and raisins. I also used the base recipe to make blueberry bagels and they turned out wonderful as well. (Add frozen blueberries in place of raisins and omit the cinnamon) thank you!
For the person that commented about goofy shaped bagels or the hole too small, make sure to use enough flour to make a slightly stuff dough, when you poke your finger into it should still flex back but not stick. I found when I didn’t have enough flour they are harder to shape and shrink quickly. the rope you roll out is definitely bigger than 5″ more like 5″ across your finished circle, I’d roll them out almost double that and then use water on the tips for the last inch and squeeze those two ends together.
Ceylon Spice Kingdom says
What do you think using bee honey instead of sugar in this recipe? It is healthier than sugar and I think will make these smell and taste better. Just a thought.
Kathryn Fries says
We moved to HK from NY 3 years ago and one of the things we truly miss are the bagels. I just made these this morning and they are so delicious, not to mention easy to make! Thank you for this recipe!
Lawson says
It is my favorite. Gorgeous recipe!
Anuja says
Is it ok to use all purpose flour..
Jennifer Farley says
Sure, the bagels will just be a bit less chewy.
Paul Viviano says
Wow!!just finished making these, amazing texture and taste. Easy recipe to follow.
Thanks for sharing.
Ethel mathey says
Shouldn’t the water be warm to make yeast respond ?
oduala says
I am not sure if we are all talking about the same recipe. I just tried this recipe, THE BEST CINNAMON RAISIN BAGELS by Jennifer Farley. For a beginner like myself, the recipe was awful! I tried to follow the directions to a T but realized after step #3 that something was missing. The flour mixture was too wet. I had to add more flour and I did it not knowing how much more. So not sure how these bagels will come out. If I were the author I would update the recipe and those who have made it and spoken of how good it is, I am sure that you did not follow this recipe.
Jennifer Farley says
I should definitely update the recipe. Clearly everyone else followed a different recipe and a beginner couldn’t possibly have made a mistake.
Lauren says
Do you have any tips for making the dough the night before and baking in the morning? Thanks!