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 :)
Allie | Baking a Moment says
I had no idea it was so easy to make bagels! I will definitely have to give this a try, since my hubby’s a huge bagel snob. Only bagels from the Jewish deli for him, and we don’t live near one anymore. My kids would probably enjoy making them with me, too ;)
Happy Valley Chow says
Those bagels look absolutely perfect! Fantastic recipe :)
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Cinnamon raisin bagels are my favorite, these are gorgeous!
Nik@ABrownTable says
These look amazing but I’m biased because cinnamon raisin bagels are my favorite!!! I love the photographs too :)
ThisBakerGirlBlogs says
These look delicious! And tons better than the supermarket variety I’m always stocking up on. A trade I shall happily make! :)
Uzma says
Dear Jennifer,
How long do they last in the fridge?
Kathryn says
I do love a good bagel and these look like they’re very good bagels indeed!
Lily @ Life, Love, and Cupcakes says
I usually roll the dough into a ball, then poke a hole through the middle…never comes apart that way! I still need to work on the shape though..my last ones ended up a bit flatter than I would have liked!
Jennifer Farley says
Brilliant!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
These might be the most gorgeous homemade bagels I ever did see. Also, love the story of the “bagel dunkers,” ha! Been there, done that. ;)
Liz@Virtually Homemade says
I LOVE bagels. As a native New Yorker I basically lived on them til the age of 22. Now I try to avoid gluten so I muss them. These look so beautiful and amazing and cinnamon raisin is my husbands favorite.
ashley - baker by nature says
Duuuuuude! I love these bagels! And thanks for the bread love <3 xoxo
Mary Frances says
I recently made homemade bagels for the first time and I was hooked! I couldn’t believe how simple they are. Cinnamon is the best and we’ve got several raisin fanatics in our family. These look great!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
haha “teach that dough a lesson”
I haven’t had cinnamon raisin bagels in so long and now I am totally craving one!
Laura Dembowski says
I haven’t had a bagel in forever. I definitely need to try making these!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven says
Wow, those look perfect!! I love a good cinnamon raisin bagel. :)