These sweet potato bagels are a wonderful homemade fall treat! Try serving them with apple or pumpkin butter along with a bit of cream cheese. So good.
I love bagels. When I was little my mother would make me “special bagels” which meant she would top them with a very generous amount of cream cheese and then place them under the broiler. The cream cheese would soften and develop a caramelized layer on top, which she would cover with strawberry jam.
Total decadence. I still crave special bagels for breakfast sometimes, especially when I’m feeling under the weather. They’re comfort food.
What I don’t really love about standard bagels are their size. Am I alone here? They’re just too big for me. The great thing about making bagels from scratch is that you can control how big they are.
I knew I wanted to start by making homemade sweet potato bagels, and that I wanted to create smaller portions. Not mini-bagels (because seriously, those are tiny), but smaller bagels. Something that I could enjoy without feeling weighed down.
These are not difficult to make, I promise. The only important note I would make about this recipe is that when you roll out the dough and shape it into a bagel, you really want to pinch the ends together firmly.
Squeeze it around a bunch until there’s very little sign of a seal. If you don’t firmly seal the ends together, the bagel might come undone while you’re boiling it.
But aside from that, have fun! You will love these bagels. I can’t think of a better breakfast for Thanksgiving morning. I might even use my mother’s trick and make special bagels.
You can use store bought pumpkin pie spice, or you can make your own (you probably already have the spices in your cabinet. My pumpkin pie spice is from Penzeys. If you want to make your own spice mix, try this combo (which will yield more than this recipe requires):
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
Once you’ve mastered these, be sure to try my homemade cinnamon raisin bagels!
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!
Sweet Potato Bagels
Ingredients
- 14 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (see notes)
Instructions
- Whisk/sift together flour, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the water, yeast and 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar until bubbly. Allow it to proof for 5 minutes.
- Add the sweet potato puree and mix it into the liquid using a dough hook and then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed for 5 minutes and then turn the speed up to medium and allow it to mix for an additional minute.
- 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 2 ounce balls (these will make small bagels compared to what you would buy in a store. For a more traditionally sized bagel, aim for 3.5 ounces). Roll each ball into a 5-inch log. Join the ends and firmly pinch them together. Once all of the bagels are rolled out, 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 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- In batches, boil the bagels for around 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.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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My husband and I just started making our own bagels. We have not experimented with different flavors yet but this recipe is making me want to. I love everything sweet potato!
I have always been too scared to try making my own bagels, but your instructions make is sound kind of do-able! Thanks!
Jen,
Bagels are a special treat for me. My son is getting his braces off soon, and a nice everything bagel with the works is his pick for the first braces-free meal.
These bagels look wonderful, and such a great idea to shrink them a bit!
this looks so yummy! would love to try making it for breakfast
Bagels are my favorite good! I never thought about sweet potato bagels but now I can’t stop thinking about them. I bet they would be amazing with goat cream cheese. I am pinning now!!
*food not good!