Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels
Bagels are a staple in the breakfast world but where I live, there are no fresh bagels to be seen. Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t crave that crusty yet so perfectly fluffy bread in the mornings slathered with cream cheese. It just means that since I don’t have the option of running to a local bakery (that doesn’t exist), I have to whip them up at home. So, I’m here to show you how to make this Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels so that you don’t feel left out either!
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I want to talk about this lack of options for a second. It’s called a food desert. (Or at least that’s what my brother calls it. He lives in Denver, Colorado, and has fresh food from every cuisine you can think of at his fingertips. And yes, I am jealous!) I, on the other hand, live in this “food desert”. And yes, this is an actual thing.
The first time I heard this phrase was from my brother as he was going to the local bakery to grab fresh bread for their home for the week. I expressed my disappointment that I didn’t even have that option. And I know that you might be wondering why in the world I’m talking about this. Well, it’s the reason that I don’t have an option for fresh baked bagels. (HA) As well as many other things. And so, I think it’s worth a little bit of a chat.
Check out this informative article about Food Deserts!
I live 20 minutes from town in either direction and even when I get there, there is NO FRESH BAKERY. We do have Wal-Mart and a grocery store, but there are no Panera’s or specialty bread shops. We don’t even have a coffee shop. (UUUGGGHHH!!!!!) So the struggle is real.
If we want to go out for a nice meal like seafood, steak, pasta, etc… we have to drive 45 minutes to an hour to the next town for that. Now, I love where I live… don’t get me wrong. But I wouldn’t mind a few people opening up some specialty shops where we could go and get fresh, local items crafted with care. And who knows… I might be headed in that direction to offer that very thing to my community.
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That’s where this bagel recipe comes in. If I’m going to live in this “food desert” happily, then I know that I’m going to have to incorporate an easy bread recipe (or 2) into my cooking and make my own bread (FRESH). As a matter of fact, I’ve been focusing on homemade bread for the entire month of March for this reason.
It is my earnest desire to not only learn how to make great bread at home, but to also bring that skill to others in a format that they can understand and confidently follow. And in my attempts to bake all of my favorites like: Yeast breads (rolls), sourdough, pretzels, etc… I couldn’t NOT include bagels.
They are simply delicious!
I love the fact that you can flavor them any way that your little heart desires. If you want a savory breakfast, just add spices, meats, cheeses, etc… and if you lean more towards a sweeter breakfast, that’s easy to accommodate as well. The dough lends itself to both sweet and savory flavors.
And another IMPORTANT aspect of this great recipe, and my favorite thing, is that it doesn’t take much time to make. I think that the idea of homemade bread can be daunting to a lot of people because of the time aspect. We ultimately believe that it takes ages to produce beautiful loaves of bread and that we are neither capable of doing it correctly nor having the time/patience to try. (And I’m in no way pretending that we don’t live in a crazy, fast paced world.)
But in this past month, I have discovered something about breadmaking. Not only do I have a great time trying, but it’s therapeutic in a way. There’s something about kneading dough. Maybe I’m getting out my frustrations or maybe I’m singularly focused on something and very present in the moment because I can feel it between my fingers.
And then there is the anticipation of the bread rise.
Will I return to see that this “thing” I poured my love and time into actually grew while I was away?? It’s kinda exciting and fulfilling. And yes, there is a little bit of instant gratification involved. (And that’s not a bad thing every now and then)
(I love sharing with my neighbors)
Now, back to the time issue. Is this really a fast bread recipe? Well, let’s take a look. Putting the ingredients together takes a couple of minutes. Then the kneading only takes 4-5 minutes depending on whether or not you use a stand mixer or your hands. Rise time can be as quick as you would like depending on the warmth of the place you decide to let it rest. (And there is no second rise needed!) Then, boiling and baking only takes about 25 minutes combined. So you can certainly have fresh bagels on the table for breakfast in an hour! (And that’s pretty impressive)
Tips for the Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels:
- If you want this to really be a one-hour recipe, then be sure to place your dough in a warm place to rise. Here are some ideas to help you out:
- Heat the oven on the lowest temperature for a few minutes and then turn the oven off. Place the bowl of dough in the warm oven. (It can’t be so warm that it would cook the dough) Sometimes just placing the dough into the oven with the oven light on is enough warmth to get the rise quickly.
- I also like to turn on the dryer and get it warm and then turn it off and place my bowl of dough inside and close the door.
Make the Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels with me on YouTube!
Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of flour (I use all-purpose flour but you can substitute bread flour)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water (120 degrees F.)
Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels Instructions:
- First, in a big bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. (I use the bowl of a stand mixer)
- Second, add the warm water and mix until a dough forms.
- Third, knead the bread dough by hand for 4 minutes or on low speed of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 2 minutes or until the consistency of the dough becomes smooth. (Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed)
- Then, cover the dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, set it in a warm place, (or at least room temperature) and let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes or until it’s doubled in size. (I prefer a warmer place so that the dough rises more quickly so that I can keep this recipe within the 1-hour time frame. If the room is cold, it will take at least an hour to rise if not more.)
- After the dough has risen, place it onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a minute.
- Next, divide dough and cut into 8 equal-sized portions. (Each portion will be about 57 grams)
- Roll the pieces of dough in your hands forming them into smooth balls and then push down with your thumb to make a hole in the center and shape like a bagel.
- Let the bagels rest on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes while you put a pot of water on to boil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Once the water has come to a boil, add the bagels and let them cook for 1 minute on each side.
- After boiling each bagel, return them to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and top them with whatever you would like. Here are the flavors I decided to do:
- Jalapeno Cheddar – Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices on top of the dough.
- Everything but Bagel – Sprinkle everything but bagel seasoning generously on top of each bagel.
- Brown sugar, cinnamon, raisin – Push the raisins into the top of the dough slightly and then mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the bagel.
- Honey Butter – Brush the top of the bagels with a mixture of melted butter and honey.
- Bake the bagels at 425 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Finally, serve with warm with butter or cream cheese!
Storage for the Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels:
- Store leftover bagels at room temperature in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 days.
- Bagels can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- It is not recommended that you refrigerate bagels because it makes them go stale quicker.
What are the Macros for the Best One-Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels
Makes 8 servings (Nutritional information below is for 1 serving = 1 plain bagel)
- Calories – 116.8
- Protein – 3.5 grams
- Carbs – 23.5 grams (net)
- Fat – .5 grams
Check out some of my other bread recipes!
Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels – Garlic Parmesan
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Best One Hour Bread Recipe – Easy Mini Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of flour I use all-purpose flour but you can substitute bread flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water 120 degrees F.
Instructions
- First, in a big bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. (I use the bowl of a stand mixer)
- Second, add the warm water and mix until a dough forms.
- Third, knead the bread dough by hand for 4 minutes or on low speed of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 2 minutes or until the consistency of the dough becomes smooth. (Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed)
- Then, cover the dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, set it in a warm place, (or at least room temperature) and let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes or until it’s doubled in size. (I prefer a warmer place so that the dough rises more quickly so that I can keep this recipe within the 1-hour time frame. If the room is cold, it will take at least an hour to rise if not more.)
- After the dough has risen, place it onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a minute.
- Next, divide dough and cut into 8 equal-sized portions. (Each portion will be about 57 grams)
- Roll the pieces of dough in your hands forming them into smooth balls and then push down with your thumb to make a hole in the center and shape like a bagel.
- Let the bagels rest on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes while you put a pot of water on to boil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Once the water has come to a boil, add the bagels and let them cook for 1 minute on each side.
- After boiling each bagel, return them to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and top them with whatever you would like. Here are the flavors I decided to do:
- Jalapeno Cheddar – Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices on top of the dough.
- Everything but Bagel – Sprinkle everything but bagel seasoning generously on top of each bagel.
- Brown sugar, cinnamon, raisin – Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the dough followed by raisins pushed into the top of the dough slightly.
- Honey Butter – Brush the top of the bagels with a mixture of melted butter and honey.
- Bake the bagels at 425 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Finally, serve while warm with butter or cream cheese!
