This easy homemade bagel recipe is made from scratch with just five (5) ingredients – flour, Greek yogurt, egg white, baking powder and salt! No yeast, no boiling, no fancy mixer. Bake them in the oven or in the air-fryer!
Easy Bagel Recipe
I’m totally obsessed with these bagels!! I’ve been busy testing them out all weekend in my oven and air fryer, with different types of flours after finding out about these Greek yogurt bagels which are all the rave in the Weight Watcher community (Only 3 Smart Points!). They are high in protein thanks to the yogurt, and taste so good, warm right out of the oven.
We had it with a little butter but cream cheese would be great too! The original recipe uses self rising flour, but I prefer to make my own since I never have it on hand (it’s easy, just add salt and baking powder!). I also skipped boiling them and they were still great and expanded quite a bit.
My husband Tommy considers himself a bagel connoisseur, he’s the pickiest bagel person I know and travels to every bagel shop around NYC just to find the perfect bagel, so I wasn’t sure if he would love them, but he LOVED them and was happy to help me test them out. They are a tad soft in the center, but we both agreed we liked them like that. If you don’t leave them in the oven longer.
I tested them out with wheat and gluten-free flour, and they both worked although the gluten-free version took longer to bake and didn’t rise as much as the wheat version. They came out just is good in the air fryer as they did in the oven, only the air-fryer (I have the Nuwave Brio, affiliate link) was much quicker.
Tips for perfect bagels:
- Use a silpat or parchment paper sprayed with oil to prevent them from sticking to the baking sheet. To hold the parchment to the baking sheet, spray a little oil on the corners.
- The bagels expand when they bake so you’ll want to make sure they have plenty of room so they don’t stick together.
- Greek yogurt instead of plain is a must, if there’s any liquid in the yogurt be sure to drain it. I tested with Fage and Stonyfield Greek, both worked great.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe to make more. You can also half or quarter it to make less.
- To make them with self rising flour omit the salt and baking powder.
Tips for gluten-free bagels:
I tested the gluten free bagels a few times and here’s what worked:
- I used Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free 1 to 1 flour
- I increased the baking powder to 2 teaspoons
- I whipped one egg white and added that with the yogurt
- Once I formed the bagels I dipped my finger in water and smoothed it out.
- I increased the oven to 400F and let them bake 20 minutes, then I let them cool before cutting open.
Tips for storing and freezing bagels:
- You can wrap in plastic and reheat the next day without refrigerating, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- To freeze, slice open and wrap individually with foil or plastic wrap. To reheat pop them back into the oven, toaster or air fryer until warm.
Easy Bagel Recipe
This easy homemade bagel recipe is made from scratch with just four (5) ingredients – flour, Greek yogurt, egg white, baking powder and salt! No yeast, no boiling, no fancy mixer. Bake them in the oven or in the air-fryer!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour, whole wheat or gluten-free mix*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 egg white, beaten
- (optional toppings: everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes)**
Directions:
Oven Method:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Place parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the yogurt and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.
- Lightly dust flour on a work surface and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few times until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 20 turns (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
- Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels.
- Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice. Bake for 22 minutes in 350F degree oven then increase to 550F degrees for 4 minutes.
Air Fryer Method:
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the yogurt and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.
- Lightly dust flour on a work surface and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few times until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 20 turns (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
- Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels.
- Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice.
- Preheat the air fryer 325F degrees and set for 11 to 12 minutes. Transfer in batches without overcrowding and bake 11 to 12 minutes, or until golden. No need to turn.
*To make them gluten-free I tested them with Bob’s Redmill 1 to 1 Gluten Free flour mix and increased the bake time by 7 minutes. The points are 4 SP each with this flour.
**Toppings may add calories and points.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4 Servings, Serving Size: 1 bagel
- Amount Per Serving:
- Smart Points: 3
- Points +: 4
- Calories: 152
- Total Fat: 0.3g
- Saturated Fat: g
- Cholesterol: mg
- Sodium: 434mg
- Carbohydrates: 26.5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 2.5g
- Protein: 10g