I’m partnering with Red Star Yeast® to bring you today’s recipe! I’m the biggest fan of their products. They’re the only yeast products I use in my baking!
One Saturday during my senior year of college, after returning from a long run and showering, I headed into the kitchen to pour myself a bowl of cereal. I reached into the refrigerator first to grab the milk… And laughed when I remembered I had finished off the carton the morning before!
I slipped into sandals and walked to the grocery store directly across the street from my apartment complex. (So convenient!) To get to the dairy section, I passed through the bakery, and I paused when I saw the baskets of freshly baked bagels. They looked really tempting!
A few minutes later, I left the grocery store with milk in one hand and a brown paper bag holding a multigrain bagel in the other. Back at home, I slid the milk into the refrigerator and settled into my favorite spot on the sofa with my bagel.
In my excitement, I had completely forgotten to consider buying cream cheese, so I tore off pieces from the bagel to eat plain instead. Soft chewy dough inside, a hint of a crust on the outside… I slowly savored every bite, and for a while, that became my new Saturday morning routine!
I’ve tried making my own bagels from scratch a few times since then, but none of them came close to tasting like those freshly baked bagels… Until I baked these Healthy Mini Whole Wheat Bagels! They have that same iconic bagel texture—soft and chewy insides, thin crust on the outside—and they’re just 49 calories!
Which means I’ve been known to eat a second… Or third… 😉
Nerd alert! I’m sharing all of my tips and tricks on how to make these healthy bagels! It looks like a LOT of information, but that’s just because I want to make sure you end up with the best whole wheat bagels in your kitchen too!
So let’s dive in! You just need 6 ingredients + water for this healthy bagel recipe. How simple is that? I bet you have most of those ingredients in your pantry already!
You’ll start by mixing together warm water, a teeny bit of olive oil, a small amount of pure maple syrup (like this!), and a dash of salt. Once the salt and syrup are fully dissolved, you’ll sprinkle instant yeast on top. I always use Red Star Yeast products! My favorite is their Quick Rise Yeast (this one!) because it performs so much better than any other brand I’ve tried, and my bagels (and bread and cinnamon rolls!) always turn out with the perfect texture every time.
Once the yeast looks fluffy, then you’ll stir in whole wheat flour and a hint of cinnamon. In my kitchen, I’ve found that this whole wheat flour works much better than other brands! When paired with Red Star yeast, all of my baked goods rise to double their original size. It’s like magic!
As for the cinnamon, it just adds a subtle warmth and fullness to the bagels’ flavor. I use that trick in my ultimate healthy whole wheat rolls too! This is my favorite cinnamon because it tastes really rich.
Now comes the first key step! You’re going to knead the dough until it’s stretchy and tacky. Unlike my cinnamon roll recipes, I actually recommend doing this with a machine, rather than by hand. It’s easy to over-knead cinnamon rolls and end up with dense treats, but extra kneading is actually the key to getting that perfectly chewy bagel texture!
I used my food processor and its dough blade attachment. My stand mixer is still in a box somewhere from when I moved… Oops! But a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer with a dough hook should work fine as well.
You’ll use your machine to knead for 4 minutes. At that time, turn it off and touch the dough. Is it sticky and still look a little wet? Add a bit more flour, and turn your machine back on for another minute. Check again—sticky or tacky?
It sounds strange reading that… But when you see and touch your dough, you’ll notice there’s a difference! Sticky = the dough is still wet and needs more flour. Tacky = the dough is taught, looks like there are super thin strands running through it (that’s the gluten and a good sign!), and barely clings to your fingers when you touch it. Tacky is the texture we’re aiming for!
Then shape your dough into a ball, roll it around in a lightly greased bowl, and put that in a warm place to rise until it’s about double in size. See how much it rose from the picture above to the picture below?
Time to shape your bagels! But first, another key step… Cut three sheets of foil about 4” to 5” wide, generously coat them with oil, and place them on a large baking sheet. You’re going to put your shaped bagels onto these foil sheets to let the bagels rise again.
The generous amount of oil prevents them from sticking when it’s time for the next step! If you forgot to oil the foil, then you’d have to tug to get the bagels off… And that tugging would cause them to deflate and turn out flat. Not good!
To form your mini whole wheat bagels, cut the dough into 3 segments. Working with 1 segment at a time, cut that segment into half, and cut both of those into 3 pieces. You should end up with 6 pieces of dough from each of those 3 original segments!
Roll each small piece into a ball, and tightly pinch the center with your thumb and forefinger to create a hole. Gently widen the hole until it’s between ½” and 1” wide. There’s your first mini bagel! Put it on the prepared foil, and continue with the remaining dough.
Time to let those healthy bagels rise! See how they puffed up from the picture on the left to the picture on the right?
One last key step! To get that classic bagel crust, you briefly boil the bagels before baking. Just 1 minute per side! Once the bagels have been boiled, they won’t rise or change their shape at all… So be very careful and gentle when peeling them off of the foil and putting them into the water!
You’ll also leave these in the oven a bit longer than most miniature baked goods. That’s because we want to get that nice crust on the outside! So set a timer, wait as patiently as possible, and…
Enjoy your well-deserved healthy bagels! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your bagels!
| Healthy Mini Whole Wheat Bagels | | Print |
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm water (about 100-110°F)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 (¼ oz) package Red Star Quick Rise Yeast
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 – 2 ½ cups (240-300g) whole wheat flour, divided (see Notes!)
- Stir together the warm water, olive oil, maple syrup, and salt in a medium bowl until the salt and maple syrup have dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes or until the yeast has turned frothy. Whisk the cinnamon into 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and stir that into the yeast mixture. Continue to stir in the whole wheat flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. (It took me 1 ¾ cups!)
- Transfer the dough to a food processor fitted with a dough attachment. Turn the food processor on to the dough setting, and let it knead the dough for 4 minutes. Add another ¼ cup of flour, and turn on the food processor for 1 more minute. Touch the dough. If it seems sticky, rather than tacky, add another 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Turn the food processor on for 1 more minute. Repeat until the dough feels tacky. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer fitted with a dough hook. It may take a bit more time to knead!)
- Lightly rub a large bowl with olive oil. Lightly rub your hands with olive oil. Peel the dough out of the food processor, shape it into a ball, and roll the ball around in the prepared bowl. Lay a clean dry towel on top, and place the bowl in a warm draft-free spot to rise for 45-60 minutes or until about double in size.
- Cut 3 rectangles of foil about 4” to 5” wide (see photos in the blog post above!), and generously rub with olive oil. Place the foil onto a large baking sheet.
- Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down to deflate. Cut the dough into 3 segments with a sharp knife. Working with 1 segment at a time, cut into 6 small pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll it into a small ball. Tightly pinch the center with your thumb and forefinger to create a hole. Gently widen the hole until it’s between ½” and 1” wide. Put it on the prepared foil, and continue with the remaining dough.
- Lay the clean dry towel over the top of the shaped bagels, and place the baking sheet in a warm draft-free spot to rise for 20 minutes or until about double in size.
- Fill a 2-quart pot a little less than halfway with water. Bring the water to a boil. (A larger pot is fine too! It just takes more time to bring the water to a boil.) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet.
- Working with one foil sheet at a time, carefully and very gently peel the risen bagels off, and place them top-side down in the boiling water. Boil for 1 minute. Carefully flip using a slotted spatula. Boil for 1 minute on the second side. Carefully transfer to the wire rack using the slotted spatula. Repeat with the remaining foil sheets and risen bagels.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Transfer the boiled bagels from the wire rack to the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 16-20 minutes (16 minutes for not so crisp of an outside crust, or 20 minutes for a nice crust!). Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a dry wire rack to cool completely.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
For the whole wheat flour, I highly recommend this kind. In my kitchen, is has performed the best out of any brand I’ve tried, and it ensures your mini bagels fully double in size while rising in Step 6. (Other brands of whole wheat flour, as well as white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour, haven’t risen nearly as high for me!)
I haven’t had good luck with gluten-free flours in this recipe. The bagels just don’t rise and hold their shape properly due to the lack of gluten.
This is the food processor that I use! When kneading the dough in that (or your mixer), check the texture. Sticky = the dough is still wet and needs more flour. Tacky = the dough is taught, looks like there are super thin strands running through it (that’s the gluten and a good sign!), and barely clings to your fingers when you touch it. Tacky is what you want!
The generous amount of oil on the foil sheets prevents them from sticking when it’s time for the next step! If you forgot to oil the foil, then you’d have to tug to get the bagels off… And that tugging would cause them to deflate and turn out flat. Once the bagels have been boiled, they won’t rise or change their shape at all… So be very careful and gentle when peeling them off of the foil and putting them into the water!
To get that classic bagel crust, you briefly boil the bagels before baking. If you skipped the boiling step, your bagels would turn out more like regular bread rolls—just in a bagel shape!
For more tips and step-by-step photos, see my blog post above!
{clean eating, vegan, low fat, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
This post was sponsored by Red Star Yeast®. As always, all text, photos, recipe, and opinions are my own.
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Whole Wheat Rolls
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Everything Bagel Quinoa Crackers
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Cinnamon Rolls
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Monkey Bread
♡ Healthy Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
can it be substituted for a sweetener like allulose? or should it be liquid yes or yes?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Rocío! I’m so sorry I’m just now getting back to you; I had to take a lot more time off than I anticipated to take care of some family things.
Allulose should work! Since it’s not as sweet as pure maple syrup, I’d recommend using 3 teaspoons instead. Because that’s such a small amount, you shouldn’t need to make any major modifications to this recipe. 🙂
If you do end up making these bagels, I’d love to hear what you think of them!
Hi, I tried making these yesterday and they didn’t have nearly the smooth consistency as yours did. They turned out more like chunky play dough bagels. I use white whole wheat flour but all the rest of the ingredients were the same. I also used my kitchen aid mixer and dough hook but it was so dry and crumbly. What did I do wrong?
I’m honored that you tried my recipe, Kitty! That sounds disappointing and not like how these bagels should turn out at all, so I’m happy to help figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
What brand of white whole wheat flour did you use? (And I’m assuming you used the exact same yeast as I did, correct?)
Did you make any other substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients, especially the flour?
If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure?
How much flour did you add to the dough before transferring to your KitchenAid mixer?
Was the dough crumbly before you transferred it to your KitchenAid mixer?
I shared step-by-step photos above the recipe. Can you describe the consistency of your dough compared to mine in the food processor shot (photo #6), the shots before and after rising in the bowl (photos #7 + #8), and the shots before and after rising after shaping into individual bagels (photo #9)?
How much did your dough rise in Step 3? And then in Step 6?
Did you bagels deflate at all while transferring them from the foil into the boiling water?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
I really appreciate the before and after pictures at each step! Thank you for explaining the recipe so thoroughly.
You’re so kind — it’s my pleasure, Mary! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. It really means a lot! 🙂 If you end up making these bagels, I’d love to hear what you think of them!
Hello, is the 1tsp of oil necessary? Can this recipe be made oil free?
I really appreciate your interest in this recipe of mine too, Hollie! The oil does make a difference in the bagels’ texture, but you’re welcome to omit it, if you feel strongly about making these entirely oil-free. I just can’t vouch for the results of how well that will turn out. 😉 However, you’re welcome to use a different oil, if you don’t have olive oil on hand and that’s the main reason you’re asking!
If you do end up making these bagels, I’d love to hear what you think of them!
The link to your recommended brand of flour did not work:(. I would like to try these bagels and would prefer using whatever brand you are recommending. Thank you.
I’m so excited you’re going to try making these bagels, Ann! We apologize about the link. Sometimes links get updated and unfortunately we don’t get notified when that happens! We will get that fixed as soon as possible. Thank you so much for letting us know! Here is a link to the Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour that we recommend!
I’d love to hear what you think of these bagels! 😉
Can these be made with all purpose flour or self rising flour? I have both and don’t want to have to buy another 5 pounds of flour
I completely understand, Mindy! All-purpose flour is fine to substitute for the whole wheat flour. It’ll work better in this recipe than self-rising flour. 🙂 I’d absolutely love to hear what you think of these bagels if you end up making them!