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
Could you leave the Maple Syrup out of the recipe for a savoury bagel?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cecily! These bagels aren’t actually sweet! The very small amount of maple syrup actually acts as food for the yeast so it performs as well as possible and the bagels rise properly. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try them!
Why do you add salt at the beginning, doesn’t salt kill the yeast? Also, can I make this by hand instead of a food processor/mixer?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Matise! No, adding the salt at the beginning doesn’t kill the yeast. (You’d need a really, really high concentration of salt to try to kill yeast — think a cup or more, not ½ teaspoon!) You can definitely make these bagels by hand! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try them!
How can I add flavor variations? Some of my favorite bagels are bluberry, cinnamon, and egg bagels. Thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cacey! I haven’t tried making different flavor varieties just yet, but that’s actually at the top of my to do list. If you’ve signed up for my email updates, then you’ll be the first to know as soon as I share a new bagel flavor variety! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you make these mini bagels!
I work in a preschool and made these bagels last week. They came out well but because I have a lot to make, I purchased a bread machine to at least make part of the process easier. Can you help me adapt your recipe to work in a bread machine? I would be so appreciative of your help! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these bagels Julie! That means a lot to me — thank you so much for sharing! 🙂 I don’t own a bread machine, so I don’t know what to do to adapt this recipe to work in one. I’m sorry I can’t be more help!
Do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe? /how many bagels should this make
Yes! All of that information is included directly underneath the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these bagels Brooke!
Planning to add everything seasoning on top! Should I omit the cinnamon?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Mary! As I covered in my blog post above the recipe, the cinnamon just adds a subtle warmth and fullness to the bagels’ flavor. Not sweetness! So I actually think it’s still good to include because it really rounds out the flavor. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these bagels!
During Quarantine, I have had a lot of first. Making bagels was added to the list this week! This was my first time ever baking anything like this, and using yeast. I am SO happy I found and tried this recipe!! It was fairly straightforward to follow for a first timer. Also, I wanted to add that I used a hand mixer because that is all I have, and I mean bagels still came out yummy and beautiful at the end.
The one thing I had some difficulty with was the shape of the bagels (they were not perfectly circular). Any tips for that for the future would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for this recipe for beginners like me 🙂
I’m SO honored that you tried my recipe as your first homemade bagel experience, Carly!! That truly means the world to me, and I’m so glad that you loved them! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. You just made my entire day! 🙂
Much of the time, my bagels aren’t perfectly circular either, but what I’ve found really helps is to coat the foil REALLY well with olive oil in Step 4 so the bagels basically slide right off in Step 8. If the foil isn’t coated as well, then the dough will stick, which leads to misshapen or lopsided bagels. (I’ve had more than my fair share of those! They don’t look as pretty, but at least they still taste good! 😉 ) Does that make sense?
Hi, just wondering do you think adding seeds/grains to the dough would work? Hence trying to create a multi grain, whole wheat bagel.
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Anita! I haven’t tried adding seeds or grains to the dough, but I think that should work. Just be careful not to add too many, or else the dough won’t hold together very well! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these bagels if you end up making them!
Could I make larger normal sized bagels with this recipe, by just splitting the dough into 3 pieces instead of 6 from the three sections? Thanks!
Yes, you can make larger bagels if you prefer! The baking temperature will remain the same, but they may require slightly longer to finish baking. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these bagels if you try making them, Yaz!
I tried making these for the first time today. I followed the recipe exactly, and the dough was never sticky…it was actually too dry with 1.5 c of flour and I had to add extra water to make a ball. Any advice?