3-Ingredient Bagels

You might have tried our 2-Ingredient Air Fryer Bagel Recipe before, but if you prefer to bake bagels, here’s a new option!

These easy bagels are so easy and tasty that I will probably never try any other classic bagel recipe after that.

Bonus, this recipe is easy to adapt, making it allergy-friendly and suitable for everyone.

How To Make 3-Ingredient Bagels

It’s very easy to make this three-ingredient bagel recipe. Even kids can whip up a batch of these delicious homemade bagels.

Ingredients

All you need are the following:

• Self-Rising Flour – See note below to make yours at home from just two pantry ingredients.
• Yogurt – Greek yogurt is a great option to boost the protein profile of these bagels. However, the recipe works with any plain yogurt varieties, including oat yogurt, coconut yogurt, or soy yogurt.
• Olive Oil or any oil you like, including canola oil, avocado oil, or even melted butter.

Optional Ingredients

Below are some of the optional ingredients you may want to use on top of the bagels before baking.

• Bagel Seasoning – A combination of sesame seeds, onion flakes, garlic powder, and sea salt flakes.
• Egg Wash – Stir an egg with a bit of water and brush the mixture on top of the raw dough before baking.
• Salt – Only add salt to the dough if you don’t use bagel seasoning, or they come out very salty.

Preparation

First, add the flour and salt, if used, in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.

Next, add yogurt and olive oil and use a wooden spoon or the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer to stir and bring the ingredients together.

The dough will be sticky, and that’s ok. But it shouldn’t be dry, and if it’s, add a bit more yogurt, one tablespoon at a time.

It takes about 2 to 3 minutes to bring the dough together.

When the dough is elastic, a bit sticky on the outside, stop the stand mixer.

Resting The Dough

Grease a bowl with olive oil, oil your hands to gather the dough, and transfer it to the oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Kneading

Sprinkle flour on a work surface, transfer the dough onto the floured surface, and add more flour on top of the dough.

Knead by hand for 1 minute, adding more flour if too sticky.

Shaping Bagels

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

When an good dough ball forms, divide it into six even portions.

Roll each portion into a round ball. Then, flour your finger, dig one finger into the center of the dough ball, and press and rotate the finger in a circular motion to swirl the dough around your finger.

This technique will create a nice large hole in the dough’s center that perfectly mimics the bagel shape.

Transfer the shaped bagels onto the prepared baking sheet.

Egg Wash

This is optional, but to achieve a nice golden color on top of the bagels, you need to brush their top with egg wash.

To prepare an egg wash, whisk one egg and one tablespoon of water in a bowl. Then, use a pastry brush to brush the top of each bagel.

Finally, sprinkle some bagel seasonings on top or any seeds you like, or keep the bagels plain.

Bake the bagels on the center rack of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on top and a pick inserted in the center of the bagels comes out clean.

If some dough sticks to the pick, return to the oven and keep baking.

Let them cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing and serving.

Storage Instructions

These bagels can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.

You can also freeze the bagels in zip-lock bags or airtight containers and thaw them the day before at room temperature.

Allergy Swaps

If you have food allergies to some of the ingredients, below are some substitution options.

• Egg-Free – You can replace the egg wash with a simple brush of dairy-free milk or maple syrup.
• Dairy-Free – You can use any dairy-free yogurt in this recipe, the higher in protein, the softer the dough will be.
• Vegan – Use both options listed above.
• Oil-Free – Replace the oil with an extra tablespoon of yogurt, but the dough won’t be as chewy.
• Gluten-Free – We didn’t try this recipe using all-purpose gluten-free flour, so I am not sure it will provide decent results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are my answers to your most common questions about this recipe.

How Can I Make Homemade Self-Raising Flour?

Self-raising flour is a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder.

For this recipe, replace the 2 cups of self-raising flour with 2 cups of all-purpose flour and whisk in 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Can I Use Sweetened Yogurt?

If you want to make sweet bagels, use a sweetened yogurt like vanilla yogurt or strawberry yogurt.

Can I Add Fruits To The Dough?

You can make lovely blueberry bagels by stirring 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries in the dough.

However, they are a bit hard to incorporate as the dough is a bit tough, so the best is to fold them in halfway after adding yogurt, knead for a few seconds, and then incorporate them.

Can I Use Milk?

Yes, you can use milk or Greek yogurt.

However, the best is to stir the milk with two teaspoons of vinegar to curdle the milk and create buttermilk. This makes the bagels softer and less tough.