Sesame Seed Bagels: Vegan Bagel Recipe

Nutty and delicate sesame seed bagels are great for breakfast or lunch equally. Nothing beats the freshly made bagels topped with tons of sesame goodness. And what if these were vegan! These homemade vegan sesame bagels are nutty with a shiny, crispy exterior and chewy interiors.

Looking for more vegan or egg-free bread recipes? Try out the dairy-free bread, vegan hamburger buns, batard bread, multigrain bread, and many more bread recipes in the bread section.

Why will you love this recipe?

• Nothing like freshly baked bagels. And what of those are homemade! You must experience them. They are traditional-style bagels that are shiny and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. You do not have to be a new yorker to enjoy bagels.
• Quickest bagel recipe you will ever make. Ready from start to finish in under three and a half hours. No need to bloom the yeast for this recipe. I have used instant yeast. It rises fast and makes bread fast.
• These bagels are vegan. Yes, if you are looking for a vegan bagel recipe, look no further.
• Filled with sesame seeds. These bagels do not just have sesame seasoning but are also filled with sesame seeds.
• Approachable. All the ingredients that we need for making these sesame seed bagels must be already sitting in your pantry.
• This recipe is easy, and the detailed easy-to-follow instructions will further simplify the process of making bagels at home. This bagel recipe is inspired by the New York sesame bagel.

Jump to:

• 🥘Ingredients for making sesame seed bagels
• Equipments
• 🔪Step by step Instructions to make sesame seed bagels
• Variations of sesame seed bagels
• Servings suggestions
• 🫙 Storage and freezing Instructions
• ♨ Reheating Instructions
• 💭Pro Tips and Substitution Notes
• ❓Frequently Asked Questions
• 🧋More Bread Recipes:
• 📝  Recipe
• Sesame Seed bagels
• 📋 Nutrition Facts

🥘Ingredients for making sesame seed bagels

Bread flour

To make great bagels you need high gluten flour. So, stick to bread flour, I would not recommend using anything else. If you have high gluten flour, this is your recipe. You can also add some malted barley flour. As it helps with the color and flavor of the bagels. But I wanted to keep the recipe approachable, so just stuck to bread flour.

Water

Use normal room temperature water. Neither chilled nor warm. You do not need warm water as we are not going to bloom the yeast.

Keep the hydration at 65 -68 percent depending upon the gluten content of your flour. If you are using high gluten flour with around 14 percent gluten, go for 68 percent hydration. But if you are using regular bread flour, stick to 65 percent hydration.

Vegetable oil/ olive oil

We need to add some oil to make our bagels soft and prevent them from getting hard like sourdough. Though the desired texture of the bagel is the crispy hard crust, it still has to be soft and chewy from the inside. Oil act as a tenderizer.

You can use olive oil, avocado oil, or any other vegetable oil of your choice.

Sesame seeds

Well, how can you make a sesame bagel without sesame seeds? Use whichever type of seeds are available to you. There are three types of sesame seeds.

1. Golden/ brown sesame seeds

2. White sesame seeds/ polished sesame seeds

3. Black sesame seeds

Use whichever is available to you. I have used golden sesame seeds for adding to the dough. Then, I used a combination of black, white, and golden sesame seeds to top the bagels.

The black sesame seeds have a nuttier flavor whereas the golden and white ones have a stronger sesame seed flavor. If you like toned-down sesame seed flavor, use black sesame seeds generously.

Instant yeast

Instant yeast does need any blooming in hot water. It is the fast-rising and fast-acting yeast, that can be directly added to the dough. It takes a maximum of 1 hour to bulk rise and proof on a summer day.

If you are going to use active dry yeast. You will have to bloom it in warm water. Add maple syrup to warm water (100-110^o F) and bloom the yeast before mixing it into the dry ingredients.

Maple syrup

You can use the sweetener of your choice. You can use sugar, honey, or brown sugar. But since I was looking to create a vegan version of sesame seed bagels, I have used maple syrup.

Divide it into two parts. Use half of it in the dough and retain the remaining 2 teaspoons for adding to the boiling water.

Baking soda

 Baking soda gives some pretzel-like characteristics to the bagels. To be specific, it makes bagels chewier from the inside and shiny brown from the outside.

Salt

As far as salt is concerned, I used fine sea salt in this recipe. It is easier to incorporate than coarse salt. Avoid iodized salt, if possible, as it imparts an unpleasant flavor sometimes.

Equipments

• Stand mixer

• Mixing bowls

• Kitchen towels

• Baking sheet/tray

• Large slotted spoon or spider strainer or skimmer

• Pastry brush
  
• Cooling rack

🔪Step by step Instructions to make sesame seed bagels

Step 1 Kneading the dough

I am going to knead the dough for these vegan sesame seed bagels in a stand mixer. For kneading with hands, skip to the section below.

First, combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl. It includes adding, maple syrup, water, and oil. Give them a mix. Please note that we are going to use only half of the maple syrup in the dough. (Retain the half for adding to the boiling water, when boiling the bagels.)

Take the bowl of the stand mixer and to that add all the dry ingredients, including the instant yeast. Combine all the dry ingredients by whisking them all together.

Now add the wet ingredient mixture and hook the stand mixer bowl in the stand mixer. Start kneading using a dough hook attachment at low speed. The dough will appear very sticky initially but will come together in no time. 

You can add a tablespoon of flour more or less to make up for the altitude and humidity differences. My dough took 5 minutes at speed 1 and then I bumped it to 2 and kneaded for 7 more minutes. The dough looked smooth and did not stick at all to my fingers after 12 minutes of kneading in a stand mixer.

Kneading with hands

For kneading with hands combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine everything well using the back of a wooden ladle. Leave no patch of dry flour behind. Cover the dough mass and let it rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, dust a work surface and transfer the dough mass onto the work surface. Now start kneading with your hands. Use the heel of your hands to stretch the dough away from you. Then, bring it back and collect it. Keep repeating this motion to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and stops sticking to the hands and the surface. 

Step 2 Bulk Fermentation

Bulk fermentation is not necessary when we make bread using instant yeast. But I still like to do it for flavor enhancements and dough development. This stage helps with gluten development and hence makes these sesame bagels super soft and chewy.

The dough will bulk ferment very quickly due to the instant yeast. It may take 30 minutes to 1 hour, so please keep an eye on it. Look for the rise in the dough, it would appear to double up in volume.

If you are using any other form of yeast, bulk fermentation will take double or triple the time.

Step 3: Shaping the sesame seed bagels

Once the dough has doubled up, it is time to shape it into bagels. First, you need to decide on what size of bagels are you looking at. This recipe will make 8 standard bagels. These are slightly bigger than the supermarket bagels, more like the bakery ones. If you want to make small bagels, this recipe could make 10 of them. 

Remove the dough onto a floured surface. Now we need to weigh the dough and divide it by the number of bagels we aim to make. I divided the dough into 8 equal portions.

Then I take one portion and flatten it using my fingers. I collect all the edges and gather them at the center to form a rough round ball. Then I flipped it and used the edges of the palms of my hand to lift and twist it. This builds tension on the surface and makes perfectly round dough balls with a smooth top. Repeat with the rest of the dough sections.

Do not forget to cover the shaped rounds while you work on the rest.

Now for shaping the bagels take one round and press it down to make it a little flat. Then poke a finger into the center to make a hole. Then put a finger of the other hand. Stretch the dough outward while rolling the fingers in a wheel-like circular motion around the hole. Stop when you feel that the size is right.

Please note that the dough with shrink a bit, so make it a little larger than the desired hole.

Use a full-size baking sheet (26x18 inches) and line it with parchment paper. Have all the shaped bagels for a second rise on it. Also, do not forget to cover them.

Sprinkle the parchment paper with some flour so that the bagels do not stick to the parchment paper on proofing and could be easily lifted for dropping into the boiling water.

Step 4 Proofing sesame seed bagels (second rise)

Leave enough room among the bagels to rise.

Please note that we do not want the bagels to be proof too much. 15-20 minutes should be enough in this case. The bagels should appear slightly proofed.  

Step 5 Water bath or boiling the bagels

While the bagels are proofing boil water in a large pan. Add baking soda and maple syrup to it.  Once it boils, gently lift the bagels and add them to the boiling water. Add 1-2 bagels at a time. You can add more if the pot allows. Have a cooling rack in place to take out the boiled bagels.

Boil the bagels for 20-30 seconds on each side while gently flipping them once or twice. Remove onto a cooling rack. Then brush them with milk using a pastry brush and sprinkle the sesame seeds mix generously.

To get a better covering, take the sesame seeds on a wide plate and flip the bagels in it to coat them nicely.

Step 6 Baking the Bagels

While you are still boiling the bagels, preheat the oven to 425^oF. By the time you finish boiling the bagels, the oven would have preheated.

Carefully lift the sesame seed sprinkled bagels from the cooling rack and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake them at 425^o F for 20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown. Make sure to rotate the baking tray halfway through the baking process.

And there you have it. The most delicious homemade sesame seed bagels are also vegan. Super soft and chewy from the inside and crusty and shiny from the outside. Give them a schmear and enjoy!

Variations of sesame seed bagels

Though plain bagels are nice, why have plain when you can something extra on them. If you are big on sesame, try these two variations of sesame bagels.

• Garlic sesame seed bagels: Add garlic flakes with the sesame seasoning.
• Add toasted sesame seeds oil for a strong sesame seed flavor in the dough and top with the mixed sesame seeds topping.

Other than sesame-based bagels, you can top these bagels with:

• Everything bagel seasoning
• Poppy seed bagels
• Salt bagels
• Cinnamon raisin

Servings suggestions

A few serving suggestions to enjoy these sesame seed bagels for breakfast.

• A schmear of herbed cream cheese, and top with the fresh fruits of your choice. For breakfast, you can take the traditional approach and spread some cream cheese on toasted bagels! Also, add some green onions, olives, and chives with some toasted nuts.
  
• Spread some peanut butter and top with caramelized apples and nuts.
  
• Smear the toasted sesame bagels with some good butter, garlic butter, or herb butter (chive butter)
  
• Make a thick bed of almond butter on an air fryer bagel, and top it with caramelized bananas, and everything bagel seasoning.
  
• Put some strawberry jam or jelly of your choice and top the bagels with some crunch toasted sunflower seeds.
  
• You can also prepare a delectable breakfast sandwich with air-fried tofu or scrambled tofu.
  
• Sliced avocadoes, nutritional yeast, and sauteed mushrooms on a buttered and air fryer toasted bagel.
  
  

To whip up a quick vegetarian lunch using the sesame seed bagels try the following suggestions:

• Slice the sesame bagels and spread some marinara sauce on them. Top with shredded cheese and olives. Then, toast in the air fryer at 370 ⁰F for 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts. A quick bagel pizza is ready!
  
• A vegetarian bagel sandwich filled with scrambled tofu and leek sabzi and green veggies.
  
• Spread hummus, olives, cucumber, and toasted sesame seeds.
  
• Feta and some roasted mushroom and spinach.
  

🫙 Storage and freezing Instructions

Before storing the vegan sesame seed bagels, ensure that they are fully cooled down. You can put them in a linen bag and close them tightly. They will keep well on your kitchen counter for 2-3 days. If you have a bread box (lucky you!) you can store them in it for 2-3 days.

You can freeze the left-over sesame seed bagels by placing them in a zip lock bag and squeezing out any excess air. Then seal the bag and cover it with foil. I like to put a date and description on the foil, so I do not lose track.

♨ Reheating Instructions

To reheat the sesame bagels, you can toast them on a buttered skillet, electric toasters, oven, or even in air fryers. In toatser you loose the sesame seeds, so I just avoid tosters for heating these bagels. My go to way is to air fry the bagels.

To toast bagels in the air fryer, set the air fryer temperature to 370 ⁰F and let the bagels toast for 3-4 minutes or until they turn golden.

❓Frequently Asked Questions

🧋More Bread Recipes:

• Vegan hamburger buns: The quickest vegan bun recipe
  
• Dairy free bread: The best whole wheat vegan milk bread
  
• Softest Multigrain bread
  
• Homemade French Baguette
  
• Batard bread: What it is and how to make French batard bread?
  
• Ladi pav recipe: Homemade Eggless Indian Pav
  
• Tiger rolls: A foolproof Dutch crunch bread recipe
  

I hope you like this sesame seed bagels recipe. Share your experiences in the comments section below. I am always looking forward to hearing from you. And if you liked it, please share it with your friends.

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Till then,

Make it delicious!

📝  Recipe