These delicious garlic bagels get their amazing flavor from an entire roasted garlic head. The optional toasted fennel seeds balance the garlic with a herbaceous, anise flavor. This recipe is relatively quick for a yeasted bread and much easier to make than you might think!
Imagine slicing a freshly baked garlic bagel and spreading it with cream cheese. Heaven! If you enjoy these, also try our rosemary olive oil bagels or homemade egg bagels. Day-old bagels can be used to make homemade bagel chips.
Table of Contents
About These Garlic Bagel Delights
This recipe takes slightly longer than plain bagels due to roasting the garlic and toasting the fennel. The total time is closer to 3-3½ hours, though most of this additional time isn’t hands-on work. You can prepare the garlic and fennel up to a day in advance if you prefer.
The inspiration for these garlic bagels comes from The Kettle Black, a bakery in Philadelphia. The flavor profile is distinctive – roasted garlic is sweet and mellow yet still assertive, while the fennel adds an aromatic, herbaceous, anise-like quality.
Fennel is admittedly a divisive flavor; its use is optional if you don’t care for it. If you do enjoy fennel, the combination is particularly delightful. I recommend using whole fennel seeds that you toast and grind, or a fennel mill for the best flavor.
| Advantages of Garlic Bagels | Flavor Notes |
|---|---|
| Rich umami flavor | Sweet and mellow garlic |
| Great for sandwiches | Herbaceous fennel (optional) |
| Versatile base for toppings | Toasty exterior, chewy interior |
| Impressive homemade bread | Traditional bagel texture |
| Freezes well | Complex flavor profile |
Measuring Ingredients for Perfect Garlic Bagels
I strongly recommend using weight measurements (grams) for all baking recipes, especially these garlic bagels. I provide both weight and volume measurements (in parentheses), but a kitchen scale will give you the most consistent results.
Affordable kitchen scales can be found for under $20 and make a world of difference in your baking. When measuring by volume, a cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 100g to 150g depending on how packed it is. This variation can significantly affect your bagel dough.
Garlic Bagel Dough Information
This is a low-hydration dough that’s pleasant to work with – smooth and elastic with lots of stretch. It’s ideal for beginners making their first garlic bagels. Handle the dough gently but firmly. If it resists or “fights back,” cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for a few minutes. Always stretch, don’t tear the dough when shaping.
An important tip: add the garlic (and fennel) only when the dough starts forming, as garlic can inhibit yeast activity. This gives the yeast a chance to begin working before introducing the garlic.
| Ingredient | Weight | Volume | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 500g | (4 cups) | Structure and chewiness |
| Water (lukewarm) | 300g | (1¼ cups) | Hydration |
| Instant yeast | 7g | (2¼ tsp) | Leavening |
| Salt | 10g | (1½ tsp) | Flavor enhancer |
| Sugar | 14g | (1 Tbsp) | Helps browning |
| Roasted garlic | 1 small head | (8-10 cloves) | Primary flavor |
| Fennel seeds (optional) | 2g | (1 tsp) | Secondary flavor |
| Egg (for wash) | 1 | (1) | Creates shine |
How to Shape Your Garlic Bagels
Divide the dough into eight equal portions (using a scale for precision). Form smooth balls by stacking smaller pieces on larger ones if necessary, tucking the edges to create a pinched seam on top. Repeat until the dough ball is firm. Don’t tear the dough, just stretch it.
An alternative method for forming a ball: flip the dough (seam side down), place your hand in an “O” or “C” shape (pinky against an unfloured counter) and move your hand in quick circles to form a smooth ball.
To form the bagel hole: dust your hands with flour, push one thumb through the bottom seam, then the other thumb, and gently stretch/squeeze while rotating the dough. The hole should be at least as wide as the sides of the bagel, or even wider. The hole will close slightly during resting, poaching, and baking, so make it larger than you want the finished bagel to have.
Garlic Bagel Recipe Notes
Use instant (“rapid rise”) yeast that doesn’t need to be activated or “bloomed” in water. Add it directly to the dry ingredients; it will be activated by the water. Don’t place the yeast directly on or under the salt in the bowl, as salt kills yeast.
The recommended water temperature is about 90°F (slightly warmer than lukewarm if you don’t have a thermometer). You can refrigerate the dough for the first rise or after shaping if you want to make the bagels in the morning. Ensure the dough is covered to prevent crusting.
You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour. Bread flour gives a chewier, denser bagel that’s more traditional, but all-purpose flour works well too. If making without a stand mixer, use a sturdy spoon or your hands to mix, then knead by hand for 8-10 minutes until you have a smooth, slightly sticky, elastic dough. Resist adding water unless absolutely necessary.
Recipe
Prep Time: 1h 30min
Cook Time: 20min
Rest Time: 1h 20min
Total Time: 3h 10min
Yield: 8 bagels
Instructions:
- Make roasted garlic and fennel mixture:
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Cut the top off the garlic head, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Wrap in foil and roast for 40-45 minutes until very brown and fragrant
- Let cool, then squeeze out the softened cloves
- Toast fennel seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until fragrant
- Remove from heat and coarsely grind
- Mix mashed roasted garlic with ground fennel and set aside
- Make garlic bagel dough:
- Mix dry ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook
- Add water to the center of the well
- Add garlic/fennel mixture when dough starts forming but dry flour remains
- Knead with dough hook for 6-8 minutes once everything is incorporated
- Adjust hydration if needed (add water by ½ tablespoon if dry, flour by 2-3 tablespoons if too wet)
- Dough should be smooth, slightly sticky, should not stick to hands or bowl
- Form into a smooth ball for the first rise
- Oil a bowl, let rise 1 hour in a warm place (70-72°F) until doubled
- Gently deflate, rest 10 minutes
- Shape and bake the garlic bagels:
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Prepare poaching water (wide, shallow pan, 2-3″ deep, bring to boil then reduce to gentle simmer)
- Divide dough into eight equal pieces (use scale for precision)
- Shape bagels as described above
- Cover shaped bagels with damp cloth and rest 10 minutes
- Prepare egg wash (egg + 1 teaspoon water) during rest
- Poach bagels in simmering water (top side down), 1 minute per side, in batches of 2-4
- Remove with wire spider or slotted spoon and transfer to baking sheet lined with silicone mat
- Brush each bagel with egg wash (including sides and centers)
- Add ground fennel seeds on top if desired
- Bake for 20 minutes until well browned on top
- Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a rack to cool
- Wait at least 15-20 minutes before cutting
Storage Tips:
Store in an airtight bag with paper towel for 2-3 days. They’ll harden after the first day but soften when toasted. To refresh day-old bagels, toast them, or briefly run under water then heat in microwave or oven.
Enjoy your homemade garlic bagels toasted with cream cheese, as sandwich bread, or simply on their own!
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