These super quick cinnamon raisin bagels are ready to enjoy in just about 2 hours! The addition of a little oatmeal, together with the cinnamon and raisins, makes these perfect morning bagels.
Why you’ll love this quick cinnamon raisin bagels recipe
- These are bagels for the impatient, but you won’t compromise taste and texture in the process. No, they won’t be as chewy as the 24-hour bagels, but they still have lovely taste and texture, in a fraction of the time.
- The bit of oatmeal in the dough adds both texture and flavour, that a short-rise bagel often lacks.
- Cinnamon raisin bagels are one of my favourite morning bites. They are lovely toasted with butter, or add a little bit of cream cheese after toasting, for a special treat.
- I love making a batch of these to pop in the fridge and enjoy all week. They also freeze them up to 2 months. They are great to have handy in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Flour – bread flour is recommended, for the best chewy texture. That said, if you only have all purpose flour, that will work, too, with just a slight change in texture. You may find that you need to use a touch more flour if using all purpose flour, as well.
Oats – this recipe uses quick-cooking oats. If you only have large-flake, old-fashioned rolled oats, you can run them through a food processor, pulsing a few times, to cut them down in size. Measure the required amount after processing.
Yeast – I love and always recommended regular Instant Yeast (such as SAF Brand). As this recipe starts with proofing in water though, Active Dry yeast will work fine, as well. I haven’t tested this recipe with quick or rapid-rise yeast.
Sugar – the sugar is added for sweetness, but also to feed the yeast as it rises. You can reduce the amount of sugar, but do keep a little, for the yeast, for best results. You could also substitute brown sugar here, or a lesser amount of honey or maple syrup. If you use a liquid sugar, keep in mind you may need to add a bit more flour as a result.
Raisins – I love Thompson raisins for these bagels, but Sultanas would be fine, as well. The raisins are “plumped” by soaking in hot water before adding to the dough. This step not only makes lovely plump raisins, but it prevents dry raisins from soaking up the moisture from the dough, resulting in a dry bagel. I highly suggest taking the time to plump the raisins.
Cinnamon – I have done a lot of experimenting on how much cinnamon to use. On the one hand, I like a lot of it, but on the other hand, a lot of cinnamon in a yeast dough often results in a slow rise. I have settled on adding the bulk of it to the dough, but also adding an additional bit when incorporating the raisins into the dough. If you would like more cinnamon flavour, you can certainly add more, just understand that it may slow the first rise down a bit, so expect it to take longer.
Timeline for these bagels
Mix dough: 15 minutes
First rise: 1 hour
(Near the end of the first rise, set water to boil and preheat oven)
Shape and rest: 15 minutes
Boil: 5 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 50 minutes
Storing and freezing homemade bagels
I like to store these bagels in the fridge, to extend the shelf life. In the fridge, they will keep well for up to a week. On the counter, they will be fine for 2-3 days. You can also freeze these bagels up to 2 months. Thaw frozen bagels on the counter.
Baker’s Top Tip
If you are new at baking with yeast, it is important to understand the the exact amount of flour you will need to use is always approximate. It will vary from kitchen to kitchen, depending on flour type and humidity levels etc. As such, we start with about 1/2 of the specified flour, then add the last bit just until our dough comes together (smooth and moist and no longer sticky).
Don’t ever get too tied to the exact amount of flour specified. You never need to feel like you need to use it all or sometimes, you may need to use a bit more. Trust what you see in the bowl. It will tell you when you’ve added enough.
Get the Recipe: 2-Hour Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water, about 105F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Instant or Active Dry yeast, *see Note 1 below
- 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats, *see Note 2 below for large-flake oats
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour, approximately, *see Note 3 below for using all purpose flour
Knead in:
- 1/2 cup raisins, plumped, drained and dried
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, sprinkled onto dough in while kneading
For the boiling water:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
Instructions
- Plump the Raisins: Add the raisins to a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand while you start the dough, then when ready to use drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, add the lukewarm water, yeast and white sugar. Stir and let stand 5 minutes. Add the salt, cinnamon and oats to the bowl, together with 1 cup of the flour. Mix to combine. Add another 1 cup of flour and mix in. Begin adding addition flour, in small increments, until you have a smooth, moist dough, that wraps the kneading hook and cleans the bowl. The dough should not be sticky.
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead, adding small amounts of additional flour only if it is sticking to your hands or the work surface. Pat dough out into a 1-inch thick oval and scatter raisins over top. Sprinkle the extra cinnamon over-top. Fold dough over and knead, as needed, to incorporate the raisins evenly into the dough.
- Form dough into a ball, place into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Towards the end of the first rising period, start a large pot of water to boil on the stove-top, with about 2 quarts (8 cups) of water.
- Preheat the oven to 425F (regular bake setting/not fan-assisted), with the rack in the centre of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough into 6 even pieces. *I like to weigh the entire dough piece, then divide by 6, to get a weight for each bagel. I then weigh out the individual portions. This way my bagels are all exactly the same size and will bake evenly.
- For each of the 6 pieces of dough into a ball, then use your thumbs to poke a hole in the centre of the ball, to make the hole for the bagel. Stretch the hole out with your fingers, making a bit of an exaggerated hole at this point (large that you think it needs to be), as it will fill in a bit as it boils and bakes. Once you've formed all 6, cover with a clean tea towel and let rest 10 minutes.
- Once bagels have rested, add the honey to the boiling water. Boil the bagels, 3 at a time, boiling each side of the bagel for 1 minute. Remove bagels to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels.
- Once all bagels are boiled, place baking sheet into the preheated 425F oven and bake for 14-16 minutes or until deep golden in colour and hollow-sounding when tapped.
- Remove from oven and immediately remove to a cooling wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- I haven't tested this recipe with Quick or Rapid-Rising instant yeast. I use regular Instant Yeast (SAF Brand).
- If you only have large-flake, old-fashioned oats, you can run them through a food processor to chop them down in size. Measure after chopping.
- You can use all purpose flour here, though the bagels will be a little less chewy. You may need to use a bit more flour as well, if using all purpose flour.
More Bagel Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
As soon as I saw this recipe this morning, I decided to make them; my very first attempt at making bagels. Recipe came together easily and definitely within 2 hours. The raisins I had on hand were huge; I will use smaller next time, but the bagels tasted delicious. We toasted and added butter; husband approved!
I’m so glad to hear, Barb! Thanks so much :)
Two hours? Count me in Jennifer! Cinnamon raisin anything is always one of my favorites too. Adding to my baking list!
Thanks MaryAnn :) It amazes me every time I make these how quickly they are made. And then I can just enjoy them all week!