Saffron Bagels

Saffron bagels, AKA the most expensive bagels in the land. This being because saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, but when you put it into a bagel? Wow, does it get good. You might look at these and think they resemble a St. Lucia bun, which is a Swedish saffron bun recipe, but this recipe errs more on the side of a classic New York bagel. Unlike a St. Lucia bun, it is not an enriched dough, it’s not sweet, and it’s bready, crispy and fluffy. I made this recipe as approachable as possible for a bagel recipe, so even if you’re a bagel novice, making these saffron bagels should not be that intimidating!

All the ingredients in this bagel recipe are pantry staples. Typically bagels need things like malt syrup, but in the interest of ease-over-authenticity, I took a few short cuts and use sugar instead. The result might not rival your favorite bagel shop, but it is a fun, easy, hands-only baking project and I can’t get enough of it. This might have opened me up to a brand-new bagel world. Who knows, you might see blueberry bagels coming at you VERY SOON 😉

Let’s talk about bagels

Bagels, by creation, are a jewish traditional food and need (repeat: NEED) to be boiled. It’s part of their charm. But unlike other bagel recipes you might see, this doesn’t need an overnight proof or anything crazy to coax out its natural bagel flavor. These bagels get nice and crispy on the outside, deeply chewy on the inside, and give you that signature bagel tear without you feeling like you slaved away for hours.

This recipe is a small-batch saffron bagel recipe, making only 3 bagels at a time. Which personally, is the perfect amount of fresh bagels for me. And the recipe is simple enough that if you want to repeat it every weekend, you totally can.

Now for the addition of saffron – this add-in is totally optional, but absolutely fantastic. Saffron is a highly aromatic spice, with an absolutely gorgeous color. Here this special spice gives the bagels a deeply savory, incredibly interesting flavor, which personally I can’t get enough of.

Ingredients you will need for these saffron bagels

What’s nice about bagels is the ingredients are very minimal. Here is everything you will need to make these bagels at home:

• 2 teaspoons saffron
• 3/4 cup warm water at 90-95°F, 170 grams
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, 3 grams
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 5 grams
• 1 & 3/4 cups bread flour, 240 grams
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 3 grams
• Olive oil as needed
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon flakey salt

How to prepare and shape the saffron bagel dough

This is very similar to other bagel recipes, we just start with the saffron first, to make sure it gets infused throughout. Here’s a step-by-step on how to make and shape this dough!

• Using a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron. In a measuring cup, add the water and saffron and mix, letting the water dissolve the saffron.
• In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup of the saffron water the yeast and sugar. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to get foamy.
• Add in the bread flour, salt and the rest of the saffron water. Use your hands to form into a shaggy dough.
• Move this dough to a very lightly floured work surface and knead for 9-10 minutes, or until you can poke the dough and the dough springs back.
• Lightly oil a bowl and add in the dough. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size. About 1-1 & 1/2 hours.
• When the dough has risen, punch it down and portion into 3 even pieces.
• If you are forming the dough into stars, see notes. Otherwise, form the pieces into tight balls, pinching the bottom so there are no scraggily ends.
• Use your thumb to punch an indent directly in the center of the dough. Use both hands to stretch the dough out into a large circle with a big hole in the middle. The bagels will expand, so make the hole a touch bigger than you think it needs to be.
• Add each bagel to an individual square of parchment paper, cover loosely with cling wrap, and let rise another 30 minutes.

Boiling the saffron bagels

My favorite part of the bagel process is the boiling – it’s easy and it’s what makes a bagel a bagel!

I highly suggest getting a slotted spoon to help with this, otherwise getting the bagel out of the water is a bit tricky.

But to boil, bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil, and one at a time, ease the bagels into the water and boil the bagels for 1-2 minutes on each side. They will expand by about 25%, and that’s a great thing!

Additional topping suggestions for these bagels

This bagel is more savory – so when it comes to toppings, I tend to suggest the more savory New York style bagel toppings. You can do as much or as little as you like, knowing that some bagels are absolutely COATED in sesame seeds. Here are a few suggestions:

• Toasted, hulled white sesame seeds – these are just as good in this bagel as black sesame!
• A few more strands of saffron – expensive, but really pretty on top.
• More flakey salt – we call them salt bagels for a reason!
• Poppyseeds – another classic one.
• Minced, dried garlic – while this might be prone to burning in the oven, it’s worth it, no?
• And of course – Everything Bagel Seasoning – I couldn’t not suggest this, ok??

Baking the bagels

Baking bagels is the easiest stage. By this point you are mostly done and the high heat of the oven does all the work! Bagels should not need to be egg-washed beforehand, the boiling process does all the work there. Just add the bagels to a baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes.

Tips and tricks for storing and serving saffron bagels

I know, I know, you only have three bagels – so you probably won’t NEED to store them, right? But just in case, here are a few storage tips:

• Store in a bag in a cool, dry place. The fridge might be tempting – but that actually makes your bagel a bit more dense over time!
• Don’t store until the bagels have fully cooled – a warm bagel will tend to “steam” in a storage bag, making it mold faster.
• When reheating – use the oven! This will help get your bagels back to crispy, fluffy perfection.

Now for serving the bagels – that depends on which shape you made them. The star ones are fun for pulling apart and eating individually, while the classic bagel shape is much better designed for the classic slice-and-serve.

But really, when it comes down to eating these, it’s up to you!

Looking for other baking recipes?

Here are a few fan-favorites as of late!

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And that’s everything for these saffron bagels!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Saffron Bagels

These small-batch New York style bagels are quick to make, deeply savory, crisp yet fluffy and filled with flavor and color from the unique addition of saffron. They are one of the easiest bagel recipes on the internet but still give such a delicious result!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

Resting Time:1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: baking, Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bagel, saffron

Servings: 3 bagels

Equipment

• 1 large pot

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons saffron
• 3/4 cup warm water at 90-95°F 170 grams
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 3 grams
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 5 grams
• 1 & 3/4 cups bread flour 240 grams
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
• Olive oil as needed
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon flakey salt

Instructions

• Using a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron. In a measuring cup, add the water and saffron and mix, letting the water dissolve the saffron.
• In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup of the saffron water the yeast and sugar. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to get foamy.
• Add in the bread flour, salt and the rest of the saffron water. Use your hands to form into a shaggy dough.
• Move this dough to a very lightly floured work surface and knead for 9-10 minutes, or until you can poke the dough and the dough springs back.
• Lightly oil a bowl and add in the dough. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size. About 1-1 & 1/2 hours.
• When the dough has risen, punch it down and portion into 3 even pieces.
• If you are forming the dough into stars, see notes. Otherwise, form the pieces into tight balls, pinching the bottom so there are no scraggily ends.
• Use your thumb to punch an indent directly in the center of the dough. Use both hands to stretch the dough out into a large circle with a big hole in the middle. The bagels will expand, so make the hole a touch bigger than you think it needs to be.
• Add each bagel to an individual square of parchment paper, cover loosely with cling wrap, and let rise another 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil, and one at a time, boil the bagels for 1-2 minutes on each side. They will expand by about 25%, and that’s a great thing!
• Once the bagels are done boiling, transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with the sesame and flakey salt. For more topping options, see blog post.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden on the top. Enjoy warm!

Notes

To make these bagels into star shapes, use a bench cutter to cut the dough into three even pieces. The pieces should look like rough triangles, which you’ll want to cut into 5 pieces for each. So from here, grab the first piece of dough and cut off the tip, this will create another “tip,” which you again should cut. This create a bunch of elongated triangle pieces. Grab the longest ends and pinch them together in the center to create a star. This can be a bit confusing, so look to the blog post images for guidance.
After the shaping, you can return to the instructions for boiling.