How to Freeze and Thaw Bagels – Complete Storage Guide
I love bagels. My wife is a New York transplant so we are always on the hunt for good bagels. When we find them, we buy in bulk and freeze. However, thawed bagels get a little mushy and never have the same pizzazz. Then I tried a few little tricks and found the perfect way to thaw bagels. This method is so good, that the bagels come out better than the fresh ones.
The ultimate way to thaw bagels
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first step is to remove the bagels from the freezer. To freeze the bagels just place them in the freezer in a plastic bag or in plastic wrap.
Place the frozen bagel on a wire rack over a sheet pan.
Spoon 3 tablespoons of water over each bagel. Make sure to spread the water out over the entire bagel.
Place the bagel in the oven and bake for 14-16 minutes.
Remove and enjoy.
- 1 bagel
- 3 tbs water
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The first step is to remove the bagels from the freezer. To freeze the bagels just place them in the freezer in a plastic bag or in plastic wrap.
- Place the frozen bagel on a wire rack over a sheet pan.
- Spoon 3 tablespoons of water over each bagel. Make sure to spread the water out over the entire bagel.
Place the bagel in the oven and bake for 14-16 minutes.
- Remove and enjoy.
This method is simple and creates a bagel that rivals the original. The outside is crispy and the middle is soft and delicious! Dana likes the bagels better this way. Plus they are hot right out of the oven. We make bagels this way every morning.
When I made bagel by following your methods, the outside part was crispy and the middle was soft and delicious. Without any doubt I will say, this method is simple and creates a bagel that rivals the original.
Omg! This is by far the best way to thaw a bagel.
I tried this method. My bagel ended up rock hard, dark brown all around the outside and impossible to slice. Either the time or the temperature is too much.
Jenny,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. This works for me each and every time so I am unsure why it really didn’t work for you. The temperature of freezers varies and this could be the issue here. I have my set to -2 degrees Fahrenheit. While some freezers are set to 20 degrees. I would adjust your timing by 3-5 minutes and try again. Hope that helps.
Rex
I know this post is 4 years old but I just found it. I have a 7 year old daughter with Autism and one of the only things she eats is…of all things…egg everything bagels. We live on Long Island and are moving to NC this summer and the unavailability of these bagels is terrifyjng! My son works at our bagel shop and they pre make bagel dough and chill them or freeze the dough and then bake as needed during the day. I am going to try your method tomorrow on a bagel I just froze and see how that goes because that would be easier than messing with the raw dough. But if she won’t eat it, I may have to try to bake them from raw dough he brings me home. Wish me luck!
Elise,
I hope that it works. There is one other thing that I want to let you know when you do this. If you put them right in as described above, the outside can get a little crunchy. You can adjust this by adding more water and then sealing the bagel over with some foil. That way it retains more moisture giving you a chewier outside. My family like them with a slightly crunchy outside, but not everyone does. I know that some kids that suffer with autism have issues with texture. So if the texture is not perfect for her the first time, it is not the end. You can totally adjust that. I hope you have a great trial run tomorrow. Fingers crossed for you!
Rex
Hi, I am about to try this method, but I wanted to hop in here and express my appreciation over how you responded to Elise’s comment to help her find the right texture for her autistic daughter, within 45 minutes of her comment, 4 years after this post had gone up. Your kindness and understanding truly brought a tear to my eye. Elise, I hope you and your daughter are doing well. Rex, continue being lovely. As for me, I’m going to go fire up my oven.
Appreciate the nice comment Kate! Good luck with your bagels.
Rex
Are you supposed to put the bagels in the oven open faced, so the two halves sitting side by side, or closed?
The recipe works best with uncut bagels. However, if the bagels are cut, I would cook them with the bagel closed.
I’m shocked at how well this worked. I tried this on Absolute Bagels (IMO the best bagels in NYC) and it came out great. Thank you so much!
This is a great recipe but it always burns so I find it better to heat it at 400° for 10-12 mins and it’s perfect!
One note for people who are having trouble with overcooking their bagels using this: have you double-checked that your oven is properly calibrated? It sounds silly, but after using my oven for over a year, I burned a few trays of brownies so I bought a little oven thermometer, and sure enough, it turned out my oven was running hot by FIFTY degrees, sometimes even more! Just a thought.
Has anyone tried Convect Bake vs. Bake?
This recipe is perfect and works every time!
We’re also NYC transplants and recently found out our Midwest milk delivery service offers H&H bagels (frozen). Absolute bagels are our faves, too, funnily. In any case, this method is fantastic! We feel like we’ve got fresh NYC bagels again!! Thanks so much for sharing it!!
Thanks for the technique! A word to those have problems with oven temperature. Ovens can vary in temperature +/- 50 degrees F. Best to check with oven thermometer. Cheers!
Would this method work if the bagel is placed directly on the oven rack rather than on a rack placed on a baking sheet?
BagelLover57 – This would work directly on the rack, but it could be a bit messy. I love a good everything bagel and I really hate to clean the oven.