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2024 is my year of bagels and I’m going to be honest – I don’t know if I’ll ever top these ultra fun & yummy rainbow bagels.
These Rainbow Bagels are SO fun!
I have never had more fun making (or eating) a bagel than I did with these rainbow bagels. The perfect happy, fun way to start the day, these ultra colorful bagels are sure to make you smile with their appearance alone. But then when you take a bite?? You’re going to be grinning from ear to ear all day.
Everything is better when it is rainbow (like these rainbow donuts), but these bagels? They have a plain bagel flavor making them the perfect base for anything you’d like to make. If you’re wondering if I frosted a few just to test it out, you’d be right (and they were DELISH)!
The trick to making these homemade colored bagels is to COLOR THE YEAST WATER. I know it seems counterintuitive and I know you think it would be easier to color the dough once it’s made. It’s not. I tried it that way and kneaded for *over an hour* and the dough turned out so ugly. But when you color the yeast water you get the prettiest colors and the finished bagels are gorgeous and so fun.
Homemade Bagel Ingredients
- Warm water (105° F- 113° F)
- Dry active yeast – You can use instant yeast here, if you’d like.
- Brown sugar – This is a great (and more accessible) substitute to barley malt that is found in commercial bagels.
- Bread flour + extra as needed
- Salt
- Food Coloring – You’ll want 4 different colors!
How to Make Rainbow Bagels
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 heaping tsp dry active yeast, 1 scant tsp of brown sugar and 5-6 drops of the food coloring color of your choice. Stir and allow the mixture to sit while the yeast activates.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 cup of bread flour and 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Once the yeast mixture is foamy and bubbly, add yeast to the flour mixture.
- If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes, adding up to an additional 3 tablespoons of flour as needed to keep the dough soft yet workable.
- If kneading by hand, mix the wet and dry ingredients until a rough dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes, using a push, turn, and fold technique. Add an extra 2-3 tablespoons of bread flour as necessary. (You may want to wear gloves if kneading by hand. 🙂 )
- Remove the dough and cover to keep the dough from drying out.
- Repeat steps 1-5 three additional times until you have a total of four different colors of dough.
Shaping your bagels
8.Once you have 4 different colors of dough, shape each color into a long, flat rectangle. Stack the colors on top of each other. Cut the rectangle in half and then stack on top each other, giving us double the layers.
9. Cut the Rectangle into 8 equal strips.
10. Working with one strip at a time, twist and pull the dough long while wrapping the dough around your hand. Roll the dough onto the counter while still around your hand to help seal the ends together.
11. Place on a parchment or silicone lined large cookie sheet.
12. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.
13. Cover and allow the bagels to rise for 30 minutes.
14. In a large pot, bring about 4 inches of water to a rolling boil.
15. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
16. Boil each bagel for about 1 minute on each side and then place back on the prepared baking sheet.
17. Once all of the bagels have been boiled, bake at 425° F for 15-17 minutes.
18. Allow the bagels to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting for easier handling.
19. Top with your favorite cream cheese and enjoy!
Rainbow Bagels FAQs
Store your bagels in an airtight zip lock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days (and honestly, a little bit longer).
I love to try different flavors of cream cheese and if I’m being honest, I put frosting in these fun rainbow bagels once. But if you’re not feeling quite that adventurous, you can try your hand at breakfast or lunch bagel sandwiches – they’re killer.
More Homemade Bagels
Rainbow Bagels
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water (105° F- 113° F), (We will use this measurement 4 times so you’ll need a total of 2 cups of water)
- 1 heaping tsp dry active yeast , (We will use this measurement 4 times so you’ll need a total of 1 1/2 tbsp of yeast.)
- 1 scant tsp brown sugar , (We will use this measurement 4 times so you’ll need a total of 1 tbsp of brown sugar.)
- 1 cup bread flour + extra as needed , (We will use this measurement 4 times so you'll need a total of 4 1/2 cups of bread flour)
- 1/2 tsp salt , (We will use this measurement 4 times so you’ll need a total of 2 tsp of salt.)
- 4 colors food coloring
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 heaping tsp dry active yeast, 1 scant tsp of brown sugar and 5-6 drops of the food coloring color of your choice. Stir and allow the mixture sit while the yeast activates.
- In a larger bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 cup of bread flour and 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Once the yeast mixture is foamy and bubbly, add it to the flour mixture
- If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes, adding up to an additional 3 tablespoons of flour as needed to keep the dough soft yet workable.
- If kneading by hand, mix the wet and dry ingredients until a rough dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes, using a push, turn, and fold technique. Add an extra 2-3 tablespoons of bread flour as necessary. (You may want to wear gloves if kneading by hand. 🙂 )
- Remove the dough and cover to keep the dough from drying out.
- Repeat steps 1-5 three additional times until you have a total of four different colors of dough.
- Once you have 4 different colors of dough, shape each color into a long, flat rectangle. Stack the colors on top of each other. Cut the rectangle in half and then stack on top each other, giving us double the layers.
- Cut the Rectangle into 8 equal strips.
- Working with one strip at a time, twist and pull the dough long while wrapping the dough around your hand. Roll the dough onto the counter while still around your hand to help seal the ends together.
- Place on a parchment or silicone lined large cookie sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.
- Cover and allow the bagels to rise for 30 minutes.
- In a large pot, bring about 4 inches of water to a rolling boil.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Boil each bagel for about 1 minute on each side and then place back on the prepared baking sheet.
- Once all of the bagels have been boiled, bake at 425° F for 15-17 minutes.
- Allow the bagels to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting for easier handling.
- Top with your favorite cream cheese and enjoy!
Cake Batter Cream Cheese
I just made this recipe and oh my goodness!! So easy, they look so pretty and they taste great. I just had one – cut in half with some butter and flaky sea salt. It was amazing. Definitely recommend trying this recipe! Kids will love this.
One question – how are the calories so low for a bagel?!
It was sooooo fun and delicous
Hi, I tried posting a question, but it didnt go through. What type of food coloring did you use? Our batch was pretty, but did not turn out as bold as yours.
Hi Lindsey! I recommend using 5-6 drops of food coloring per color. But instead of adding it to the already mixed dough, you’re going to color the yeast water! This will help the bagels turn out super vibrantly.
Does it matter that the other dough colors are rising while you’re waiting to get all 4 made? Should you store them in the refrigerator if your room is really warm?
No, I would just leave them out while you’re making the other colors. Just make sure they are covered and it will be fine!
These were super easy to make, a little time consuming but delicious!
I want to make these but I’m a little confused. So I have to use all those measurements 4 times? Like do I have to make 4 dough batches?
Yes, you will make 4 mini dough batches!
Hi what type/brand of food coloring do you recommend for best results? Does it matter what type it is??
Hi! You can use any brand you’d like, but here are my favorites: https://amzn.to/445Z1Tp