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If you love bagel sandwiches, Country Gravy Bagels are a MUST TRY. My remarkable chewy bagel base is infused with homestyle flavor, making it the end-all for sandwiches.

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A country gravy bagel breakfast sandwich.

Meet Your New Favorite Homemade Bagel

I’m begging you to give this Country Gravy Bagel a try! While adding gravy mix to bagel dough sounds a little unorthodox, trust me. Gravy bagels are homey, savory bombshells that win the award for best bagel sandwich foundation, bar none. Top these bad boys with eggs & sausage for a killer breakfast or grilled chicken and a cream sauce for a creative dinner. Or, if you’re feeling really saucy, you could even use these in place of biscuits with a homestyle sausage gravy.

What You’ll Need to Make Gravy Bagels at Home

Warm water (105° F-113°F) – Using the right temperature of water here is key! Make sure it is not too hot or cold, ensuring your yeast will grow and become bubbly.
Dry active yeast
Brown sugar
Bread flour – The secret to bagel success! Bread flour will make these SOFT.
Salt
Country Gravy Mix – This gives the country gravy bagels an unreal flavor.

Egg wash

Egg white
Water

Close up of country gravy mix packet next to homemade gravy bagels on the counter.

How to Make Country Bagels

In a small bowl, add the warm water, dry active yeast and 1 tbsp brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the 4 1/4 cups of bread flour, salt, and the packet of country gravy mix. Stir to combine.
In a few minutes, your yeast mixture should be bubbly and foamy. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients.
If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes. You may need to add in a bit of extra flour to keep the dough workable but soft.
If mixing by hand, start by stirring the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture until a shaggy dough forms. At this point, pour the contents onto a clean surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Add the extra 2-3 tbsp of bread flour as needed to keep the dough soft but workable. Knead by pushing the dough, turning and folding it in half. Repeat this for 10 minutes.
Once the dough has finished kneading, allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. (Cut the dough in half, then each half in half again and then once more)
Shape your bagels – take each portion of dough and knead into a tight ball. Once in a ball, press your thumb into the center of the ball and gently squeeze and pull the dough while rotating it around your thumb to create the bagel shape. Place onto a parchment or silicone lined 3/4 cookie sheet (this is just a larger cookie sheet).
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and allow the bagels to rise for 20 minutes or until puffed up and no longer wrinkly.

Baking Country Gravy Bagels

Preheat the oven to 425°F once the bagels have risen.
In a large pot, boil about 4 inches of water.
While the water is coming to a boil, whisk together the egg wash ingredients and set aside.
Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully drop the risen bagels into the boiling water one by one. You may have to do this in a few batches. Boil the bagels for about 1 minute, flip over to the other side and boil for an additional minute.
Using a large slotted spoon or spider strainer to remove the bagels and return to the lined cookie sheet and brush with the egg wash.
Once all of the bagels have boiled, bake in the 425° F oven for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow the bagels to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and enjoying.
Store in a zip top bag in the fridge for up to 4 days.

A hand grabbing a breakfast sandwich made on a homemade country gravy bagel.

Homemade Bagel Tips

There are a couple of things that make baking homemade bagels much easier! First, I recommend grabbing an extra large cookie sheet + silicone mat so you can bake all of your bagels at once. Necessary? No. But highly convenient. Second, this spider strainer is a must for boiling your bagels. A slotted spoon will get the job done, but this spider will allow the water to drip off of the bagels so much easier & quicker.

How to Store Country Gravy Bagels

These bagels will stay fresh and soft for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight bag in the fridge.

A side view of a country gravy bagel breakfast sandwich cut in half. Across the top it says "bakery style country gravy bagels"

Savory Bagel Collection

A side view of a country gravy bagel breakfast sandwich cut in half.

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Country Gravy Bagels

By: Karli Bitner

If you love bagel sandwiches, Country Gravy Bagels are a MUST TRY. My remarkable chewy bagel base is infused with homestyle flavor, making it the end-all for sandwiches.

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 15

Rest Time: 20

Servings: bagels

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups warm water, 105° F-113°F
▢ 1 1/2 tbsp dry active yeast
▢ 1 tbsp brown sugar
▢ 4 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more, as needed
▢ 2 tsp salt
▢ 1 2.75 oz pkg Country Gravy Mix

Egg wash

▢ 1 egg white
▢ 1 tbsp water

Instructions

In a small bowl, add the warm water, dry active yeast and 1 tbsp brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the 4 1/4 cups of bread flour, salt, and the packet of country gravy mix. Stir to combine.
In a few minutes, your yeast mixture should be bubbly and foamy. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients.
If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes. You may need to add in a bit of extra flour to keep the dough workable but soft.
If mixing by hand, start by stirring the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture until a shaggy dough forms. At this point, pour the contents onto a clean surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Add the extra 2-3 tbsp of bread flour as needed to keep the dough soft but workable. Knead by pushing the dough, turning and folding it in half. Repeat this for 10 minutes.
Once the dough has finished kneading, allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. (Cut the dough in half, then each half in half again and then once more)
Shape your bagels – take each portion of dough and knead into a tight ball. Once in a ball, press your thumb into the center of the ball and gently squeeze and pull the dough while rotating it around your thumb to create the bagel shape. Place onto a parchment or silicone lined 3/4 cookie sheet (this is just a larger cookie sheet).
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and allow the bagels to rise for 20 minutes or until puffed up and no longer wrinkly.
Preheat the oven to 425°F once the bagels have risen.
In a large pot, boil about 4 inches of water.
While the water is coming to a boil, whisk together the egg wash ingredients and set aside.
Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully drop the risen bagels into the boiling water one by one. You may have to do this in a few batches. Boil the bagels for about 1 minute, flip over to the other side and boil for an additional minute.
Using a large slotted spoon or spider strainer to remove the bagels and return to the lined cookie sheet and brush with the egg wash.
Once all of the bagels have boiled, bake in the 425° F oven for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow the bagels to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and enjoying.
Store in a zip top bag in the fridge for up to 4 days.