Rainbow Bagels

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Welcome to the breakfast of unicorns. Rainbow bagels. Mmmmm...

Not for the faint of heart: Rainbow Bagels. Yeah, Rainbow. Freakin’. Bagels. Takes 2 days to make, but at the end you have Rainbow Bagels. Swoon.

rainbow bagel recipe feature

Why Rainbow Bagels You Ask

Let’s be honest here, I’m a little nuts. Things tend to creep up on me and then BAM, I’m suddenly learning how to parasail with a tutu…maybe nuts isn’t a strong enough word. Well, so this is what happened this week: I’m sitting there, innocently flipping through my Facebook feed (follow me, y’all–I’m fun!) and I saw this A-Mazing rainbow bagel. Yeah, A-Mazing. The moment I saw it, I knew I would have to try one. But they’re like in New York. Yeah, and I’m way down in Texas. With no cashy-money to have an order shipped. No dough = no dough.

So, I decided to try my hand at making them…and then I made this awesome cake batter dip that is SO YUMMY IN THE BAGEL. Try it. Or not. Whatever. But you’ll be missing-out if you don’t…

easy rainbow colored bagel recipe fb

Ingredients for Rainbow Bagels

Dough (You will be making this 5 times, one for each color)

  • 1 tblspn honey
  • 1/2 tspn instant yeast
  • 3/4 tspn salt
  • 2 tblspn sugar
  • 1 cup and 1 tblspn lukewarm water
  • 10 drops food coloring of your choice (yellow, blue, green, pink, orange, red, purple, whatever–just 5 different ones)
  • 1 3/4 cup flour

Poaching Liquid

  • 2 to 3 quarts of water (just a lot–like a lot)
  • 2 tblspn honey
  • 1 tblspn baking soda
  • 1 tspn salt

bagel with rainbow colors recipe

How to Make Rainbow Bagels

Day 1

  1. Lightly oil 5 medium bowls. Set aside.
  2. Lightly oil enough baking pans or tupperware dishes so that the bagels can comfortably rest 2 inches apart. Set aside.
  3. Mix all ingredients for 1 batch of bagels in a small bowl, except for the flour. Make sure the food coloring is consistent throughout.
  4. In a large stand mixer, using your dough hook, place the flour and other ingredients for the dough.
  5. Mix for 3 minutes.
  6. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to allow the gluten to really get good and sticky.
  7. Mix for another 3 minutes.
  8. Remove from mixer and place in a pre-oiled bowl and cover.
  9. Repeat process for all 5 colors.
  10. Once all 5 colors are made, allow them to sit for one hour at room temperature.
  11. When the hour is up, divide each color into 10 small balls. (or I guess you could make even smaller balls and make like 50 mini-bagels, but I’m not that good…sooooo….)
  12. Taking one small ball of each color, smoosh them all together gently and, rolling them together with your hands, make a rope.
  13. Wrap the rope around your hand and mush the ends together. You can tell that I’m a really super expert at making my ropes very consistent in size (um, right) and so my bagels are perfectly round…or they look like gigantic mutant croissants…whatever.
  14. Place bagel on the pre-oiled baking sheet. Repeat for all 10 bagels.
  15. Place bagels in the refrigerator overnight. You can leave them for up to 2 nights in the fridge, if you need to.

Day 2

  1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  2. Remove bagels from refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to bake them.
  3. Lightly oil enough baking sheets for the bagels to be placed 2-inches apart. Set aside.
  4. At the hour mark, fill a small bowl with cool water and put a bagel in it. If the bagel floats, you’re ready to move on, if not, put the bagel back on the baking sheet and wait another 15 minutes, then repeat the float test again. Please note: if one bagel passes the float test, they’re all ready–so you don’t have to test each one.
  5. Place all of the ingredients for the poaching liquid into a large pot and set it to boiling.
  6. Once the poaching liquid is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer, then place bagels into the liquid (only put enough bagels into the liquid that will fit comfortably in one layer).
  7. After 1 minute, flip the bagels in the liquid and allow them to boil for 1 more minute.
  8. Remove bagels from the poaching liquid and place on the pre-oiled baking sheet.
  9. Repeat for all the bagels.
  10. When all the bagels have been poached, place them in the oven and turn the heat down to 450 degrees.
  11. At 8 minutes, rotate the bagels and check the bottom–if they are getting too brown for you, place another baking sheet under the first to insulate it.
  12. Bake for another 8 minutes.
  13. Remove and allow to cool completely (30 minutes) before entering the land of awesome unicorns and rainbows…

easy recipe for rainbow bagels ra

rainbow bagel recipe feature
Yield: 10

Rainbow Bagels

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Not for the faint of heart: Rainbow Bagels. Yeah, Rainbow. Freakin'. Bagels. Takes 2 days to make, but at the end you have Rainbow Bagels. Swoon.

Ingredients

  • Dough, You will be making this 5 times, one for each color
  • 1 tblspn honey
  • 1/2 tspn instant yeast
  • 3/4 tspn salt
  • 2 tblspn sugar
  • 1 cup and 1 tblspn lukewarm water
  • 10 drops food coloring of your choice, yellow, blue, green, pink, orange, red, purple, whatever–just 5 different ones
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • Poaching Liquid
  • 2 to 3 quarts of water, just a lot–like a lot
  • 2 tblspn honey
  • 1 tblspn baking soda
  • 1 tspn salt

Instructions

  1. Day 1
  2. Lightly oil 5 medium bowls. Set aside.
  3. Lightly oil enough baking pans or tupperware dishes so that the bagels can comfortably rest 2 inches apart. Set aside.
  4. Mix all ingredients for 1 batch of bagels in a small bowl, except for the flour. Make sure the food coloring is consistent throughout.
  5. In a large stand mixer, using your dough hook, place the flour and other ingredients for the dough.
  6. Mix for 3 minutes.
  7. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to allow the gluten to really get good and sticky.
  8. Mix for another 3 minutes.
  9. Remove from mixer and place in a pre-oiled bowl and cover.
  10. Repeat process for all 5 colors.
  11. Once all 5 colors are made, allow them to sit for one hour at room temperature.
  12. When the hour is up, divide each color into 10 small balls. (or I guess you could make even smaller balls and make like 50 mini-bagels, but I’m not that good…sooooo….)
  13. Taking one small ball of each color, smoosh them all together gently and, rolling them together with your hands, make a rope.
  14. Wrap the rope around your hand and mush the ends together. You can tell that I’m a really super expert at making my ropes very consistent in size (um, right) and so my bagels are perfectly round…or they look like gigantic mutant croissants…whatever.
  15. Place bagel on the pre-oiled baking sheet. Repeat for all 10 bagels.
  16. Place bagels in the refrigerator overnight. You can leave them for up to 2 nights in the fridge, if you need to.
  17. Day 2
  18. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  19. Remove bagels from refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to bake them.
  20. Lightly oil enough baking sheets for the bagels to be placed 2-inches apart. Set aside.
  21. At the hour mark, fill a small bowl with cool water and put a bagel in it. If the bagel floats, you’re ready to move on, if not, put the bagel back on the baking sheet and wait another 15 minutes, then repeat the float test again. Please note: if one bagel passes the float test, they’re all ready–so you don’t have to test each one.
  22. Place all of the ingredients for the poaching liquid into a large pot and set it to boiling.
  23. Once the poaching liquid is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer, then place bagels into the liquid (only put enough bagels into the liquid that will fit comfortably in one layer).
  24. After 1 minute, flip the bagels in the liquid and allow them to boil for 1 more minute.
  25. Remove bagels from the poaching liquid and place on the pre-oiled baking sheet.
  26. Repeat for all the bagels.
  27. When all the bagels have been poached, place them in the oven and turn the heat down to 450 degrees.
  28. At 8 minutes, rotate the bagels and check the bottom–if they are getting too brown for you, place another baking sheet under the first to insulate it.
  29. Bake for another 8 minutes.
  30. Remove and allow to cool completely (30 minutes) before entering the land of awesome unicorns and rainbows…

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