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5 from 1 vote

Easy Homemade Parmesan Bagels

Servings: 14 Bagels
Author: Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour of choice + another 1/2 cup or so more if the dough seems very wet and you'll need a little extra for dusting your hands too. I think using part organic whole grain flour (either, spelt, einkorn or regular wheat) would be good too, maybe just a little heavier. I've also made it with 3 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour and 2.5 cups organic all-purpose einkorn flour or even ALL einkorn flour is really good! (Read more here about why einkorn flour is so much better for us than conventional wheat.)
  • 3 Tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder -- make sure your baking powder isn't too old or they'll be flat.
  • 1 teaspoons sea salt
  • 3 1/2 cups organic whole milk yogurt one 30-ounce container or sour cream works too!
  • Optional: 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, gouda or cheddar is yummy too! Make cheesy herb bagels by adding 1 handful of chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tablespoon dried and/or a teaspoon of oregano, Italian seasonings, etc. 1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder is good too, you can't mess this up!
  • To brush on the top: 2 eggs beaten with a fork, best from pastured hens
  • Optional toppings: sea salt, sesame seeds, or Liz recommended this yummy topping -- it's only $2 at Trader Joe's.

Cinnamon raisin bagels:

  • I recently made cinnamon raisin bagels and they were a hit! Just add the following to the basic recipe above: 3/4 cup organic sugar, 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, and 1 1/2 cup organic raisins. Shape the bagels, place on the pan, brush the egg on, and sprinkle with a little more sugar on top, and bake.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375*.
  • Prep two cookie sheets.  Either butter them well, or line with unbleached parchment paper. These pre-cut parchment sheets have changed my life!
  • I used my Bosch mixer for this recipe because it's so fast, but you can follow the instructions at the recipe this is adapted from if you want to do it by hand, just don't use her ingredient suggestions -- she uses non-fat yogurt!!!  And note that I quadrupled her recipe, knowing how much my family would devour these.
  • (If you don't have a Bosch yet, you should, I love this workhorse.  Someday I may splurge and get a pretty KitchenAid though, now that they have the huge 7 quart bowl that I need!)
  • Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add yogurt and mix/knead until combined.  Add any optional ingredients and mix. The dough will be unlike other bread dough you've worked with, it's sort of sticky and clumpy.
  • Get more flour on your hands or some soft butter so the dough doesn't stick (it still will a little, but it's okay) then pull out a handful of dough a little smaller than baseball size and roll into a ball.  Flatten just a bit and poke a hole in the middle with your fingers before setting onto the cookie sheet.  Feel free to make yours a little fatter (a little bigger than baseball size?), but you'll obviously get less bagels out of each batch than I did.  If it starts sticking to your hands, just get more butter or flour on them.
  • Brush each bagel with the beaten egg mixture then sprinkle on your toppings of choice.  I did one cookie sheet with a light sprinkling of sea salt only and the other cookie sheet with a little garlic powder, a little sea salt, then a few sesame seeds.  If desired, flip the bagels and do the other side too.
  • Bake 25-28 minutes on the top oven rack or until lightly golden.  If your oven runs hot, just make sure they don't burn on the bottom. Let cool before slicing or you'll just smoosh them.
  • Serve with lots of real butter, of course, and some organic cream cheese, preferably made from pastured dairy.
  • Store in the fridge so they'll keep longer, since there are no preservatives in them, obviously.  If you have extra (doubtful), slice in half and put them in a freezer baggie, but don't put the two halves together like a sandwich.  Instead stagger the tops and bottoms so they're easier to pull apart and pop into the toaster for a fast morning breakfast.
  • If you make them, please comment below and let me know what you think!

Notes

I have not yet tried this method, but to make this recipe even healthier, use half organic whole-grain flour (like this one).  Once the dough is all mixed together, let set overnight before shaping and baking.  (Read more here about soaking grains overnight and the health benefits.)