Bagels are intimidating. No arguing there. After watching multiple how-to tutorials on YouTube and Tasty, the complex process of making the dough and pre-boiling before baking just didn’t seem up my ally. But I still wanted homemade bagels. Ever since trying perfect bagels in New York, I was hooked and I wanted to recreate that feeling in my kitchen.
Two hours of google research and endless bagel recipes later, I was ready to give one recipe a try that did not require boiling and needed two main ingredients: Flour and Greek yoghurt. Easy enough right? The first try was fine, but I was not entirely convinced yet, so I tweaked the recipe for myself a few times and also settled on a Greek yoghurt brand that worked the best. I tried several yoghurt brands but consistency and texture-wise, Fage brand hands down worked SO much better than the other brands out there. So, if you are also a bagel aficionado like me, this one is for you!
Ingredients
For 8 bagels
For the dough:
- 280g flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 500gr non-fat greek yoghurt (Fage brand worked best for me)
- Fresh Basil
Toppings:
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Dried rosemary
- Dried basil
Additional:
- Coconut oil
- 1 egg white (beaten) or sub with water
Let’s get started!
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line your baking sheet with baking paper. Use a little coconut oil to slightly grease the paper. Like this you will also add a hint of coconut flavour to your bagels (and who doesn’t love that?).
Get a medium sized bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
Add the Greek yogurt to the dry mix. You can either use a spatula to mix the ingredients or use a kitchen processor. I used a Kitchen Aid with hook attachment since I am a bit lazy 😉
Once all the ingredients are well combined, you can chop your fresh basil and add it to the dough. I would recommend folding it in with a spatula to not break up the basil too much.
Dust a clean working surface with flour where you can work your dough baby. Keep some extra flour on the side in case you will need to dust the dough or your hands again (you will have to, trust me).
Transfer your dough baby to your dusted working surface. The dough can be very sticky at the beginning, so make sure to dust it with extra flour. Now you can get to work and give the dough a little massage. Knead for 1-2 minutes until you have a nicely shaped ball.
Now you can divide the dough ball in half. Divide each half into 4 equal pieces and get ready to roll. Dust your fingers with flour (see, I told you that you would need that extra flour). Roll each piece into a little dough sausage. Make sure that they are evenly shaped and not too thin. Join the ends of the dough sausages and transfer them to your prepared baking sheet.
Brush each bagel with water (or beaten egg white) and you are all set to sprinkle your toppings. I mix all toppings in a bowl beforehand and then sprinkle them on top until the bagels are evenly coated.
Time to get toasty! Bake your bagels for 25 minutes until they are golden brown. Take them out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before eating.
Once cooled down, you can snack away or also add a little extra touch of deliciousness. I like to cut my bagel open and top it with rucola, avocado slices, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and for that extra spice: some dried chilli flakes!
