Sun-Dried Tomato & Parmesan Bagels

For breakfast at my slumber party we decided to make homemade bagels. The dough is very easy to make because we put it in the automatic bread machine to mix and rise; that way we can do other things while the dough is getting ready. Shaping the bagels was lots of fun. Our bagels didn’t look as perfect as the ones you get at the grocery store or a bagel shop, but they tasted lots better. Sun-dried Tomato & Parmesan Bagels are my favorite flavor, but you can make plain ones or add your own favorite ingredients instead of the Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.

This recipe is easy, but there are a lot of steps. It’s a good idea to have an adult in the kitchen when you make bagels so you don’t skip any of the steps and so when you are boiling them and baking them you don’t get burned. Of course you’ll have to share your bagels, but since it makes a dozen, that should be okay. If you have leftovers that you can’t eat the same day, you can put them in a Ziploc type bag and freeze them.

Ingredients and Equipment Needed:

1 1/2 cups water 2 teaspoons honey 3 1/2 –4 cups flour 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (not the horrible kind in the green can 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil – drain well) 1 tablespoon yeast Topping: 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese	Automatic Bread machine if you have one; it makes the dough very easily.  If you don't have one, a mixer with a dough hook. Measuring Cups and Spoons Pastry cloth Large shallow pan for boiling the bagels Large slotted spoon or tongs for taking the bagels from the boiling water Baking sheet covered with parchment or greased with non-stick spray Pot holders for removing the hot bagels from the oven

How to Make Sun-Dried Tomato & Parmesan Bagels:

1.  Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the pan of the automatic bread machine	2.  Measure 2 teaspoons honey and put it in the pan.	3. Add the flour. Start with 3 1/2 cups; we may have to add a little more later.	4.  Measure the salt and pour it in.
5.  Sprinkle the yeast on top. Set the machine on the dough cycle and turn it on.	6.  After the machine as run for about 5 minutes, check the dough to make sure it forms a ball and the ingredients aren’t sticking to the sides of the pan. If it doesn’t form a ball because it is too soft, add the additional 1/2 cup flour. If it doesn’t go together into a ball because it is too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Start the cycle over and let it run for 5 minutes, then check again	7.  When the dough cycle has run for 30 minutes, add the Parmesan cheese.	8.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, shut the lid, and let the cycle run until it buzzes.
If you are making the dough in the mixer, attach the dough hook, then pour in the water.	Add the yeast, and turn the mixer to the low setting. Add the honey and let the mixture sit 10 minutes.	With the motor running, add a cup of flour.	Sprinkle in the salt.
Now add the Parmesan cheese and the sun-dried tomatoes along with the rest of the flour to make a soft dough; it should not be sticky though.  Let the machine run on low until the dough looks smooth; about 10 minutes.	Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with a dishtowel.  Let it rise until it is double it’s size.	You can tell if dough is doubled by sticking your finger gently in the side. If the indent from your finger doesn’t fill back in, the dough is ready. If the indent springs back, it needs to rise longer.	9. Rub a little bit of flour on the surface of a pastry cloth.
Shaping the Dough
10. When the dough is ready, dump it onto the pastry cloth.	11. This is what it looks like when it comes out of the bread machine.	12. Pat it out with your hands until it is smooth.	Now flatten it to about 1” thick.
13. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough	14. First cut the dough in half	15. Then cut each half in half so that you have four pieces.	Cut each of the four pieces into three pieces so that you have 12 pieces. Each one of these pieces will be a bagel. It doesn’t matter if they are exactly the same size because some people like big bagels and other like theirs a little smaller.
16. Roll each of the pieces of dough into a ball.	17. Flatten each of the balls.	18. Using your thumbs, poke a hole in the middle of each piece of dough.	Pull the hole out so that it is quite big. Shell’s is big enough for her to look through.
Now lay each bagel on a flat surface and pinch the middle and the outside together so that the hole in the middle is smooth. Make sure you pinch tight so that the seam doesn’t come apart. The seam will be the bottom of the bagel, so it won’t show.	In this picture you can see how the dough from the middle was pinched with the dough from the side. This is how your bagels should look. Don’t worry that the hole in the middle is quite big; it will fill in when it’s boiled and baked.	Let the shaped and pinched bagels sit while you get the boiling water ready. Turn on the oven to 400° so it will be hot when the bagels have been boiled.	Get a big dishtowel and put it on the counter to drain the bagels when they come out of the water. Place a piece of parchment paper on two baking sheets or spray them with non-stick spray. Have these ready on the counter next to the dishtowel.
Fill a big frying pan with water, turn the heat to high, and wait until the water boils.	Carefully put bagels in the boiling water seam side up. You can put several in at once, as long as they don’t touch each other. Let the bagels boil one minute.	Using a slotted spoon, turn the bagels and let cook another minute.	Use the slotted spoon or spatula (that’s one with holes in it so the water will drain off) to take the bagels out of the water and slide them onto the dishtowel.
When the bagels are drained, transfer them to the parchment-lined baking sheet.	Put the boiled bagels in the preheated oven. Set the timer for 5 minutes.	When the timer rings, take them out and sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese. Put them back in the oven for about 10 more minutes or until they are lightly browned.	Take the pans out of the oven and let the bagels cool. They are really good warm if you can’t wait.

Back to Isabella Cooks Main Page