Parmesan Asiago Cheese Bagels

This recipe was originally featured on Cooking with Karli.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 cup water, divided
• 3 1/4 cup flour
• 5 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup Parmesan and Asiago cheese mix, shredded

Instructions:

• Add the yeast, 1/2 Tbsp sugar, and 1/2 cup of warm water to the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Let is proof and get bubbly for 5 minutes.
• After the yeast has proofed, add the remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Start mixing on low and gradually add in the water. The dough will be thick and shouldn’t stick to the bowl at all.
• If you have an Instant Pot with yogurt setting: spray the pot of your Instant Pot with non-stick spray. Turn on the Instant Pot (IP) to the Normal yogurt setting. Place the dough inside and cover with a glass lid. Let is rise for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up, punch down the dough and remove it from the IP, then let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
  • If you do not have an Instant Pot: take the bowl from the stand mixer and cover with a towel. Turn on your oven to warm for 5 minutes then turn off the oven and place the bowl inside and let rise until almost doubled in size (will take longer than IP. You could also let the dough rise naturally on the counter which will take the longest (hours) however, slower-proofed doughs allow the yeast-flavor to develop. Follow instructions for proofed dough above.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add about 5 inches of water to your IP (or just a stock pot on the stove) and bring to a boil.
• Once the dough has rested for 10 minutes, divide the dough into the number of bagels you want (6 regular/large, 8 mini). After you’ve divided the dough, roll each portion into a tight ball. (This is where you will decide how “pretty” you want your bagels to be, a smoother ball = a smooth surface appearance.)
• Once all of the dough has been rolled into a ball, use your thumb and stab it through the center of the ball. Work the dough around your thumb until the hole in the middle is about 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Drop the shaped dough into the boiling water in batches and boil for 2-3 minutes on each side. The longer you boil the bagels, the chewier the texture will be. Use the end of a wooden spoon to flip them.
• After the bagels have been boiled, place them onto a greased or silicone-lined cookie sheet. Brush the egg white onto the bagel then sprinkle with the cheese mix.
• Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Tips & Tricks:

• I boiled my bagels for about 5 minutes total. They were very chewy (think almost soft pretzel) but that’s my personal preference.
• Don’t worry when you roll out your dough into each bagel. The bagels puff up during the boiling process. My bagels went from about 4 inches in diameter and fairly flat before boiling to almost 6 inches and very tall.
• Brushing the bagels with egg white before baking will both help keep the cheese in place and give the bagel a nice brown color.
• Haven’t perfected your shaping technique yet? Don’t worry, they taste just as delicious whether they are perfectly smooth on top or have some texture.