Asiago Cheese Bagels

Hi fellow foodies! I hope you are all having a great day! I was excited to blog today because I wanted to share my new baking adventure. Hopefully, this will inspire you in your kitchen too. For today’s post, I will sharing a recipe for Asiago Cheese Bagels and they are super tasty.

These babies have been on my to-do list for quite some time but I finally made them happen. I went grocery shopping recently with my family and discovered that Winco, a local store, sells bagels 28 cents each. I was floored because I know that bagels take a little more effort than some other bakes. In addition, they had a variety of flavors such as blueberry, cinnamon raisin, jalapeño cheddar, and herb and cheese. We ended up buying quite a few and they turned into the best sandwiches (savory) and the best breakfasts (sweet). We topped the savory ones with a variety of sandwich meats and cheeses and some deliciously flavored cream cheese spreads such as garden vegetable and onion and chive. For the sweet bagels, we used blueberry or strawberry cream cheese. After having such wonderful bagels, I have to admit that I felt a little guilty because I had not gotten into my kitchen and tried my hand at baking homemade bagels.

That was the push I needed to get started. I used a basic bagel recipe and decided to flavor it with Asiago cheese. This cheese is particularly tasty to me and is a great bread flavor. I even added a little on top of the bagels for interest and additional cheesy goodness. You can experiment with different cheeses or even switch to a sweet bagel by substituting the cheese for blueberries. Feel free to slice the bagel in half and toast in the toaster. It will make your cream cheese all melty and yummy!

I’m hoping that you will try these at your house because they are totally worth the effort. If not, go to Winco and buy some for 28 cents each. That’s a great deal and you will still get delicious bagels. Lol

Until next time,

🥰 Jennifer

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups bread flour

4 teaspoons instant rise yeast

3 tablespoons sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese plus extra

1 1/2 cups hot water (120-130 degrees Fahrenheit)

About 2 tablespoons cornmeal

Egg wash:

1 egg white plus 1 teaspoon water

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup cheese. Mix on slow until combined.

2. While mixing, slowly add water until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides.

3. Remove dough from mixer and place on a floured surface. Knead dough for ten minutes. Don’t try to knead in the mixer because this dough is too tough and it could damage your machine.

4. Place dough in a bowl that has been either spray with non-stick cooking spray or rubbed with olive oil. Cover and place in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

5. In the meantime, boil 3 quarts of water with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and allow to simmer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a non-stick baking mat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of cornmeal.

6. Remove dough from bowl and divide into 10 equal portions. Roll each piece in a ball and force your thumb through the center of each to from the classic bagel shape. They don’t have to be perfect. Place on prepared cookie sheet. You can smooth the surface a bit after they go into the simmering water.

7. Allow dough to rise for 10 minutes.

8. Place 2-3 raw bagels in simmering water for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove and place on a towel to remove some of the excess water.

9. Place raw bagels on cookie sheet. Create an egg wash by whisking an egg white with 1 teaspoon water. Use a brush to brush surfaces of raw bagels with the egg wash. Sprinkle with a bit of shredded Asiago cheese.

10. Place cookie sheet on the middle each in the center of your oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You can turn the bagels over halfway through baking to keep from getting a “flat” side.

11. Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!