What A Bunch Of Cheesy Bagels

Yesterday,I was trying to decide what to bake that I have not made in a long time and then something popped into my head ,BAGELS! I don't know where the idea for bagels came from,but it continue to stay in my mind till I could no longer shake it off.Then I came to remember I had a recipe from high school for making plain bagels;however I wanted something with lots of flavor so I chose to add a combination of Italian spices and cheese to the recipe.
 

When people hear the word bagel, don't most instantly think breakfast food, right? don't they? Well I always certainly do, especially with those toasted bagels with cream cheese spread on both halves,yummy.Bagels may me thought of as a breakfast food instantly, but we should all remember not to strictly label bagels because their are so many different varieties that can count for breakfast,lunch,or dinner food.

With these certain kind of bagels they could fit in all the categories.The Italian cheese bagels have a wonderful appearance with its great color and volume as you can see in the photographs.Its combination of textures are chewy,crumbly,and soft, which is what you want in all around bagel.Also along with its savory,cheesy,sweet,salty, and spicy flavor combination.

The recipe has very easy directions to follow and if you want to make 6 large bagels like I did then you must double the ingredients in the recipe below.If not, keep it as is.

The recipe is a little time consuming because of the rising factor, so make sure to give yourself lots of time to make these.No good bagel comes from impatience. Also a good important thing to know is to always well greased your cookie sheets before baking the bagels. I made this mistake with these ones by only relying on a nonstick pan.So listen, grease your cookie sheets!
 
Also, if your using cheese, its very important, not to add to much, because you can cause the cheese to burn on the cookie sheet. So be careful with how much you use. Also, if you want more, just add some right when you take them out of the oven.Be sure to give them sometime to let them cool as well.

Enjoy the bagels!

Kneaded Dough. Before rising.

Risen dough after 40 minutes

What I Did In The Recipe:

• If you want 6 large bagels like above,Double the recipe.

Cheese Bagels 

(Adapted From Plain Bagels, High School Recipe, Written By Me)

6 to 8 medium sized bagels

Dough:

2ml sugar

125ml warm water

7ml yeast

1 egg

7 ml oil

450ml flour

2 ml Italian spice

15ml sugar

5ml salt 

Poaching liquid:

4 liter water

30ml sugar

Topping:

125ml+ Grated cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Using a liquid measure.Dissolve 2ml sugar into warm water, sprinkle 7ml yeast on top, let sit for 10 minutes.Cover.

2. In a small bowl beat egg, add 7ml oil, and beat.

3. In a large bowl,mix 250ml of the flour, 15ml of sugar, 5ml salt & 2ml Italian spice.

4. Add wet to dry, beat with a wooden spoon.

5. Stir in the remaining 200ml flour gradually.

6. Knead dough 8-10 minutes, let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.Be sure to cover with towel. Once fully risen, punch down.

7. Divide in 6 to 8 pieces, roll in 12 inch rope, and shape into bagels.Pinching the ends together help keep them from breaking, when boiling.

8. Fill a large pot with 4 liters of water and sprinkle in 30ml of sugar.Bring to a boil. Medium- high heat.

9. Slowly slide in each bagel into the water from the side of the pot.

10.Poach the bagels for 3-4 minutes, until they float.

11. Place on a well greased cookie sheet.

12. Bake at 350F for 15 -20 minutes.Sprinkle on grated cheddar cheese just before bagels are done.Then place into oven till cheese is melted and changed color, about 2- 3 minutes. Let cool.