Fluffy Pop Up Bagels

Tear it apart and dip it in your favorite smear. Dairy-free, plant-based, and vegan.

The first city that I ever lived in as an adult was New York City and I think it ruined bagels for me. Living in New York I couldn’t walk two blocks without spotting a bagel shop or a street vendor selling a bagel. Now that I’m a west coaster, it’s hard to find a shop that sells fresh bagels so I decided to make my own. While the basic ingredients of a bagel are typically dairy free, most bakeries will add an egg wash on top for that crisp brown layer and to allow the seasoning to stick. The best part of this bagel recipe is that it’s egg-free, so no need to bust out the $12 dozen of eggs!

I like to create a variety of different types of bagels but my favorites are everything bagel, sesame bagel, and poppy seed bagels. It tastes the best fresh out of the oven; pull it apart and dunk it into your favorite cream cheese or try my super easy Vegan Whipped Chive and Onion Cream Cheese recipe.

Equipment

Stand Mixer
medium pot or sauce pan

Ingredients

Bagel & Water Bath

1 packet fast rising active dry yeast
520 g bread flour
1.5 cups warm water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup honey sub maple syrup if vegan

"Egg" Wash

1/2 cup dairy-free milk
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp maple syrup

Instructions

Mix the warm water and active dry yeast together in a small bowl. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast mixture together in a stand mixer with the dough hook. Keep the mixing setting at low so that you're not over mixing. The dough is ready once you press it with your thumb and the dough starts to slowly rise back. For me it took 15 minutes.
Spray the dough and bowl with some non-stick spray or add a bit of oil. Make sure the dough is covered on all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 45 minutes – 1 hour. The dough is ready once it's at least doubled in size. I like to let my dough rise in the oven with the lights turned on for a little bit of warmth.
Remove the dough from the bowl and sprinkle some flour onto a flat surface. Punch the dough so that it releases some air and knead the dough until it forms a ball. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.
Roll a piece of dough into a ball and then use your thumbs to create a hole in the center so that it forms a bagel shape. Gently stretch out the dough to get to your desired shape. Pro tip: I find that it doesn't need to be perfectly shaped, once it bakes you won't notice all the imperfections. Repeat for the rest of the pieces.
Preheat the oven to 425℉
Whisk the non-dairy milk, flaxseed meal, and maple syrup together to create the "egg" wash.
Set up your seasoning station: in a small bowl or plate pour out your seasoning of choice. If you're looking for a bagel that is packed full of seasoning then pour out lot (at least 1/4 cup).
Fill a medium pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Mix in the honey to create the water bath.
Add the bagel into the water bath and cook for 30 seconds on each side, 1 minute total.
After the bagel cooks immediately dump the bagel into the "egg" wash making sure it is covered on all sides. Then dump the bagel into the seasoning mix and coat the bagel with seasoning. If you want less seasoning then you can opt to sprinkle the seasoning on.
Place the bagel on a baking tray and repeat the water bath and seasoning for the rest of the bagels. Pro tip: I prefer to do each bagel one by one or max two at a time so I can ensure the bagels are cooked properly and well coated.
Bake the bagels for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway and rotating the tray. Let the bagels cool for 10 minutes before tearing into them with your favorite smear.

Video

@thecozyeats
romanticizing my life with light and fluffy bagels 🥯🧎🏻‍♀️ Full recipe on my blog! #veganbaking #bagels #bagelrecipe #bakingrecipe
♬ カフェでボサノバを聴く休日 – ya-su

Fluffy Pop Up Bagels