Four-Ingredient Bagels

The best part about making your own food is the feeling of accomplishment you get when it’s ready to serve.  Instead of as a chore, I view it as an morning/mid-day/evening fun-tivity.  I get to listen to my favorite podcast, Uhh Yeah Dude (UYD4L!!!) and take a bunch of separate ingredients and help them meld into a masterpiece.  Oh, and afterwards I get to eat.  Which is my most favorite fun-tivity.

This blog is meant to be a place for me to write about those creations, whether I come up with them myself, follow a recipe, observe a friend as s/he cooks, or come across an unforgettable meal while out at a restaurant.  In addition, food is part of life, and each meal has a story.  I will be weaving the recipes into each post with the stories that surround them.  My blog is titled “The Morning Spread” because I write primarily about breakfast, and it’s like a little newspaper spread about my life.  Delightful, right?  I think so. I hope you agree.

This past weekend, my best friend Emma (also, fun fact, my sorority “big sis”) came to visit from Maine, and immediately re-inspired my goal of starting this blog simply by skipping a brunch outing and making breakfast at home.

Heating bills in the winter are, as any cold-climate dweller knows, insane.  And Boston rent is crazy.  Combine that, and January is not the ideal time for serious brunch expenses.  Or going outside for that matter.  So, Emma suggested we make bagels. MAKE them?  Like, add cream cheese?  That’s about as far as my “making bagels” knowledge could take me without her help.  Turns out, she’s been making bagels from four simple ingredients at home for snacks and breakfast to get her through the week.

To make these, you need:

• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt (I’m a fan of Fage Total)
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• Egg (for egg-wash)

That’s it.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven is pre-heating, lay down a cutting board sprinkled with flour.  Mix all of the ingredients (except the egg) in a bowl with your hands until a dough forms, then transfer the dough to the cutting board and continue to knead the dough until it forms a solid ball, about 20 turns. Tip from Emma: Don’t skimp on flour. If it feels sticky in your hands, feel free to add more flour. Mold the dough into a cylinder shape, about 12 inches long, and then cut into 4 equal pieces.

Mold those 4 pieces into rings by rolling them under your hands the way you make snakes with play-doh (pretty sure that’s a technical cooking term, at least in my kitchen), and then bring the ends together to form an “O” shape.

Tip from Emma: If you add a fair amount of flour, it might be hard to get the ends to stick together. If this is the case you can add a little water to both ends (like the pottery technique) and that will make the dough stickier. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into a bowl and then poke a hole through with your index finger and stretch it from the inside. Make the holes pretty big because these bagels will puff up and could potentially close the hole. 

Place your bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Beat the egg in a small bowl and brush about a teaspoon of egg onto each bagel.  Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice – we used Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning (the one and only).

Processed With Darkroom

Bake for 20 minutes at 350, and then broil for on high for 5 minutes.  Let them cool for at least 10 minutes after baking.

And voila, they were done.  I mean, there weren’t holes after their 25 minutes of baking… it was more like a bagel bread.  But oh man, are they good. We threw them in the toaster to get them nice and crispy then added scrambled eggs, american cheese, and some dijon mustard and we had a delicious, protein-rich breakfast without leaving the house or distressing the wallet.  Oh, and opening the oven afterwards (turn it off, first) is a great way to save on heating costs for half an hour or so.  Perfect.

What’s your favorite low-budget brunch to make at home?  Tell me about it in the comments!