You all know bagels, right? Those delicious donut-shaped rolls, which are prepared with a double cooking method, meaning they are first gently boiled for a minute in a mix of water and honey, and then finished off in the oven, after being generously sprinkled with seeds of your choice. At least for the savory bagels. Then there are sweet bagels, with raisins in the dough for instance, but that’s a whole other story.
Once you’ve prepared the bagels, you have plenty of ways to fill them. Today I’ll show you how I like to fill them: avocado (ripe, of course), arugula, sliced tomatoes, onion rings, Parmesan shavings and… obviously, the essential fresh cream cheese enriched with chopped chives.
Now that the picnic and outdoor packed lunch season has arrived, these bagels are perfect! With the indicated quantities, you can prepare 8, but you don’t have to eat them all within a couple of days as they can be frozen without any issues, to be thawed when needed and filled in different ways if desired. I bet you’ll love them!
If you’re looking for tasty ideas for picnics or packed lunches, try these recipes of mine as well:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Rest time: 3 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 8 bagels
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4.3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1.5 cups water (warm)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 bunch arugula
- 4 avocado
- 11.3 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste Parmesan shavings
- 8.5 cups water (for cooking bagels)
- 3 oz honey
- 1 egg (for brushing)
- 2.1 oz sunflower seeds
- 1.1 oz flax seeds
- 1.1 oz sesame seeds
Steps
To prepare the bagel dough, place the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the active dry yeast, warm water, and sugar, then start the mixer. Next, add the salt and knead until the dough is properly kneaded, meaning it has completely detached from the sides and bottom of the bowl and is wrapped around the hook. This will take about 20 minutes.
At this point, form a ball with the dough, place it back in the bowl, and let it rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until it doubles in size. This will take 2-3 hours.
When the dough has doubled in volume, deflate it and divide it into 8 equal pieces, each approximately 3.9 oz, using a scale.
Form a ball with each piece of dough, pulling it towards the back. Then, using your thumbs, create a hole in the center and slightly widen it to obtain a doughnut shape or better yet, the classic bagel shape.
Place the bagels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cutting it into squares so that each bagel is on a single piece of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30 minutes or so.
As the second rising time is about to end, preheat the oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit (static) and bring 8.5 cups of water to a boil with the honey in a large pot. Reduce the heat to low and gently drop 3-4 bagels (depending on the size of the pot) into the water along with their piece of parchment paper. Wait a few seconds and then gently remove the piece of parchment paper; once wet, it will detach easily. Let the bagels gently simmer for 30 seconds per side, then remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, let them drain, and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Once you’ve passed all the bagels through the honey water, crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it with a fork. Mix all the seeds in a shallow dish.
Brush the bagels with the beaten egg and then press one side into the plate with the seeds. Place them back on the tray and bake at 430 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the bagels from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack before slicing them in half and filling them.
Wash and dry the tomatoes and slice them thinly. Peel the onion and slice it thinly. Wash and dry the arugula. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh in one piece using a spoon. Slice the avocado flesh and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese with the chives, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Slice the bagels in half and spread the chive cream cheese on the bottom half. Then add avocado, tomatoes, arugula, onion, and Parmesan shavings to taste, and enjoy your bagels!
Suggestions
The amount of ingredients for the filling is calculated to fill 8 bagels. If you fill fewer, reduce the quantities accordingly.
You can easily freeze leftover bagels in food bags and thaw them as needed.
