I love a good bagel with cream cheese. Where I used to live there was a bagel shop near my house and they made the best jalapeño bagel. It was perfect, just the right amount of spice. Since I have moved over 5 years ago I have not had that bagel and to be honest have not thought about it. That was until I saw this post from Brown Eyed Baker. I immediately though of my favorite bagel shop and knew I needed to make this bagel.
I have only made homemade bagels twice because they tend to require two days until they are ready to eat and are a bit of work. But with this bagel I did not care, I was willing to do the work for it and I was so very glad I did. These bagels are delicious, almost like my favorite bagel shop. The bagels were not quite as spicy as I thought they would be so next time I think I am going to add a bit more jalapeños.
Jalapeño Cheddar Bagels
Ingredients:
Sponge
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2 1/2 cups room temperature water
Dough
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3 3/4 cups bread flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups finely diced jalapeño peppers, seeds and membranes removed and discarded (about 12 -16 medium sized pepper)
Finishing
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- cornmeal
- 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the yeast and flour.
- Add in the water and stir just until it forms a smooth and sticky batter.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours or until the mixture is very foamy and bubbly. It should be double in size and fall when the bowl is tapped on the counter.
- To the sponge, add in the yeast and stir to mix.
- Add in 3 cups of the flour, all of the salt and honey.
- Using the dough hook attachment, on low speed, mix the ingredients until a ball forms.
- Slowly add in the remaining 3/4 cup of flour to stiffen the dough up.
- Knead the dough for 6 minutes, with mixer still on low and dough hook attached.
- During the last 2 minutes of knead time add in the shredded cheese and finely diced jalapeños. Knead until cheese and jalapeños are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- The dough should be firm and smooth but still pliable and not sticky or tacky. Plus, the flour should be completely incorporated. If the dough seems too dry, add a few drops of water and continue kneading until ready. If the dough is too sticky or tacky, add in a little bit more flour and continue kneading until the dough is ready.
- Once dough is ready, immediately divide the dough into equal pieces, weighting about 4 1/2 ounces for each piece, making about 16 pieces.
- Form each piece into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a baking tray and cover with a clean damp kitchen towel and let them rest for about 20 minutes.
- Place parchment paper on 2 large baking sheets and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- To shape the dough balls into a bagel, push your thumb through the middle of the dough ball and stretch the hole until it is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Make sure the dough has an even thickness all the way around.
- Place the bagels onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Lightly spray the bagels with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the bagels sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes check the bagels to see if they are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator using the float test. Fill a small bowl with cool or room temperature water and then place a bagel in the water. If the bagel floats within 10 seconds after being place in the water then they are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator. Take the bagel out of the water and gently pat dry and return to the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheets and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. If the bagel does not float, remove from the water and gently pat dry and place back on the baking sheet. Cover and let sit at room temperature, repeating the float test every 10-20 minutes until a bagel floats and is ready to be retarded in the refrigerator.
- When ready to bake the bagels, place the two oven racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500º F.
- Bring a large, wide pot of water to a boil. Carefully and slowly add in the baking soda.
- Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop in a few bagels. You want the bagels to fit comfortably and not be touching in the pot. The bagels should float within the first 10 seconds after being dropped in.
- Allow the bagel to sit in the boiling water for 1 minute. Flip the bagel over and allow to boil for 1 more minute.
- While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the baking sheets the bagels were on with some cornmeal.
- When the bagels are done boiling on both sides, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on the cornmeal baking sheets. Immediately sprinkle the bagels with some shredded cheddar cheese.
- When all the bagels have been boiled and topped with cheese, place them in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Then rotate the baking sheets 180º and switch the racks they are on.
- Lower the oven temperature to 450º F and bake for 8 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown. Remove the bagels from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before eating.
Notes:
These bagel freeze very well. Before freezing, slice bagel in half then place in a freezer safe bag and place in the freezer until ready to use. When ready to eat, remove a bagel and gently pull apart and place in toaster until toasted to your liking. If bagel does not separate place on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 5 seconds then toast.
The honey may be substituted with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, or malt syrup (dark or light) or 2 teaspoons malt powder.
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Nutrition Facts
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Servings 16
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Amount Per Serving
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Calories 339
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Total Fat
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9.1g
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Saturated Fat
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5g
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Polyunsaturated Fat
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0g
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Monounsaturated Fat
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0g
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Trans Fat
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0g
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Cholesterol
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30g
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Sodium
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786.2g
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Potassium
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34.1g
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Total Carbohydrates
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46.6g
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Dietary Fiber
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2.5g
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Sugars
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1.6g
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Protein
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15.2g
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Vitamin A 8.5% Vitamin C 22.4%
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Calcium 20.3% Iron 4.4%
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*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.
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