I’m currently traveling in Italy and had some down time this evening. Kevin and I have been spending the last few days exploring different historical sites in Rome. We decided to take a break from exploring this evening, so I decided to use this time to share a recipe for one of my favorite breakfast items/snacks – everything pretzel bagels. My everything pretzel bagels use the same dough as my everything pretzels. The only difference between my everything pretzel bagels and my everything pretzels is the shape. These bagels are much softer in texture and are perfect for days when all I crave are soft pretzel bagels. Unlike a true New York style bagel, the texture of my everything pretzel bagel is much softer. Over the years, I’ve made variations of pretzels with cheddar cheese and scallion cream cheese dips. My more recent creation, everything pretzels with scallion cream cheese, was so good, I made a variation of the everything pretzels by turning my pizza/pretzel dough into bagel shapes. I even rolled the pretzel/pizza dough just the way the bagel shop owners in New York City roll the dough for their bagels. Growing up in New York, I would watch through glass doors and panels at bagel shop owners (or their staff) roll pieces upon pieces of bagels from dough. The dough starts off as a large chunk. Pieces of the dough are cut into small pieces. The pieces are then sliced into chunks and rolled into logs. Each piece of log shaped dough is brought together by the ends, formed into a loop, and then rolled several times to seal the two ends together. The end result is a rustic looking bagel with some of the ends peeking through. True New York style bagels are imperfect in shape, but taste delightfully unique. I turned my regular pretzel twists into bagel shapes so I can easily spread scallion cream cheese directly onto the pretzel bagels. Over the last few days, I’ve been enjoying my fair share of pizza, pasta, and gelato. Yet, I still seem to be having intense cravings for pretzels and bagels. My cravings for bagels really live up to the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder. The longer I am without a bagel or pretzel, the more I crave bagels and pretzels. Every time I have a bagel, I always crave a side of cream cheese to go with my bagel. My pretzel bagels are perfect for times when I just crave softer bagels. These pretzel bagels make for a very portable and satisfying breakfast, brunch, and snack.
For the everything bagel seasoning:
· 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
· 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
· 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
· 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the pretzel bagels:
· A batch of my pizza dough recipe
· 4 cups of water
· 2 tablespoons baking soda
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
1) Prepare the everything bagel seasoning by combining the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, garlic, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
2) Roll out the pizza dough into a large oval on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into about 1-2-inch pieces for the pretzel bagels. To roll the pretzel bagels, roll each piece of dough into a rod. Bring both ends of each rod toward the top. Use your dominant hand to roll the two ends several times until the ends are sealed together. Continue with the rest of the pizza dough.
3) Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
4) Heat a Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add four cups of water into the pot. Once the water begins to boil, add the baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Add in the pretzel bagels one or two at a time. Let the pretzel bagels sit in the boiling baking soda bath for 2 minutes, flipping the dough half way through. Remove the pretzel bagels from the baking soda bath. Cook the pretzel bagels one or two pieces at a time. The dough will begin to float after several seconds. Let the dough sit in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the dough from the boiling baking soda bath.
5) Arrange the pretzel bagels on the parchment lined baking sheet. Top the pretzel bagels generously with the everything bagel seasoning.
6) Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven. Bake the pretzel bagels for 20-25 minutes, until the bagels have developed a deep brown exterior. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
7) To make the scallion cream cheese, follow my instructions here.
Takeaways: You can serve these pretzel bagels with any cream cheese or creamy cheese dip of your choice. My favorite cream cheese is my scallion cream cheese, but I also love veggie cream cheese made with carrots, celery, red pepper, scallions, and red onion. You can also top the pretzel bagel pieces with some fresh ricotta cheese and a drizzle of honey. Feel free to blend different veggies into your cream cheese to create your favorite pairing.