Chewy, and flavorful, soft and delicious. These stuffed bagel buns are definitely "extraordinary breads!"
A few weeks ago when I saw the post from King Arthur Baking about their extraordinary bread challenge, I was excited. I really like breads. A lot.
However, the timing was not great. I was on a soft foods diet. And baking felt like so much work. So I waited for a couple weeks before jumping in on the challenge. In the time since then, my mouth has healed most of the way, my stitches are out and I'm starting to eat solid foods again.
I settled on the these bagel buns as my first recipe of the challenge and as a transition back into solid foods. They were amazing! Seriously amazing. Just like bagels, but filled with delicious cream cheese and other flavors. Really delicious.
You know those times you make something for someone and you know they love it? Like really know? When my roommate tried these, I knew she really loved them as much as I did. We ate them all in less than 24 hours. They are chewy, and flavorful, yet soft and delicious. In the days since making them, we've talked about how much we liked them almost daily. These are definitely "extraordinary breads!"
4 cups unbleached bread flour (482 grams)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water,
Cheese Filling
3 ounces cream cheese
6 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Jam Filling
3 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons jam, any flavor
Water bath
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Topping (optional)
cinnamon sugar
everything bagel topping
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the lesser amount of water, adding more if needed. Using the dough hook, mix ingredients together. Continue mixing/kneading in the mixer until dough is smooth and soft. Cover and let rise 90 minutes or until dough is puffy.
While dough rises, prepare the fillings. Mix cream cheese, cheddar and parsley together. Scoop by the tablespoon onto a parchment lined pan.
In another bowl, mix together cream cheese and jam until smooth. Scoop by the tablespoon on the prepared pan. Place pan in freezer and let chill while dough rises.
When dough is puffy, turn out on to a slightly greased surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces. Round each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
While dough is resting, prepare water. Combine water, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large pan. Bring to a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Flatten the balls gently. Place frozen filling balls in the center of each. Pull dough around filling, pinching the dough together to make it as secure as possible. Pay attention to which balls are filled with which filling. Place bagel buns seam side down onto a parchment lined pan.
Place buns in the simmering water. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip them to the other side and cook an additional 30 seconds. Remove from water using a slotted spoon. Place back on the pan.
Top the cheddar filled bagels buns with the everything seasoning, and the jam filled buns with cinnamon sugar.
Bake buns for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool at least 30 minutes before eating
To store buns, wrap buns and keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat when ready to eat.
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