Bagels with Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread

Last year my friend Bethany showed me how to make my own bagels.  I haven't had many bagels in my life but I like them.  I didn't realize how easy it was to make your own.  My favorite part about bagels is that they keep me full longer than cereal. And for a girl who can never eat much for breakfast that is a good thing.

I'm kind of a food nerd but when I made these and ate it I was so excited I had made something so yummy!  The strawberry cream cheese spread is so good too.  I could eat it plain.  It's so simple to make and I think tastes so much better than the kind you buy at the store.

These bagels really aren't too much work. It's mostly a lot of waiting time.  You can also freeze them.  Slice them before hand.  Bethany also gave me ideas of add in's or ways to eat a bagel. Those ideas are listed below.

Bagels with Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one package)

2 Tbsp sugar

3 cups bread flour (*or: 1 ½ cups bread flour 1 ½ cups wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and allow to bubble. (about 5 minutes)  Add the flour and salt to mixture.  Knead 10 minutes (by hand or using the dough hook on a stand mixer.)  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise about 1 1/2 hours.  


Shape bagels by taking a small amount of dough and forming a ball   then stick your finger in the middle of the ball and pull it apart to create about a 2 inch whole.  Let rise for an hour.  


Preheat oven to 375 F.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add 3 Tbsp of sugar to boiling water.  Boil 30 seconds on each side and carefully transfer to a greased baking sheet. If desired sprinkle corn meal on the baking sheet before placing bagels on sheet.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  

Optional add-ins:

cinnamon and raisins

any combination of herbs, cheese and garlic

Check out the Einstein Bagels website to get great ideas!

Great ways to eat bagels:

fresh out of the oven with a little butter 

sandwiches

cream cheese (change your cream cheese by adding honey and walnuts,or chives and garlic, fruit with powdered sugar)

breakfast sandwich (eggs, cheese, bacon or sausage....)

pizza bagels 

and anything else you like!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread
Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 cup strawberries, hulled

Directions:

In a blender or food processor, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and strawberries.  Pulse until smooth and well blended.  Use immediately or refrigerate until needed.