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3 Ingredient Bagels

3 ingredient bagel with cheese and jalapeno on a tray.
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The simplest baking recipe: 3 Ingredient Bagels. They only use Greek yoghurt, self-raising flour and salt and make a perfect chewy yet crisp bagel. 

Ingredients

Scale

For the bagels:

  • 300g self-raising flour
  • 280g thick Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp salt

Extras:

  • 1 egg, for egg wash
  • 1 tbsp baking powder

Toppings:

  • Flaky salt
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Pickled jalapeno

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add the flour and the yoghurt. Mix together, either with a spoon or you can use your hands, until a dough forms. I usually start with a spoon, tip it onto a clean surface, and then use my hands to bring it together. The dough will be a little sticky but still light. If it is too sticky, add a sprinkle more flour.
  2. Once a dough has formed, split it into four and roll each into a ball. Using a clean finger, poke a hole in the middle of each ball and then swing the bagel around your finger like a hula-hoop to stretch it and make a bagel shape.  Or you can roll each quarter of the dough into a sausage shape and then pinch the two ends together to form a circular ring. 
  3. Get a large pot of water on to boil and add the baking powder. Add your bagels in (you will probably need to do this one at a time, maybe two) and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the water and set aside, laying each bagel on a tray lined with parchment paper. 
  4. Heat the oven to 180c. Beat the egg and then use a pastry brush to egg wash each bagel. Then sprinkle on your topping of choice. The egg wash helps this stick and helps them turn golden brown in the oven. 
  5. Bake for around 30 minutes, you want them golden brown and crisp on the outside, then remove from the oven. Nothing better than a warm fresh bagel! 

Notes

Step-by-step images: if you scroll up, you’ll find a helpful step-by-step guide to help you with this recipe.

Boiling bagels: this method is what gives bagels their distinctive chewy texture. You could skip this and go straight to egg wash and baking but it won’t quite have that classic bagel texture.

To store: place in an airtight container (once cooked) for up to 3 days.

To freeze: wrap tightly in clingfilm and place in the freezer. They will last around 3 months. 

To reheat: When you want to eat a frozen bagel, leave at room temp to defrost for a few hours and then I like to slice and toast in the toaster. Airfryer and oven would also work here to reheat and crisp them up again.

Topping ideas:

I used everything bagel seasoning on my bagels. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s salty, savoury and nutty. You can buy the seasoning in lots of supermarkets now, on Amazon, or you can make your own. Simply mix 2 tsp white sesame seeds, 1 tsp black sesame seeds, 1 tsp onion granules, 1 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp flakey salt, ½ tsp poppy seeds. 

Keep them plain: you could really stick to 3 ingredient and just have plain bagels as a blank canvas for whatever you wanted to add. A sprinkle of flakey salt after the egg wash would work well here. 

Cheese & Jalapeno: Add 1 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos and handful grated cheddar to the dough when mixing together. Then once formed and egg washed, top with grated cheddar cheese and a few more jalapeno slices for a spicy, cheesy twist. You could also skip the jalapeno and do cheese as the sole topping/mix-in for a cheese bagel. 

Sweet: Cinnamon and sugar on top would be delicious. Mix 2 tbsp caster (or brown) sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon (adjust for your preference) and sprinkle over the bagel after egg washing. You could also fold in 3 tbsp raisins or currants to the dough if you want a cinnamon raisin bagel. I also like to season the boiling water with 1 tbsp sugar along with a pinch of salt to give them an extra sweetness. 

Za’atar: you can buy delicious, pre-mixed za’atar blends that would be delicious as a bagel topping.

Poppy seeds: poppy seed bagels are a classic. Pack those onto each bagel post egg wash for a crisp exterior with a milder taste than everything bagels. 

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/3-ingredient-bagels/