I woke up the other day craving bagels. Specifically, a cinnamon raisin bagel. I don’t know that I’ve ever craved a bagel before. I have certainly craved marionberry cream cheese with an intensity most of you wouldn’t understand, but on this particular day, I desperately wanted a bagel.
But rather than pay for the immediate satisfaction of a bagel at the shop down the street, I opted to wait a full 24 hours to make my own cinnamon raisin bagels at home. Not the best decision for my stomach, but I think I made up for it by eating two of these bad boys while photographing them.
I’m going to call what we have here a “healthy bagel,” if such a thing exists. These are made entirely with whole wheat flour, and are naturally sweetened with just 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. And despite their healthy ingredients, they taste really good! When Eric took a bite, I believe he said something to the effect of, “Wow! This tastes like a real bagel!” That’s a glowing review, if I’ve ever heard one. The glorious flavor comes from the cinnamon, golden raisins (which are somehow so much better than regular raisins), and your bagel topping of choice.
Since marionberry cream cheese is basically the greatest spread ever created, I opted to make my own, with some plain, reduced fat cream cheese topped with some marionberry jam. I’m a bit of a jam aficionado, and have fallen hard for the jams from Oregon Growers since moving to the Pacific Northwest, where the berries flow like the constant rain. If you haven’t already jumped on board the Oregon Growers jam train, it’s about time you did. They use less sugar than traditional jams you’ll find in the store, so you can feel okay slathering the marionberry goodness all over your bagel.
Making bagels is a little lesson in patience, since you need to let the dough rest in the fridge for about 10 hours before you bake them. But, if you are a fancy person who plans things in advance, you could prep the bagels at night and have them ready to bake in the morning for breakfast. After you boil these and bake them, you’ll feel like a real, professional bagel baker. I promise it’s easy. I highly recommend popping these in the toaster and letting your toppings melt into the warm bagel. Aside from cream cheese and jam, we also really enjoyed these with some almond butter and fresh strawberries.
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1½ cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup golden raisins
- Mix together yeast, maple syrup, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let stand about 10 minutes, until foamy.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and cinnamon.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture, beating at low speed until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough holds together. Add the raisins and mix a few minutes more.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thick, 11-inch-long rope. Form into a bagel shape by overlapping the ends of each rope. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 hours.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. Drop bagels, a few at a time, into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Turn them over and boil for 30 seconds more. Remove bagels from water and drain on a wire rack.
- Place boiled bagels on the prepared baking sheet and bake about 14 minutes, or until bagels are golden brown and crisp.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
A few key tools for bagel making? My KitchenAid Mixer with the dough hook and silpat liner (<–affiliate links!). Bake without a liner or parchment paper, and you’ll be carving the bagels off the baking sheet. Learn from my mistakes.
-Ally
Ryan says
These bagels are my absolute favorite! I added a couple tablespoons of gluten to make them more chewy and they came out amazing!