3 Colossal Reasons you Should Try this Popular Keto Bagel

The bagel can be used as a versatile weapon in your kitchen.  Many people equate a bagel with breakfast.  Don’t get locked into this way of thinking.  Keeping bagels on hand can be a surprisingly useful kitchen hack: Continue reading to find out how!

1. Croutons

Homemade croutons are fun to make and are more delicious than the store bought ones.  Not only are they super-easy to make, the flavor of whatever bagel you choose will make the perfect seasoning for this salad garnish. This winning recipe puts regular bread to shame. Your salads will never be the same after topping them with croutons that began with an everything bagel.  Cube your not so fresh bagels, drizzle a bit of olive oil over them and pop them in a preheated 350° oven until toasted.  You will think twice about buying store bought crutons again.

2. Bread Crumbs

Breadcrumbs are a secret ingredient in so many dishes, and extremely difficult to find in the store if you are eating low carb or Keto. Just cut the bagels in half, bake (or toast) until they’re starting to brown, then let them cool. A food processor will do the rest. Using an everything bagel will give them a whole new flavor that you just can’t get with breadcrumbs from the store. With their unique flavor, they’re perfect for adding a bit of extra depth to your meatloaf and meatballs.

3. Making Holiday Stuffing

While everyone loves the traditional flavors of poultry seasoning, celery, and onion, add a twist to your dressing using everything bagels and pork sausage and sage.  The flavor combination will get everyone’s attention at the table.  They’ll know you mean serious business!

These Keto bagels are super easy to prepare, store well in the freezer and, unlike regular bagels, they have the perfect Keto macronutrient ratio.

The everything bagel seasoning is amazing!  Most people use Trader Joe’s “Everything but the bagel” blend, (what I used for mine) which can be found at Trader Joe’s and is now available through Amazon.  Or if you are feeling ambitious, you can make your own!

Everything Seasoning Bonus Recipe:

2 tablespoons dried garlic

2 tablespoons dried onion

1 1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons flaky sea salt (like Maldon)

Everything Bagel Seasoning is the perfect topping for pretty much anything, from fruit to yogurt to potatoes to eggs. This flavor profile is well worth having on hand in your kitchen.  For those who like to live on the spicy side of life you could tweak this according to your tastes and add some chipotle or hot pepper flakes.

I digress… Back to the bagel…

Do you remember the first time that you ate a bagel?  I did not grow up with them.  I would venture to say that I was in my late teens when I had my first bagel.  Since then, I have enjoyed many.  Bagels arrived with the Eastern European immigrants of the late 19th-century, but didn’t emerge from their mostly Jewish niche markets into the mainstream until the 1970s. That was the era when “ethnic food” became trendy, and it was also when an enterprising family named the Lenders began marketing their brand of frozen bagels—”the Jewish English muffin,” they called it—to the masses through witty television ads.

One critic wrote, “A truly good bagel should be a fairly small, dense, gray, cool and a chewy delight that gives jaw muscles a Sunday morning workout,” not the pillowy monstrosities now preferred by “a public too lazy to chew.”

While there is nothing better than a fresh bagel from a New York deli, those following a low carb diet were compelled to find an alternative to satisfy their craving for this beloved piece of bread; hence the creation of the infamous fathead cheese dough. This dough is so incredibly versatile and can be made either savory or sweet. The Fathead Dough uses a mixture of almond flour, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and eggs.  It might sound funny to make a bagel out of cheese, but it’s surprisingly good.  And you can’t beat the carb count.

Looking at various pictures of bagels made by others, there was one thing that I did not care for; the flatness after baking.  The combination of the cheese and oil from the almond flour causes them to spread and go flat in the oven.  If I can’t have a real bagel I want it to at least look like one. I kept this in mind when preparing to bake.

Things to keep in mind when making these bagels:

Go easy on the Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.  Too much can tend to make your bagels too salty.

Coconut flour can vary sometimes so it’s best to try to use what I used, which is Anthony’s

I used a donut pan for shaping and to keep my bagels from flattening too much.  This recipe could actually make 8 bagels.  I over filled the pan to avoid having to cook in 2 batches; I only have one donut pan.  As a result, the hole disappeared and I got a hole less bagel!  Maybe we could call it a bagel bun!

Bake the bagels in the middle of the oven for more even heat distribution.

Use good baking powder that isn’t past its prime, so that they will rise properly.

Bake until golden brown on the tops. Try not to take them out to early so that they don’t shrink.

To set things off, I decided to go with traditional lox, cream cheese, red onions, and capers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to hear how you like to eat your bagels.  If you have any other uses for this bagel be sure to let me know.  I am always game to try something new!

Enjoy!