Yes. You can make a very delicious bagel at home with only 2 ingredients. And you don’t have to wait for dough to rise, and you don’t have to boil anything first. WHAT???!! Yep. Is the texture slightly different? Well, yeah. It’s not a traditional bagel recipe or technique. But they’re so good!! And SO easy. Honestly, the best way I can describe the texture is Bagel with a hint of Biscuit. But specifically those ‘homestyle’ biscuits that come in the tube. Not the flaky layers kind, but the homestyle variety. You know 😉 .
They’re really truly super yummy.
I saw recipes like this pop up last year on a lot of those point-counting diet sites and never gave them the time of day. I LOVE bagels… and I think the fact that they had been advertised as anything diet just turned me off. But I looked into it, played around with it (a lot. We’ve had a LOT of bagels these past couple of quarantined months!) And just tweaked it to my liking… So here we are!
I’m adding more salt and a bit of sugar because I felt it really needed a punch. They don’t come out sweet, it’s just a small amount for balance.. But essentially you’re making these bagels with only self rising flour and greek yogurt.
Seriously. Just those two things mixed together create a dough! It’s just so cool. The yogurt gives the dough this almost sourdough-like flavor, and self rising flour is just flour with salt and leavening already added. I actually never keep the stuff around, because it seems like a waste to me (just add your own salt and leavening agent🤷♀️). Plus, it’s super hard to find self rising flour that’s not bleached, and I prefer to use unbleached flour always. But I did have some on hand from when my store was out of all purpose last time I ventured out to the grocery store…. which was… a month and a half ago, maybe?
So if you have some self rising flour on hand, great! If not, I’ll give you the ratios for making your own out of all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. And I’m using full fat greek yogurt because it’s all I eat. A lot of the other recipes use nonfat, and I can’t vouch for that, but I’m sure it would be fine! I love the richness of the full fat and the added depth of flavor it imparts. As long as it’s proper greek yogurt (no fillers or starches… just the strained yogurt), and it’s unflavored, I think you’ll have a successful product.
Note – I have yet to test these using gluten free flour (I’m super low on that and don’t want to order any in case there’s a shortage and I’d be taking flour away from someone who can’t tolerate gluten like I can. But I’ve reached out to a GF friend to test them!). I also have yet to test these with whole wheat flour… I just don’t have a lot of that at the moment, so I’ll save that experiment when things start to change. If you decide to test out either of those things, let me know! I will say that if you’re using gluten free flour, you will most likely have to go heavier on the yogurt since GF flour tends to need more liquid. Just feel it out and make sure to read the instructions on texture.
You can also flavor these however you’d like – I’ve made everything bagels, you can make them cinnamon raisin… I think anything with moisture like spinach or blueberries could present a consistency challenge, but hey – maybe it will work! Again, let me know if you experiment!
An old friend of mine in Mexico made these when I was still tweaking the recipe a couple weeks ago. She asked about them when I teased them on Instagram, so I just sent her my notes and her family made them together with great success! They each made their own bagel for a family contest and it made me so happy seeing the pictures, and hearing I was a tiny part of their family time.
Technology is such a beautiful gift right now, isn’t it? Social media and Facetime and even Zoom (although most of our school is now being done through Zoom so sometimes we’re a bit too tired of it for social purposes!) have been such wonderful tools lately. Even such a little thing like getting to receive a picture of ‘my’ bagels being made by my friend and her family in Mexico made me so happy. Getting to still be able to feed people during these hard times has been such a lovely thing.
And it’s the little things that make a big difference, right?
Keep doing those little things you’re doing right now to help the people who have no choice. Like staying home if you’re granted the luxury to do so, living with less even if you’re used to and wanting more, or pivoting and changing your routine because nothing should be more important than saving a life right now.
It’s literally the least you can do.
Also make some bagels, because carbs with holes in them are always a good thing.
TWO INGREDIENT CHEATER BAGELS
You will need –
- 2 cups self rising flour OR 2 cups all purpose flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt
- more kosher salt
- sugar
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups plain, authentic greek yogurt (I prefer full fat)
- 1 beaten egg for egg wash to create a shiny, firm top and also as glue for any seasoning you may want to add
Preheat your oven to 400.
How to make them –
In a mixing bowl, add :
- 2 cups self rising flour (OR – 2 cups AP flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt)
- 1 rounded tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Mix with a fork to break up any flour clumps, etc.
Add in :
- 1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt. You may be adding more depending on the moisture in the air that day. You shouldn’t need more than 2 cups total.
Mix with a fork until you get a shaggy dough.
Then switch to your hands and either squeeze to form the dough inside the bowl, or on a clean counter top.
If it’s sticky, add little bits of flour while working it and kneading it.
If it’s too dry, add more yogurt until it’s a soft, firm dough that’s easy to work with. It should be softer than a biscuit dough, but not sloppy and wet.
Knead for a minute or so to develop the gluten, which will help make a more chewy bagel.
Cut the dough in half.
Cut each half into half to create 4 equal pieces.
Shape each piece into balls and roll each ball out into circles about the size of a softball. Use flour if it’s too sticky.
Dip your finger into some flour and poke a hole in the center of each circle. I prefer a bagel with a teeny hole because I feel like I’m getting more bread that way😆 . But you make your bagel holes however you like your bagel holes 😉
Place each bagel on a silpat-lined baking sheet or one lined with parchment sprayed lightly with a bit of oil.
Brush the beaten egg over the surfaces of each bagel.
If you want to make these sesame bagels, sprinkle them with sesame seeds, or more flaky salt for salt bagels, if you want to add your favorite seasoning blend to the tops of them, do that! For my everything seasoning recipe to make them Everything Bagels, check out this post here. It keeps for weeks!
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
They’re done when they’re firm to the touch and golden brown on top.
This same dough can also just be used for sandwich buns if you forgo the hole step.
Also? When I was tweaking I somehow made an actual biscuit tasking thing by only using 1 cup of the yogurt. They were still very delicious but very oddly biscuit. Essentially I’ve discovered through all my trials with perfecting this recipe… however they turn out, they will taste great… they just may resemble different bready things. And different bready things are never a bad thing 😉 .
…
thanks for reading, y’all.
Stay home . Stay safe . Stay smart 💋
much love x
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