Homemade Bagel Bites
Your eyes do not deceive you. This is happening. Oh, and picture-heavy post warning!
I’m actually in the air flying back to Seattle as I write this post (which will be yesterday for all you reading this), and I’m so excited to finally get home—yay! I miss Mikey, I miss Rookie, and I miss my kitchen! Granted, I ate a ton of good food while I was gone, but as someone who is used to cooking a lot, it’s always a little irritating not to get to be preparing your own food for a good two weeks. Is anyone else like this? Maybe it’s just me—I’m pretty peculiar when it comes to food…
Um for instance, I made these—Homemade Bagel Bites. I used to eat the “real deal” (in quotes because I’m not sure what about them was all that “real”) all the time as a kid/teen. Okay, and a few times as a full-grown adult…but they’re disgustingly good.
Annnyway, despite the fact I had never made bagels I decided that *this* was what I needed to bring to the Fourth of July party, this year (among a slew of other random things)—homemade miniature bagels topped with homemade pizza sauce and toppings.
And guess what? They turned out so much better than I could have imagined. So good, in fact, that I set them down at a table with a bunch of hungry guys, and they ate them in FIVE MINUTES! I didn’t even have time to take a photo!
Not a bad thing because that meant I got to make them again for you guys 🙂 …and myself
The first batch were half cheese, and half veggie with cheese. The second batch, however, I got creative with and made a ton of different flavor combos! Feel free to experiment with some of your own, too. The options are pretty endless.
Oh, and don’t be afraid of making your own bagels; it’s actually really simple. It’s just a basic bread dough that you allow to rise once before dividing into a bunch of little balls. You can use the handle of a spoon or your finger to form a hole in the middle of each before dropping them into boiling salted water for just a minute. After they boil, you can sprinkle on some seasonings or seeds, if you want. The first batch I left plain, and the second I sprinkled sesame seeds onto. You might want to try an everything topping like these buns I’m obsessed with! Then, they get a quick bake in the oven.
The bagels themselves are super tasty, even without being turned into bagel bites. I had to enjoy a couple straight from the oven smeared with butter. You can also let them cool, slice them in half, and pop them in your toaster.
This recipe does make 20 bagels, resulting in 40 bagel bites, which may be too much for you and your family/friends to eat in one sitting. You can freeze the prepared bagel bites (through the step where you put all the toppings on), then just cook them straight from frozen, adding a couple more minutes onto the cook time.
Seriously though, these Homemade Bagel Bites may be one of my best recipes, EVER, so I urge you to make them and then report back to me!
PrintHomemade Bagel Bites
Yield: 40 bagel bites
Ingredients:
For the mini bagels:
- 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 250g (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- (optional) seeds, seasoning, etc.
For the pizza sauce:
- 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped, liquid reserved
- 2 cloves minced garlic, or 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp double-concentrate tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried bay leaves
- large handful fresh basil, torn
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the bagel bites:
- cheese: cotija, fresh mozzarella, pre-shredded varieties, etc.
- toppings: minced veggies (I used green bell pepper, mushroom, and black olive), pickled jalapeños, minced pepperoni (I like Applegate's Natural Uncured Mini Turkey Pepperoni), finely chopped tomatoes, etc.
Directions:
For the mini bagels:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the bread hook, combine the warm water, olive oil, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until nice and foamy.
- Add in the flour and salt and mix on low until combined. Crank up the speed to high and knead for 10 minutes until the dough forms a ball on the bread hook, pulls away from the sides, and appears shiny and elastic.
- Rub a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball inside. Turn it around to coat it. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 395 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 20 balls (a kitchen scale makes this super easy and exact!). Using the handle of a kitchen spoon, or your finger, make a hole in the center of each ball, forming itty-bitty bagels.
- Drop the bagels into the boiling water for just a minute before removing with a skimmer to your lined baking sheet. If you are using seeds or seasoning, now is the time to sprinkle them on!
- Bake the bagels for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool.
For the pizza sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
- Add in the remainder of the seasonings, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat. Using a hand blender, puree the sauce to your desired consistency. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
For the bagel bites:
- Using a serrated knife, cut each bagel in half. Place cut-side up on a lined baking sheet.
- Place the bagels under the broiler for a few minutes until the tops are crisp and light golden.
- Spread a small amount of sauce on each bagel, and top with cheese and desired toppings (not too much or it will melt everywhere!).
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
mini bagels adapted from here // pizza sauce adapted from here
p.s.—Sorry for this going up later than usual, but my computer died on the plane and I lost the entire recipe write-up I did and had to re-write it…Ahhh! 🙁
Ahhhh YES! You have no idea how much I’m drooling right now, Rachael! Make-yer-own bagel bites sounds like the best idea I’ve ever heard. Especially loving the sound of that mozzarella and tomato! Gosh, now I wanna have a bagel-bite party. 😀
Oh my gosh a bagel bite party would be brilliant! There could be like a toppings bar where everyone could top their own!
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Oh man, I must have been out of town/away from the internet when you posted these, because these look fan-freaking-tastic!! I didn’t have bagel bites very often as a kid (except maybe at a friend’s house), so I’m thinking I should catch up on lost time now, with the homemade version. I could eat like a dozen of these!
Haha, thank you so much! Seriously, they’re so good! They disappear super duper quickly, too!
If making these ahead, are you suggesting I freeze with the sauce and toppings on the toasted bagel bites? Or simply freezing the baked bagel bites and then thawing those?
Yep! Exactly that 🙂 Freeze them before they have been toasted in the oven, but after you have cooked the bagels and added the sauce and topping!
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