Indulge me, literally! I am going to share a recipe I made today that is absolutely delicious- strawberry bagels, but before I do, let’s talk about the nutrition crisis America is facing. Our country spends the most money on food and medicine, but at this point we are the least healthy country with the shortest lifespan. I’m not writing this to depress you, but to inspire you. Over the last 4-5 years I’ve started taking the foods we love- treats or not- and figuring out how to make them at home. Not only does this cut back on your grocery budget because processed foods are so expensive, but also takes an food item with 15-20 ingredients (most of them you can’t even pronounce) and cuts it back to a dozen or less, including spices.
Since when did we start believing that it’s okay to eat things we can’t pronounce? Chemicals that we don’t even recognize?
Today I made strawberry bagels. They were delicious and fast to make. Even a mom who works outside the home could whip these up on a Saturday morning without a fuss. They have SIX ingredients. You can swap out the strawberries for blueberries too! Let’s compare my six ingredients to this label from Thomas Blueberry Bagels! First of all, I’m not even sure why we need food coloring.
Strawberry Bagels
- 28 grams of freeze dried strawberries (the aldi bags are the perfect amount!) or you can use one cup of fresh or frozen. Use anything you have access to!
- Water
- 1.5 tsp of active dry yeast
- 25 grams of sugar (2 TBSP)
- 440 grams of bread flower (3.5 cups)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
Since I started my sourdough journey, I have found that I love cooking in grams. A good kitchen scale will simplify your cooking and cleanup process. If you hate doing dishes and washing all the little measuring cups, this is your sign to grab it. The one I linked is around $10.
- First you are going to want to start cooking your strawberries down, just like you’re making jam! If you’re using freeze dried berries, add a cup of water because the berries will absorb a lot. If they are fresh or frozen use a sprinkle of water- around a tbsp or less. While they are cooking, you will want to mash them down and stir them.
- In a bowl, add 1/2 cup of warm (not hot) water, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes while you continue to mash those strawberries in the simmering pot. You want to give the yeast time to foam.
- Once the strawberries are a saucy consistency, let them cool on the counter.
- During this time, you will go back to the yeast mixture and add the bread flour and vanilla with your mixer (feel free to grab a gluten free flour option to make these dairy and gf!)
- This mixture will be a tad dry, so it’s time to add the strawberry sauce. You want the dough to be a little bit sticky but not super wet or dry. Kneed it out on the counter until it’s a nice ball of dough. Put it back in the bowl and let it rise until its double the size.
- Lightly flour your counter and turn the dough on it. It will deflate!
- Cut into 8 equal parts and shape into circles and use your thumb to put holes in them. Be careful no to pester and pull the dough too much.
- Start a pot of boiling water and preheat the oven to 350. I also take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Let the bagels sit while everything heats up. They will get fluffier again over the next 20 minutes or so.
- Once the water is boiling, put them in to poach them! Let them boil for a minute on each side and then transfer to baking sheet.
- Put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they have the golden glow!
Recipe was adapted from Baking With Butter!
I hope you try the recipe! Let me know if you like them!
