Yeast Breads: Asiago Bagels

Asiago is one of my favorite cheeses. It's tart like parmesan, but packs much more flavor. These bagels have asiago in the dough and sprinkled on top, so they pack double the punch. Serve them with chive-flavored cream cheese or a fried egg for a delicious breakfast.


Ingredients


1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
¾ asiago cheese, grated and divided
 2 tbsp honey
1 egg, lightly beaten


Preparation


Start by placing the yeast, flour, salt, brown sugar, and water into a large bowl. Mix until you have a loose dough, then turn that dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Add ½ cup asiago cheese and knead until a soft and elastic dough forms. This will take about 5 minutes.


Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Set aside in a warm location to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough to remove all air bubbles. Shape into bagels either using a bagel cutter or by dividing the dough into 12 equal pieces and shaping them into bagels. Place on a prepared baking sheet and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.


Heat oven to 375°F. Fill a small pot with water and add honey. Bring to a boil. One at a time, boil bagels for 30 seconds to 2 minutes each. The longer you boil them, the chewier they'll be. Place boiled bagels back on the prepared baking sheet.


Brush with egg, then sprinkle with remaining asiago cheese. Bake for 22 minutes, until bagels are golden brown. Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool on wire racks.


These bagels will keep for up to 4 days if stored in an airtight container.