Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Bagels with Pesto Cream Cheese
Hello & Happy Friday!!
Every weekend I love to whip up a fab brunch concept. Whether it’s biscuits, bagels, or pancakes, it’s an oppuritny to explore the foods I don’t typically eat Monday thru Friday. Today, it’s all about the bagels! For years I didn’t explore breads. Like most people I found the to be overwhelming and not worth it at the end of the day. However, once I got my feet wet, it was smooth sailing. Since social distancing I’ve probably whipped up over 10 different bread concepts and each one is better than the next.
When thinking of the next best bagel recipe I wasn’t sure what the next one should be. There are only a handful of bagel flavor go to’s for most people so I was stumped for a minute, until I remember sun dried tomato! I feel as though this flavor doesn’t get as much love, but holy moly, when done right, and paired with this fab Pesto Cream Cheese, it’s quite possibly my favorite bagel hands down! (yea, I said it.)
What’s great about this bagel, just about everything. It’s my flawless bagel recipe I’ve done over 10+ times, easy to follow, features just a handful of ingredients, it’s packed with sun dried tomatoes (not just a few), has a rich basil flavor, it’s perfect for any season, can be used to make sandwiches, great for brunch entertaining, pairs well with the basil cream cheese, has aesthetic appeal, and is just such a game changer!
If you love homemade bagels or all things sun dried tomatoes, you’re going to love these new vegan Sun Dried Tomato Basil Bagels!!
Why this recipe is great:
Easy to follow
Buttery soft
Packed with flavor
Has aesthetic appeal
Perfect for any season
Pesto Cream Cheese just makes it complete!
Packed with sun dried tomatoes
Vegan Tomato Basil Bagels with Pesto Cream Cheese
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 bagels 1x
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water (between 100-110°F)
- 3/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 4 cups bread flour (or 2 cups bread flour w/2 cups white flour) plus more for work surface
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil, to coat bowl
- 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 2 tsp dried basil
For Boiling:
- 2 quarts water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or (honey)
Pesto Cream Cheese:
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegan pesto
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes to activate.
- Now add the flour, sugar, and salt and combine with your hands. The dough is very stiff and will look somewhat dry, but won’t be once you knead it.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. I don’t recommend a mixer as the dough is too heavy.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. If the dough doesn’t double, give it more time to rise. If You’d like to make the bagels the following day, simply place in the fridge. (I prefer same day)
- Shape the bagels: Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Fold in the roughly chopped sun dried tomatoes and dried basil in increments to evenly disperse them. Divide the dough into 4-8 equal pieces, doesn’t have to be exact.
- Shape each piece into a ball. Press a finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest while you prepare the water bath. (15 mins) Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Water bath: Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water. Whisk in the maple syrup. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. If the bagels don’t puff up a lil before boiling, give them some more time. Drop bagels in, 1 or 2 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side. Place bagels onto lined baking sheet. If any sun dried tomatoes came of during the boil you can simply press them in post boil. Sprinkle with additional dried basil too if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the pest simply combine the 2 ingredients!
- Slice, toast, and top with whatever you like! Keep bagels in a sealed container at room temperature to maintain freshness. * To freeze them for later use, do so immediately after baking.
Notes
Make Overnight: To make the dough overnight, on the first rise I cover and place in the fridge. In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let the dough rise for 45 minutes at room temperature. Then proceed with the remaining steps!
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
