Here’s the deal: I’m exploring keto choices. This does NOT mean I think it makes sense to eat a ton of animal protein. Remember, I was moving into vegetarianism when my hubby bought a cow last year. It is possible to be vegetarian keto, check out this book.
I think American’s obsession with protein is bad for animals, bad for people, and bad for the earth. Low carb for me is essentially more veggies. And these bagels. 😀 I’m early into the low carb experiment, but what they say about not being hungry is true: if you do it right, you’re not.
Go to Keto4Karbaholics.com for more amazing recipes
The keto dough takes a little getting used to. What you need to know:
- Melt the mozzarella and cream cheese in a shallow-ish medium, microwave-safe bowl. It’s easier to combine the eggs and almond flour if the bowl isn’t deep. I use my mom’s old pyrex serving bowl.
- Don’t mix the eggs into the almond flour first, no matter how much sense that makes to you.
- The hot cheese won’t cook the eggs – dump the cold eggs on top of the melted cheese, then dump in the almond flour.
- The almond flour and eggs will mix with the melted cheese mixture. I do it by hand with a flat spoon that came with a rice cooker. The dough eventually resembles real bread dough.
- Temperature is important. If your mixture is stringy, microwave it for 30 seconds. Repeat the 30 seconds PRN. I usually do two extra 30-second microwave events. Once, when the flour/cheese mixture gets stringy before the cheeses and dry goods come together, and a second time before forming the bagels. When the dough is the right temperature, it’s easy to make the bagel shape.
- Target’s brand of low-moisture skim mozzarella makes an inferior bagel. Sorry Target. The more expensive brand from Whole Foods melts better. My theory is there is less cellulose in Whole Food’s cheese.
- 2 T Erythritol is listed in the original recipe. It’s a low-calorie sweetener. I omit it in this recipe but use it in keto-sweets.
- I make these keto everything bagels so often that I batch mix the topping and store it in a jar. The type of salt in the topping matters. Falksalt Natural Salt* makes the best topping. If you look closely at the above picture, you can see a triangle of the Falksalt Natural Salt at three o’clock.
Keto Everything Bagel
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- medium sized shallow, microwave safe bowl
- wide, flat spoon
Ingredients
The Dry Stuff
- 2 cups almond flour Doesn't matter if it's meal, flour, or superfine.
- 1 T baking powder
- 2 T erythritol This is in the original recipe, I usually omit it. It's fake sugar.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
The Cheesy Stuff
- 3 cups low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese Whole food brand melts better than Target brand.
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 3 whole eggs 2 go in the cheese and one is for the egg wash
The Everything Topping/Spice Mix
- 2 tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tsp powdered onion The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp minced dried onion.
- 1 tsp Kosher salt Use anything other than Morton's table salt. Falk Natural Salt is worth the hunt.
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups almond flour, 1T baking powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 2 T erythritol if using it.
- In a medium, microwave-safe, shallow bowl, combine 3 cups low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese and 5 oz cream cheese. Microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Stir. Return to the microwave for another 45 – 60 seconds. Stir again. It should turn into a big blob. A rice spoon is perfect for stirring – press the back of the spoon against the sides and bottom of the bowl to combine the cheeses.
- When the cheeses are combined and still warm, crack both eggs into the bowl then add the almond flour mixture. Use the spoon to incorporate everything. When the mozzarella gets stringy, return the bowl to the microwave for 30 seconds and stir again. It takes a couple minutes and maybe two returns to the microwave to turn it into springy dough that looks and feels like smooth bread dough. I have never had the mozzarella burn in the microwave.
- Divide the dough into 9 or 10 equal portions. The dough ball usually weighs 790 grams, I just divide by 10 and weigh out ten – 79 gram portions. Form the portion into a ball, then poke your finger into the center of the ball and make the bagel shape. The dough is not sticky and forms easily when the temperature is right and the mozzarella cheese is not from Target. (Target cheese works – I've used it often. Whole Foods cheese works better.) Place the bagels on the parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
- Crack the third egg into a bowl and whisk it with a fork. Liberally brush each bagel top, sides, and center with the egg.
- Liberally sprinkle each bagel with the topping/spice mixtures. Use it all.
- Bake 12 – 14 minutes at 425. Check them at 12 minutes and leave them in the oven until they are well-browned.
- Let cool. Store in the refrigerator and microwave about 15 seconds to reheat one bagel. They freeze well. If left on the counter, they will go bad in a few days.
For more information about vegetarian keto diets, get this book.
- I was gifted a pack of various Falk Salts for Christmas this year and I love them. I will be buying more.
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I am so glad that Josie shared this amazing bagel with me last time we got together for coffee! It is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted! Great recipe, Josie!!
Love all your posts. I will be trying this.
I’m totally going to try this, and I’m not even a keto fanatic! I think I will substitute Trader Joe’s ‘Everything but the Bagel’ seasoning since I have some on hand… looks like Amazon also sells “Everything Bagel seasoning”…
This looks so good. What is the net carbs or serving for this recipe?