FATHEAD BAGELS

What kind of witchcraft is this?

I've never had a gluten free bread that has this amount of chew in it.  While mixing the dough you can imagine my skepticism that the ingredients would turn out looking like proper bagels.  I even had fewer hopes of them tasting like bagels let alone tasty ones.

Well, maybe because I topped them with black sesame seeds they assisted in making them smell positively heavenly coming out of the oven fresh.  I couldn't believe the nuts and cheese came together to create these tasty bagels!

Wthout further ado, these can be whipped up in a pinch in your food processor (which I think is probably the easier and cleanest method.)  I did mine in my huge 6 qt Kitchen Aide stand mixer and thought that the dough was probably better incorporated in a smaller machine because the dough kept pasting itself to the sides of the mixing bowl.

FATHEAD KETOGENIC BAGELS

• 1 1/2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used the pre-shredded stuff in a bag)
• 2 oz full - fat cream cheese, cut into pieces
• 1 Large egg
• 1 1/2 Cups almond flour 
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• optional, for topping: 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, anything you love sprinkled on bagels

1. Place the mozzarella cheese and cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, stir well.  Place the mixture back in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute more.  Scrape the cheese into a stand mixer or food processor.  Add the egg and mix/process until smooth.
2. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until a dough forms. At this point, it won't look like normal bread dough.  It will be very sticky and soft but it should all hold together well in a big mass.  Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap with a rubber spatula and wrap well.  Put it in the freezer until your next step.
3. Preheat oven to 400 F (rack in the middle of oven).  [I used the convection feature of my oven at 375F.]  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. When your oven reaches the right temperature, remove the bagel dough from the freezer and divide it equally into 6 pieces.  [You can also make 4 huge bagels or 8 mini bagels; but you will have to adjust the baking time accordingly].  Using plastic wrap, roll each portion into a snake and seal the ends together forming a ring. Alternatively, you might want to oil your hands and form them with your oiled hands.  Place the bagels on the parchment paper and top with your favorite topping, pressing the toppings into the top of the dough gently so they will stick.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown. [On the convection setting, it took them 12 minutes at 375F].  Allow the bagels to cool. While warm, they are soft; but they will stiffen up once they cool down.  Place the bagels in a plastic bag or plastic lidded container to store in the refrigerator or freezer because there's a lot of cheese in them.  Split them in half and toast in the toaster...smear with cream cheese or grassfed salted butter for a treat

**NB: variations of savoury and sweet bagels can be created by incorporating things like chopped green onions, bacon pieces, cinnamon, shredded cheeses etc You are only limited by your creativity.  Keep in mind they will no longer be ketogenic if you add things like raisins and other carb-heavy items in your dough. But who even likes raisins in breads anyway? ewwww. lol. 

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