Anyone have experience making fathead bagels?
June 23, 2019 12:31 PM Subscribe
Does anyone have any tips for getting fathead bagels to have a more bagel-y texture?
Hello! I made some fathead bagels and they basically tasted like anything made with the fathead dough recipe, which is fine, but I'd like to know if anyone has been able to get a more bagel- like consistency. I would really like a stiff, chewy bagel. Also, they kinda flattened out to be thick, round buns. I don't know enough about baking to modify the recipe. I have been able to make a softer dough but I guess I need to stiffen it up somehow? I'm unsure of how to do that. There was a note that said to get a firmer texture, after they've cooled, put them back in the oven at 210° for 4-5 hours?! Will that really work? I made them for breakfast so didn't have time to test this out Any tips?
The recipe I used:
2 c coconut flour
1 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter
3 eggs
2 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
Thank you!
Hello! I made some fathead bagels and they basically tasted like anything made with the fathead dough recipe, which is fine, but I'd like to know if anyone has been able to get a more bagel- like consistency. I would really like a stiff, chewy bagel. Also, they kinda flattened out to be thick, round buns. I don't know enough about baking to modify the recipe. I have been able to make a softer dough but I guess I need to stiffen it up somehow? I'm unsure of how to do that. There was a note that said to get a firmer texture, after they've cooled, put them back in the oven at 210° for 4-5 hours?! Will that really work? I made them for breakfast so didn't have time to test this out Any tips?
The recipe I used:
2 c coconut flour
1 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter
3 eggs
2 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
Thank you!
Response by poster: Sorry! No boiling. Baked for 15 mins at 400°
posted by smashface at 12:47 PM on June 23, 2019
posted by smashface at 12:47 PM on June 23, 2019
In general, traditional bagel texture comes from 1) hard kneading for what feels like basically forever to work the crap out of the gluten 2) using high gluten flour in the first place (I buy special high-gluten flour, or add extra gluten to bread flour 3) boiling before baking (the longer the boil, the chewier- I boil about 2 min. on each side for a bagel that pleases the bagel connoisseur in my life.
If you’re not using wheat flour, that leaves you to experiment with option three- but I’m not sure how much hope I’d hold out given how drastically different your recipe is from a traditional one.
posted by charmedimsure at 1:41 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you’re not using wheat flour, that leaves you to experiment with option three- but I’m not sure how much hope I’d hold out given how drastically different your recipe is from a traditional one.
posted by charmedimsure at 1:41 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
The texture comes from boiling them before baking. This recipe uses almond flour , is gluten free and includes the boiling step.
posted by 15L06 at 2:04 PM on June 23, 2019
posted by 15L06 at 2:04 PM on June 23, 2019
If you're using fathead dough for keto purposes (which is why most people use Fathead dough), there's not going to be any boiling.
Most of the variation in Fathead bagels comes from controlling baking to remove more moisture (but without burning!), plus xanthan gum, like this version. This one uses yeast (so there will be slightly more carbs to feed it) to create some loft.
I have a plan one day soon to do some experimentation with Fathead and the air fryer, which by design dries things out as they cook, but I haven't had a chance yet. There are also silicone or metal bagel/donut pans that might make for interesting experiments to see if preventing them from spreading so much might help.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:58 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Most of the variation in Fathead bagels comes from controlling baking to remove more moisture (but without burning!), plus xanthan gum, like this version. This one uses yeast (so there will be slightly more carbs to feed it) to create some loft.
I have a plan one day soon to do some experimentation with Fathead and the air fryer, which by design dries things out as they cook, but I haven't had a chance yet. There are also silicone or metal bagel/donut pans that might make for interesting experiments to see if preventing them from spreading so much might help.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:58 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had to look this up, I guess it's some kind of Paleo thing?
In any case, I just finished reading Balinska's wonderful book "The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread," and well, bagels are pretty much specifically defined by 1) high gluten flour, kneaded like whoa, and 2) boiling. And the shape. But the shape alone does not make a bagel. Lots of things have that shape, for example donuts, but they aren't bagels.
I don't know if you can do without #1, I know there are respectable bakeries in NYC that claim to make gluten-free bagels, I've never tried them. Gluten has specific properties that cannot really be exactly replicated. But the boiling also creates important reactions that lead to bagely feelings. So you might try boiling, that might help. (But I still don't think it'll be a bagel, sorry - I'm a purist.)
posted by epanalepsis at 5:19 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
In any case, I just finished reading Balinska's wonderful book "The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread," and well, bagels are pretty much specifically defined by 1) high gluten flour, kneaded like whoa, and 2) boiling. And the shape. But the shape alone does not make a bagel. Lots of things have that shape, for example donuts, but they aren't bagels.
I don't know if you can do without #1, I know there are respectable bakeries in NYC that claim to make gluten-free bagels, I've never tried them. Gluten has specific properties that cannot really be exactly replicated. But the boiling also creates important reactions that lead to bagely feelings. So you might try boiling, that might help. (But I still don't think it'll be a bagel, sorry - I'm a purist.)
posted by epanalepsis at 5:19 PM on June 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
For those who don't know, Fathead dough is a pretty delicious and very popular base for Keto pizza, bagels, and even pastries. The crucial element is melted mozzarella cheese, so no, boiling is not an option here. I had a good experience throwing water onto the bottom of the oven to quickly steam the bagels at the end, and I think that helped. They still ended up a little deflated, so I called them bialys and left it at that. Good luck!
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 3:04 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 3:04 AM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
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