Bagels. So easy you won’t believe it.

Who doesn't love bagels? They are up there on my list of all-time favorite foods for sure. As a kid, we would go to church, then come home and have bagels toasted with a touch of butter, then topped with cream cheese and fresh fruit preserves. I can remember the smell and the creamy, crispy, warm, fruity, fresh taste like it was yesterday. I've written before about how certain foods hold memories, and that is certainly the case here.Fast forward to college, and I am fairly certain that 50% of my diet consisted of bagels because they were cheap, didn't taste like mass-produced cafeteria food, and didn't have meat in them (who the heck is a strict vegetarian through college??!!).When I lived in New York City, I thought it was my duty to try as many bagels as possible. I mean, someone had to be the judge.During my marathon racing days, my go-to race day breakfast was a toasted bagel with peanut butter. Lots of carbs, tons of protein, easy on my sensitive gut, and oh so delicious when I was usually so nervous I wanted to puke.When I lived on the other side of town, my favorite local bagel joint just happened to be smack in the middle of my commute. Under the guise of "getting bagels for my staff" I oftentimes stopped on Friday mornings for a tasty bagel treat. (Sorry staff for the few extra bagel pounds.)When skimming through Skinnytaste's amazing page, I saw her recipe for bagels that only uses five ingredients. I thought that for sure it was too good to be true, but she's never led me astray before.So I gave them a whirl this morning and--they were incredible. Everything I've ever wanted in a bagel!!Perfectly dense, but also light and airy. Just a touch of crunch on the outside, but soft on the inside. A touch of tang to make the flavors pop. AND, it only took five ingredients and about 35 minutes start to finish. No joke. I only made eight as testers, but will be making in bulk to freeze in the very near future.Bagels....So Easy you Won't Believe It:Very closely adopted from this Skinnytaste recipe.  I can't really take any credit at all.

• 2 cups (plus a little more if your dough is sticky) of unbleached all purpose flour  (I used about 2 1/3 cups)
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 2 cups of plain Greek yogurt
• 1 egg white, beaten
• toppings, if using!!

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Place parchment paper or silpats on two baking sheets. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well.
3. Add the yogurt and mix with the paddle attachment until it is well combined.
4. Switch to the dough hook and knead until it forms into a doughy ball.
5. Lightly dust flour on a work surface, dust your fingers, and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few more times until the dough doesn't stick to your fingers.
6. Divide into eight equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels.  (Make the hole way bigger than what you expect.  As you can see from my photos, my holes were not nearly big enough.  Did it impact taste?  Absolutely not, but they look funny.)
7. Use a brush to cover each bagel entirely with the egg wash.  Sprinkle with the topping of your choice, if using.
8. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool at least five minutes before cutting.
9. Slather with cream cheese and savor the goodness.  You won't believe that these came together so quickly.