Asiago Bagels - Cooking With Karli - Cooking With Karli (2024)

Making bagels at home does not have to be difficult. This asiago cheese bagel recipe yields the extraordinarily flavorful bagels with the most delightful bagel texture known to man.

Why I love Asiago Bagels

We are a bagel family. My husband eats a bagel for breakfast nearly every day and this year, I’m on a quest to make all of his favorite bagels from scratch. First up on my list? These asiago bagels! Which, I’m delighted to announce, he has proclaimed are the best bagels he has ever eaten. Period. And that includes the NY bagels we ate ad nauseam in the city a few months ago.

Making bagels at home typically gets a bad rap as being ‘too complicated’ but this cheese bagel recipe is ULTRA EASY. You don’t even need a mixer (although, having one may make this bagel recipe even easier!) In the past couple of weeks, I’ve made this recipe no less than 10 times and I’ve learned a few tricks that will make your bagel-making experience a breeze.

First, while most bagels use something called barley malt, I’ve found that brown sugar will yield a similar flavor + result and is 10,000x more accessible. Second, I recommend grabbing an extra large cookie sheet + silicone mat so you can bake all of your bagels at once. Necessary? No. But highly convenient. Finally, this spider strainer is a must for boiling your bagels. A slotted spoon will get the job done, but this spider will allow the water to drip off of the bagels so much easier & quicker.

What is an Asiago Bagel?

Asiago bagels are your classic bagel with a spectacularly cheesy twist! This recipe for asiago cheese bagels has you absolutely cover the tops of your homemade bagels with asiago (or any other type of cheese you might prefer) prior to baking. This gives them a killer cheesy flavor and extra texture that you’re going to be obsessed with.

Asiago Cheese Bagel ingredients

• Warm water (105°F -113°F)
• Dry active yeast
• Brown sugar, packed – Most bagel places use barley malt in their bagels but that isn’t something that is super available so we are using brown sugar which is a pretty good replacement.
• Bread flour – Bread flour is a must. Trust me. I resisted for so so long but it makes THE biggest difference in your bagels. They will stay fresh for DAYS, won’t dry out and will give us the best most bagely texture ever. *Include a link for this!
• Salt
• Shredded asiago cheese, divided – You can sub parmesan or cheddar, too!

How to make Asiago Bagels

1. In a small bowl, add the warm water, dry active yeast and brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
2. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the 4 1/2 cups of bread flour, salt and 1/2 cup of shedded cheese. Stir to combine.
3. After a rest period of about 5 minutes, your yeast mixture should be bubbly and foamy. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients.
4. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes, you will most likely need to add the extra 3 tbsp of flour to keep the dough workable but soft.
5. If mixing by hand, start by stirring the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture until a shaggy dough forms. At this point, pour the contents onto a clean surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Add the extra 2-3 tbsp of bread flour as needed to keep the dough soft but workable. Knead by pushing the dough, turning and folding it in half. Repeating this for 10 minutes.
6. Once the dough has finished kneading, allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
7. Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. (Cut the dough in half, then each half in half again and then once more)
8. Take each portion of dough and knead into a tight ball.
9. Once in a ball, press your thumb into the center of the ball and gently squeeze and pull the dough while rotating it around your thumb to create the bagel shape. Place onto a parchment or silicone lined 3/4 cookie sheet (this is just a larger cookie sheet).
10. Repeat with the remaining dough.
11. Cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and allow the bagels to rise for 30 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 425°F once the bagels have risen for 30 minutes.
13. In a large pot, boil about 4 inches of water.
14. Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully drop the risen bagels into the boiling water one by one. You may have to do this in a few batches.
15. Boil the bagels for about 1 minute, flip over to the other side and boil for an additional minute.
16. Using a large slotted spoon or spider strainer remove the bagels and return to the lined cookie sheet.
17. Repeat with the remaining bagels. While the next batch of bagels are boiling, top the boiled ones with shredded cheese.
18. Once all of the bagels have boiled and are topped with shredded cheese, bake in the 425° F oven for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
19. Allow the bagels to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and enjoying.
20. Store in a zip top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

How to serve a Cheese Bagel

Guys, these bagels are SO good that I mostly just eat them plain. But I understand you may want to spruce it up. You can serve these as the base for a killer breakfast sandwich, toasted with cream cheese or simply buttered. No matter how you serve it up, it’s divine.

How to store an Asiago Cheese Bagel

Store your bagels in an airtight zip lock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days (and honestly, a little bit longer).

Do cheese bagels need to be refrigerated?

Nope! Even though these bagels contain cheese, you’re safe to store these on the counter.

Asiago Bagel Recipe FAQs