Panera Bread Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

This bagel. It needs no introduction.

Anyone who is anyone has eaten the infamous cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera Bread knows what I'm talking about.

Anyone…except me. Until about a week ago, that is.

I grew up in the land of sled dogs and igloos – Canada - and we don't have Panera Bread in the great white north.

Okay, kidding.

Well, about the igloos and sled dog shenanigans…but not about Panera Bread.

So, as you can imagine, I have pretty much been deprived of all things yum and delicious until moving down south, and my husband insisting that I must try this bakery that he called "Panera."

The first thing he introduced me to was the cinnamon crunch bagel. He talked it up A LOT, so I was a little nervous that it was going to let me down. It had BIG shoes to fill.

You know, if bagels had shoes.

Anyway.

This bagel? It did not let me down. In fact, it exceeded my expectations.

Obvi, I had to recreate it.

But, there was a very large problem.

I had never made ANY kind of yeasted bread before (although, I have had my eyeballs on this pretzel bread for quite some time.) I had only forayed into the world of banana bread and zucchini bread.

To be honest, the thought of true bread making scared me. But, I needed to make these bagels. And, I needed to make them healthier.

So, you know what they (who are "they" anyway) say? Go big or go home.

I dived right in and made some bagels. Yes, it took me multiple tries to get it right. Yes, I spent a few days being completely covered in flour.

But, yes, it was SO worth it. And, once I figured out the recipe, I discovered bagel making was actually pretty easy! Woo to the hoo!

The best part? These bagels are half whole wheat, contain NO butter and very minimal sugar. I thought about trying to use honey for the cinnamon sugar topping but, there is a reason it's called "cinnamon sugar" and not "cinnamon honey."

You just don't mess with such things.

The husband (and his coworkers!) even declared that they tasted like the Panera bagel.

Bagel greatness, achieved.

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Panera Bread Cinnamon Crunch Bagels Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water, warm, 110 to 120 degree f
• 1 tablespoon yeast, i used red star
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons honey, divided
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, 167g
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour, not whole wheat, 235g
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• corn meal cornmeal, for sprinkling on the pan

For the topping:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions

1. Add the warm water and yeast into the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir with a fork and let stand until the yeast begins to blossom, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the honey, whole wheat pastry flour and cinnamon. Using the dough hook, knead the mixture on the lowest setting for 1 minute, to incorporate the flours. Then, scrape the sides of the bowl down and turn up to the second speed setting and knead for 3 more minutes.
3. Turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for 5 minutes so that the flour can begin to absorb the water. Your batter may have a few lumps, just give it a good stir to break them down.
4. Once the batter has rested, turn the mixer on to the lowest speed, and add the bread flour, 1/2 a cup at a time. Knead for 7 minutes, add in the white chocolate chips, and then knead for 1 minute more to incorporate them. You can scrape the sides of the bowl or dough hook down as needed.
5. Cover the mixer with a kitchen towel and let rise for one hour.
6. Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long, thin rope* and let rest for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle a baking sheet generously with cornmeal.
7. Then, loop each rope into a circle, really twisting the ends together to make sure that they are nice and secure. Repeat with all the pieces of dough, and place onto the cornmeal covered baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest until they rise slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
8. While the dough rests bring a 4 1/2 litre pot of water to a boil. Add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of honey and then cover and turn the heat down to keep your water at a low boil. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a separate baking sheet with parchment paper
9. Once the bagels have risen, gently place 2-3 at time into the water, cook for 50 seconds and gently flip, cooking an additional 50 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, pick up the bagels. and drain any of the water off. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels.
10. While the bagels boil, mix together the granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.
11. Once all the bagels are done, brush the tops liberally with melted coconut oil and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, rubbing it into the tops of each bagel. Make sure you use all the sugar, as you want these nice and crunchy on top.
12. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and eat.

Notes

• A slightly easier way to form the bagels is to roll into balls and use your thumbs to press a hole out of the middle, and gentle form the hole bigger. However, this tends to lead to flatter bagels.
• The cinnamon sugar topping does go soft if left at room temperature so bagels are best left at room temperature for only 2-3 days, and toasted before eating. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

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