Cauliflower Bagels (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)

Crusty, chewy, fluffy bagels made with cauliflower! These bagels are low carb, keto, flourless, and gluten free.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups finely chopped cauliflower reduced to 1 ½ cup dried cauliflower (see notes)
• ¼ cup superfine almond flour
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
• 4 large eggs divided
• everything bagel seasoning

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, add dried cauliflower, almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, mozzarella, 3 eggs (the remaining egg is reserved for egg wash). Mix until everything is evenly combined and moist.
3. Pack batter into a ½ cup measuring cup. Make sure to press down and compact it, to keep the batter from crumbling. Turn the measuring cup upside down onto prepared baking sheet and shake cup a little so the batter slides out. When it slides out, it should still hold the form of the measuring cup, much like a cup of packed brown sugar.
4. To shape bagels, use one finger to create a hole in the center. Then slowly widen and stretch out the hole. Use your hands to round the edges and top of the bagel. When you are finished, the bagel should be about the size of a cake donut and the surface should be as smooth as you can get it.
5. Whisk remaining egg. Brush on bagels. Sprinkle generously with everything bagel seasoning.
6. Bake bagels for about 21-22 minutes or until tops are a dark golden brown. When you apply pressure to the surface of the bagels, they should bounce back rather than collapse in. Allow bagels to cool slightly before eating
7. Store any uneaten bagels in fridge or freezer. Reheat in oven or toaster oven.

NOTES:

• To achieve the crusty exterior, it is important to bake these bagels free form. You do not want to put them into a donut mold or anything similar. Allowing them to bake out in the open will allow the surface to dry which allows it to form the crust.
• This recipe requires you to dry the cauliflower. If the cauliflower is not dry, the batter will be too moist and the bagels will not be able to achieve the chewy texture. They will be fluffy and bread-like only. You can do this with the microwave or cheese cloth.
• Cauliflower holds a lot of moisture. When you are done wringing it dry, you should only be left with 1 ½ cups of cauliflower. If you have too much leftover cauliflower, your cauliflower is likely not dry enough. This could lead to the bread being too moist and it could also make the mixture too crumbly.
• A little coconut flour does a lot for these bagels. Without the coconut flour, the bagels are not as fluffy and do not rise as much.
• I recommend a low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese. I use mozzarella instead of other cheeses in this recipe because it has less sodium, so using so much does not make the bagels too salty. Melted mozzarella is also more stretchy and chewy than other cheeses, which helps to create the chewy texture.
• The bagels are not as smooth and puffy as regular bagels. Try to smooth out the surface as much as you can before putting them in the oven. Also these bagels are smaller than your standard bagels. They will only rise a little and be about the size of a donut.