Cinnamon Crunch Bagels Panera Bread Copycat

Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch Bagels seems to have a quite the following. This recipe is a copycat attempt that turned out to be the perfect breakfast bagel. There is a sweet topping that is loaded onto the bagels before baking, forming a crackly, craggy crust. Your kitchen will be filled with the aroma of cinnamon. These bagels are both tender and chewy-- just as a bagel should be.

Course Bread

Keyword Bagels, Cinnamon Bagels, Cinnamon Sugar Crunch Bagels

Prep Time 2 20

Cook Time 20

Preferment Time (4-14 hours) 12

Total Time 14 40

Servings bagels

Calories 362kcal

Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

Proofing Box My most often used tool for proofing dough, especially during colder months
Kitchen Scale the most accurate way to measure for bread baking
Stand Mixer
Sheet pan 18"x13"
Parchment Paper
Mixing Bowls
Large Skillet needs to hold 8 cups of water
Spider to remove bagels from boiling water
Cooling rack

Ingredients

Preferment (pâte fermentée0

1 cup Unbleached Bread Flour 120g; recommended King Arthur NOTE: Use only Bread Flour, as AP flour will not result in a chewy bagel due to less protein
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast
1/3 cup water 75g; cool temperature

For the Dough:

all of the preferment
3/4 cup water 170g; warm temperature
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon light brown sugar 13g; packed
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
2 1/2 cups Unbleached Bread Flour 300g
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Vietnamese Cinnamon recommended
1/4 cup Cinnamon Sweet Bits, optional 35g; can be purchased at www.kingarthurflour.com NOTE: Panera Bread adds White Chocolate Chips to their recipe.

For the Topping:

2 tablespoons light brown sugar 27g; packed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon coarse sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar
2 tablespoons Unbleached Bread Flour 15g
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon Vietnamese cinnamon recomended
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon melted butter 14g

For the Water bath:

8 cups water 1808g
2 tablespoons honey 42g

Garnish the bagels:

1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
King Arthur Cinnamon Sweet Bits optional
coarse sparkling sugar optional

Instructions

To make the preferment:

Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the preferment ingredients to make a shaggy dough. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer, combine at low speed.
Likewise, use your hand to knead gently until thoroughly combined. (This may take about a minute; it's quite stiff.)
Cover the bowl and let the preferment rest at room temperature for 4 to 14 hours; it should expand -OR- Place the preferment into a jar (I use a Jam Jar) with a loose cloth cover or a loose jar cover. I set mine inside my proofing box at 75 degrees the night before, and the preferment quadrupled in size!

To make the dough:

Add the remaining dough ingredients in the order listed to the bowl with the preferment, except the Cinnamon Sweet Bits.
Mix to bring the dough together, by hand or at low speed of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
Next, knead the stiff dough until it’s supple and elastic. This will take up to 15 minutes by hand or 8 to 10 minutes at medium-low speed with a mixer. (Check that it passes the window pane test.)
Add the Cinnamon Sweet Bits during the last 2 minutes of kneading.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest, covered, until it doubles in bulk. This will take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen. NOTE: The dough doubled in 90 minutes in my proofing box.

Divide the dough:

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, gently deflate it, and divide it into 6 equal pieces (about 120g each).

To pre-shape the dough:

Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold the edges into the center. Pinch to seal and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Starting with the first piece of dough you shaped, place it seam-side down on an unfloured surface. Use your cupped fingers and palm to roll the dough into a tight ball, moving your hand in a circular motion. The dough should stick slightly to the surface in order to create tension to yield a smooth exterior.
If the dough is unmaginably sticky, add a very light dusting of flour; if the dough slides around on the surface without tightening, use a damp towel to clean and moisten the surface and try again.
Once shaped into a tight ball, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Cover the pre-shaped dough and allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly grease the parchment; or sprinkle the parchment lightly with cornmeal, semolina, or farina, to prevent the bagels from sticking.

To shape the bagels:

Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your finger to poke a hole through the center.
Gently rotate the dough to expand the hole to 2” to 3” in diameter, forming a ring shape. Place the shaped bagel onto the prepared baking sheet. The hole will close up a bit; that’s OK.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then cover the bagels with a reusable cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, or a clean linen kitchen towel and let them rest until they feel slightly puffy to the touch, about 30 minutes.
While the bagels are resting, preheat the oven to 450°F.

To make the topping:

In a small bowl, whisk the sugars, flour, and cinnamon together.
Add the vanilla and melted butter and stir until the mixture resembles wet sand.

To boil the bagels:

Combine the water bath ingredients in a wide, shallow pot; the water should be at least 1 1/4" deep. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add bagels to the water two or three at a time to avoid crowding.
Boil for 60 seconds, then use a dough whisk, spider or slotted spoon to turn the bagels over. NOTE: I use skewers to turn the bagels over. Boil for another 60 seconds before removing from the water and placing on the prepared pan.
Brush each bagel with egg wash and sprinkle with the topping, distributing evenly across the 6 bagels.
For even more cinnamon crunch, sprinkle the tops of the bagels with more Cinnamon Sweet Bits and/or sparkling sugar.
Press down on the toppings to fully adhere them to the bagel, ensuring that everything stays put.

To bake the bagels:

Bake the bagels for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. Rotate the pan (front to back, back to front) halfway through baking to ensure even browning. If at any point the topping is becoming too dark, tent with foil and continue baking.
Remove the bagels from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.

Storage Information:

These bagels are best enjoyed the day they’re made. Store any leftover bagels in a paper bag for up to 2 days; freezing is not recommended, as the sugary topping will become sticky upon thawing. To re-crisp, bagels can be toasted or wrapped loosely in foil and placed in a 350°F oven until warm.

Notes

Recipe source: King Arthur Flour

Cinnamon Bits is a product exclusively sold at www.kingarthurflour.com If you don't wish to order this, what can you substitute? Cinnamon chips could work. Otherwise, I'd increase the amount of cinnamon in the dough. Raisins can also be substituted as well. Personally, I love the Cinnamon Bits and they're so versatile in many recipes, sprinkled on oatmeal and more.

To bake your bagels first thing in the morning:
Prepare the dough up through the kneading process and allow it to rise for just 1 hour. Continue following the recipe through shaping the bagels. Immediately place the baking sheet with the prepared bagels, covered, into the refrigerator overnight (8 to 12 hours). The next morning, continue the recipe as written starting at the step preheating the oven. Leave the bagels in the refrigerator until the water bath is boiling and the oven is preheated.
OPTIONS:
Substitute 1/4 cup (43g) raisins for the Cinnamon Sweet Bits in the dough, if you want an elevated cinnamon-raisin bagel. Soften the raisins by soaking them in hot water for 15 minutes before kneading into the dough. Bake as directed.
Bake it better! Watch King Arthur baker/blogger Kye Ameden demonstrate some of the techniques from this recipe: Make Your Own Panera-Style Cinnamon-Sugar Crunch Bagels.

Nutrition