Chinese bagels are a trendy hybrid of Western and Japanese bagel traditions, popular in modern Chinese bakeries. With a texture between a New York bagel and a Japanese one, they showcase versatile fillings ranging from cheese to red-braised pork and sweet potato, representing a fusion of Western, Japanese, and Chinese baking styles.
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Adapted from a video by Chinese Cooking Demystified
purple sweet potato (approx. 70 g)optional, for sweet potato filling70 g
waterfor steaming sweet potato1 tbsp
granulated sugarfor sweet potato filling4 g
buttermelted, for sweet potato filling6 g
sweetened condensed milkfor sweet potato filling10 g
Steps
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1
Mix 280 g water with 480 g bread flour into a rough dough, cover, and let rest in a cool place for 45 minutes to autolyze.
2
Cut the dough into pieces, add 10 g salt, 25 g honey, and 5 g instant yeast dissolved in 5 g water; knead until the dough is no longer sticky.
3
Use the slap-and-fold kneading technique 150 times—lift the dough to shoulder height, slap it down, fold the edges over, rotate 90°, and repeat. Alternatively, use a stand mixer on high speed until the dough passes the windowpane test.
4
For plain bagels: divide a quarter of the dough into two portions, shape each into a smooth ball by pinching the surface toward the center, flip seam-side down, rotate to seal, and rest for 20 minutes.
5
For triple cheese bagels (optional): take another quarter of dough, knead in 8 g shredded parmesan until no longer loose, shape into a ball, and rest for 20 minutes the same way.
6
Roll each ball into a rectangle: roll in one direction, rotate 90°, roll again to expand the width. Repeat until roughly 15 cm wide and 18–20 cm long; lightly press the far edge to make sealing easier.
7
For cheese filling: arrange 8 g diced cheddar along the near side of the rectangle, leaving 2 cm border, carefully roll into a log, pinch the seam closed, rest seam-side down for 10 minutes.
8
For red-braised pork filling (optional): melt 0.5 tbsp sugar in 2 tsp oil over low heat, add 70 g pork belly cubes, 0.5 cm ginger, and white parts of 2 scallions; fry until lightly browned (4–5 minutes).
9
Add 0.75 cup hot water, 0.25 tsp Shaoxing wine, 0.5 tsp soy sauce, 0.25 tsp dark soy, and 0.25 tsp five spice powder; simmer on low heat about 15 minutes until sauce reduces to 2–3 tbsp.
10
Season with 0.125 tsp salt and 0.125 tsp MSG; thicken with a slurry of 0.5 tsp cornstarch, then set aside to cool.
11
For sweet potato filling (optional): microwave 70 g purple sweet potato with 1 tbsp water on medium-high for 4 minutes until soft; mash and mix with 4 g sugar, 6 g melted butter, and 10 g sweetened condensed milk.
12
Distribute fillings into the rolled dough rectangles using the same technique as cheese, being careful to pinch the edges closed for pork to prevent leakage; rest for 10 minutes.
13
Final shaping: gently roll each log to 20–25 cm long, keep seam-side down, press one end to form a 'fish tail' shape, nuzzle the other end into it, fold to hide the seam, pinch closed, and hide the pinch on the bottom.
14
Cover all bagels and let proof for 60 minutes.
15
Boil the bagels: add 1 tbsp sugar to 1 liter of rapidly boiling water, reduce to low heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Carefully place bagels in and boil 30 seconds per side; dab excess water with a cloth.
16
Place bagels on parchment paper, optionally top with bagel toppings, and bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 15 minutes.
17
For triple cheese bagels: immediately top with a slice of American cheese while hot from the oven. Once all bagels cool to the touch, they are ready to enjoy.
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