Even though I’ve never eaten at Momofuku or Momofuku Milk Bar, thanks to the internet I’ve been a long time fan. I’ve been steadily collecting a collection of Momofuku pins on Pinterest.
When one of my favorite blogs, Love & Olive Oil, chose bagels as the theme for their July Kitchen Challenge, I knew I had to try the Momofuku bagel bombs. Momofuku bagel bombs are a spin on the traditional bagel in that what would traditionally be bagel toppings are baked inside the bagel instead.
The bagel bombs are amazing! I used goat cheese instead of cream cheese, which was awesome! I highly recommend reading through the entire recipe first. I am one of those “jump right in” cooks, which got me in a bit of trouble as the bagel bomb “stuffing” needs to be prepared in advance and you have to save the bacon grease. I try to clean the kitchen as I go which resulted in me frying up a second batch of bacon.
This then resulted in me eating said second batch of bacon, so maybe it was a good mistake?
P.S. – How cute are these Anthropologie dishes? They are a special edition Pacifica theme by artist Linda Fahey (who lives about 25 minutes away from me! Small world!).
Thanks so much for reading A Side of Sweet! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, Facebook, or Twitter, or subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts (see sidebar).
Momofuku Bagel Bombs with Goat Cheese, Bacon & Scallions
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Brunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Goat Cheese, Scallion & Goat Cheese Stuffing
- 3.5 oz. (100 g.) bacon
- 14 oz. goat cheese
- 1 bunch scallion greens, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
For the Momofuku “Mother Dough”:
- 3 1/2 c. flour
- 1 T. kosher salt
- 1 1/8 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 3/4 c. water, at room temp
- 1 tsp. veggie oil
For the Egg Wash & Poppy Seed Topping:
- 1 egg, at room temp
- 1/2 teaspoon water, at room temp
- 4 tsp. poppy seeds
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
Make the Bacon, Scallion, and Cream Cheese Stuffing:
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it’s brown and crunchy. Remove from pan and chop into small pieces. Set aside. Reserve the bacon grease.
- Put the cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on medium speed. Reduce speed and pour in the reserved bacon fat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the bacon, scallions, sugar, and salt. Mix briefly at low speed to incorporate.
- Scoop the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet pan in 16 even lumps. Freeze until rock hard, about 1 to 3 hours.
Make the Mother Dough Bread Buns:
- Stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer – by hand, using the dough hook like a spoon. Continue stirring by hand as you add 1 3/4 cup water, mixing for 1 minute until the mixture has come together in a shaggy mess.
- Engage the bowl and hook and have the machine mix the dough on the lowest speed for 3 minutes, or until the ball of dough is smoother and more cohesive. Then knead for 4 more minutes on the lowest speed. The dough should look like a wet ball and should bounce back softly when prodded.
- Brush a large bowl with vegetable oil and transfer the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Make the Egg Wash and Poppy Seed Topping:
- Whisk together the egg and water. Brush a generous coat of this wash on the buns.
- In a small bowl, stir together the poppy seeds, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder. Sprinkle a heavy, even coating of this mixture all over the bagel bombs.
Assemble the Bagel Bombs:
- Punch down and flatten the dough on a smooth, dry countertop. Use a dough cutter to divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Use your fingers to gently stretch each piece of dough out into a flat circle between 2 and 3 inches wide.
- Put a frozen cream cheese ball in the center of each dough circle. Bring up the edges of each round and pinch to seal so that the cream cheese plug is completely contained, then gently roll the ball between the palms of your hands to ensure that the bomb has a nice, round shape. Arrange the bombs 4 inches apart on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
- Spread each bomb with egg wash and sprinkle generously with poppy seed topping.
- Bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 325F. While in the oven, the bombs will become a deep golden brown and a few may have cream cheese explosions. You can use your fingers to tuck the cream cheese inside or leave them as is. When they are ready, serve immediately.
Notes
Based on the famous Momofuku Bagel Bombs by Christina Tosi
Wow, this looks AMAZING! It would probably take me like 10 hours to make, but I just might have to do it the next time I have to bring a dish to a potluck or brunch.
Oh my goodness. What a great idea. I did the bagel challenge, too, and I can honestly say that mine have nothing on yours. And I love that you used goat cheese. They look seriously delicious.
Thanks! After reading your post though, I feel like a cheated a little. These are definitely less technically difficult. I feel like I need to make a ‘real’ bagel still….