Twisted Pretzel Bagels Recipe | Elephantastic Vegan (2024)

FAQs

What makes bagels vegan? ›

There's nothing quite like the dense, toothy texture of bagels. In their most basic form, bagels are vegan, made from just flour, water, yeast, and salt. But other non-vegan ingredients—including dairy, honey, and eggs, along with less easily identifiable animal products—commonly appear in commercially produced bagels.

Trader Joe's is known for its innovative and affordable food options, and their vegan bagels are no exception. From classic flavors like Plain and Everything to their seasonal Pumpkin variety, Trader Joe's has something for every palate.

No, they are quite different. Bagel dough typically has barley malt syrup added (and sometimes sugar, too, as I do in my sourdough bagels) to the dough, whereas pretzel dough does not. Additionally, pretzel dough typically has lard or butter added to the dough whereas bagels do not.

If you're buying bagels from the store, check the ingredient list for any non-vegan items. The most important ones to look out for are eggs, honey, honey powder, L-cysteine, milk, and milk products like casein, lactose, and whey. L-cysteine should be labeled by name or with the number E920.

Just about all bagels are vegan - there are no eggs or milk in the standard recipe. A few people might use honey, but it's certainly not found in the majority of recipes. If you want to be a strict vegan you need to simply check the ingredients, or make your own.

Q: Are your products vegan? A: All DKB bread products are considered vegan and do not contain any animal products, however, our limited edition DKB Snack Bars (Trail Mix Crumble and Oat-Rageous Honey Almond™) are NOT considered vegan as they contain organic honey.

Bagels. Vegan bagels include everything, plain, blueberry, and sesame varieties. While Panera doesn't offer a dairy-free cream cheese spread, you don't have to eat your bagel plain! You may be able to snag some avocado or hummus to round out your brekkie handheld.

The plain, everything, cinnamon raisin, and sesame bagels are vegan. Remember to ask for avocado, to add some healthy fats to the savory flavors.

Lye. The dough is simple; take a basic yeast-risen dough that can be readied in an afternoon. But the trick to great pretzels is dipping the pretzels in a liquid wash before baking — and not just any wash, but a combination of water and lye. That's what gives pretzels their terrific color, texture and flavor.

Baking soda bath: Do not skip this step! This is what makes the bagels taste like pretzels! Add your formed bagels into a baking soda bath for 30 seconds flipping halfway through. Finishing touches: Transfer your bagels to a baking tray, top with coarse or flakey salt and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Why does pretzel dough taste different? ›

They're Boiled, Not Baked.

The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.

We've yet to come across a dairy-free cream cheese that wasn't vegan, largely due to the fact that other animal ingredients typically are not used to make the basic schmear. Packaged cream cheese is made of pasteurized whole milk, salt, carob bean gum (a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier), and cheese cultures.

As with many food items, in its simplest form, peanut butter should always be vegan. The vast majority of peanut butters you find in grocery stores will therefore be fully plant-based. Traditional peanut butter is made from peanuts and often a small amount of salt or oil.

Bread containing eggs, honey, royal jelly, gelatin, or dairy-based ingredients like milk, butter, buttermilk, whey, or casein isn't considered vegan. You may also come across these ingredients that are usually — but not always — vegan: Mono and diglycerides.

Enzymes. Although the enzymes used in bread seem to generally be fungal-based, there are several non-vegan enzymes used in commercial bread production. This includes one such ingredient called phospholipase, an enzyme derived from pig pancreatic tissue.

Bagels. Vegan bagels include everything, plain, blueberry, and sesame varieties. While Panera doesn't offer a dairy-free cream cheese spread, you don't have to eat your bagel plain! You may be able to snag some avocado or hummus to round out your brekkie handheld.

Yes, actually. Most plain and a few flavored bagels (everything style, poppy seed, salt, sometimes raisin (though those often have added butter or milk) are vegan, though store bought bagels sometimes add non-vegan ingredients like whey (milk) or certain preservatives.

Traditional butter is made with churned milk or cream, which usually comes from cows (but it can also come from other animals like goats), and that's why it's not vegan. Many people also use margarine, which is similar to butter in texture and color, but it's usually made with plant-based fat instead of animal fat.