Montreal Cheese Bagels
Watch a recording of this program featuring Workers Circle CEO Ann Toback and Wandering Chew Founder Kat Romanow here.

Ingredients

Dough
2 sheets or 400g all-butter frozen puff pastry

Filling
2 cups dry farmer’s cheese (dry cottage cheese), dry ricotta, or extra smooth ricotta 
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt 
½ tsp vanilla extract
Zest of half a lemon

Topping
1 egg beaten, for egg wash
1 - 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar or sanding sugar, for sprinkling

To Serve
Jam & sour cream or yogourt

Instructions
If you’re using ricotta cheese in the filling instead of farmer’s cheese (dry cottage cheese), we recommend straining it overnight to drain off the liquid in it to create a drier ricotta cheese that is similar in texture to dry farmer’s cheese. To strain the ricotta, line a fine meshed strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth or with a clean cotton kitchen towel. Place the strainer over a large bowl, making sure there’s an inch or two of space between the bottom of the strainer and the bottom of the bowl. Place the ricotta in the strainer and fold the cheesecloth or the cotton towel over the ricotta to cover. Place a heavy bowl or heavy can over the cheese, and refrigerate for 4 hour or overnight. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator and squeeze the cheese while still in the cheesecloth or cotton towel to remove any remaining liquid. Discard the liquid at the bottom of the bowl, and continue with the recipe.

Thaw the package of frozen puff pastry at room temperature for 45 minutes. It will still be cold after thawing, but it should be pliable.

In a small bowl, mix together the farmers cheese or ricotta, egg, sugar, flour, vanilla extract and lemon zest until combined. Cover and place in the fridge until the puff pastry is ready.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Lightly flour your work surface. Unfold or unroll the puff pastry and place one piece on your floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it’s about ¼ inch thick and rectangular in shape. Slice the puff pastry lengthwise into two pieces.

Remove the cheese filling from the fridge. Spread a quarter of the cheese filling along the length of one piece of the puff pastry from end to end, making sure to place it close to the edge. Roll the filled puff pastry into a log and cut it into two equal halves. Gently shape each log into a horseshoe shape and pinch the ends shut. Carefully transfer each horseshoe onto your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the puff pastry and filling.

Mix beaten egg with 1 teaspoon of water and mix until combined. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake, rotating halfway through, until evenly golden brown, 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool and serve warm or at room temperature with yogurt and jam.

You can also freeze the unbaked cheese bagels in freezer bags and bake them for about 5-10 minutes longer.