Japanese Style Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Bagel
Fall is coming, and this Japanese Style Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Bagel is the bagel you need to start the autumn season right. Fluffy and packed with chunks of creamy cheese, this Japanese-style bagel is softer and chewier. Easy to grab and go, and easy to freeze, too! This Japanese Pumpkin Bagel will be the easiest to-go breakfast you make every week.
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Baking 6 Kinds Of Japanese Bagel With Mama Chen
My mom bakes every weekend, keeping our house stocked with so many delicious baked goods like milk breads and no knead cheese buns. Growing up, I used to love coming home to my mom’s freshly baked bread. My mom’s recipes are all super beginner friendly, because even I can bake them!
Making Japanese Bagels with Japanese Pumpkin
Today I’m using Kabocha, or Japanese Pumpkin, as the flavor for our bagel. I’ve also made this recipe with regular pumpkin, but you can use taro or sweet potato with this method for a similar effect. I prefer Kabocha as it is the easiest to prepare; you can find it at most Asian grocery markets. Similar to the blueberry flavor, adding pumpkin can make the dough a little bit more sticky, but just keep kneading until it forms into a ball.

Japanese Bagels are Super Freezer Friendly
What makes Japanese Bagels so special is that even after freezing, the bagel is still fluffy and soft on the inside. You can put them in the freezer after they’ve cooled down from baking.
Once frozen, you can take them out anytime and reheat in the toaster. I love freezing these bagels and using them for quick breakfast sandwiches in the morning.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Bagel Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Honey (or sugar)
- ⅔ cup Water
- 1 tsp Yeast
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ cup Japanese pumpkin, chopped
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- Pumpkin Seeds

How To Make Stuffed Pumpkin Bagels
Mix Dough

- Steam pumpkins for 30 minutes, then mash until smooth.
- In a cup, mix water and honey until fully combined. Next, add flour, salt, yeast, mashed pumpkins, and honey water into the stand mixer with a dough hook.
- Mix until fully combined. The dough may seem more on the dryer side, but keep mixing until it forms into a dough. This process will take around 5-6 minutes.
- Once the dough forms into a ball in the stand mixer, remove and knead with your hands for 2-3 minutes or until it forms into a smooth, elastic ball. Cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Or until the dough becomes slightly softer so it is easier to work.
- After 10-15 minutes, cut the dough into six even pieces and roll each portion into individual balls. Cover the dough to prevent them from drying up while you work on the dough one by one.
Shaping Bagels

- Take one piece of ball, and roll the dough flat to around 12cm square.
- Line up cream cheese at the top of the bagel, leaving room on the sides to prevent the fillings from spilling.
- Tuck and roll the dough from the top down with your fingers, pinching the ends close before rolling each section and tucking the fillings in. Once you reach the end, pinch the ends close before rolling out the dough to around 15cm lengthwise.
- Tuck and roll the dough from the top down with your fingers, making sure to pinch the ends close before rolling each section. Once you get to the end, pinch the ends close before rolling out the dough to around 15cm lengthwise.
- Flatten one of the dough ends and connect the ends together to form a bagel shape. Make sure to pinch the dough tightly, cover and let it rest for 80 minutes or until it has risen.
Optional: I like to place each bagel on an individual parchment paper so it is easier to add to the water later.
Baking Bagels

- Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400F. Make sure the oven is fully heated before preparing the water mixture.
- In a large pot, bring around 8-10 cups of water to a boil and add in ½ cup of sugar to the boiling water. Boil each bagel for around 30 seconds on each side; this boiling step helps create the bagel’s characteristic chewy texture.
- Top the bagels with shredded cheese before transferring them back to the baking sheet and place them in the preheated oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and have a firm texture. Every oven is slightly different, so keep an eye out.
- Allow the bagels to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, you can slice them and enjoy your homemade Japanese bagels. They’re delicious on their own or with your favorite spreads.
Baking can be easy with these Simple Bread Recipes!





Japanese Style Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Bagel
By Tiffy Cooks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Honey or sugar
- ⅔ cup Water
- 1 tsp Yeast
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ cup Japanese pumpkin chopped
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- Pumpkin Seeds
Instructions
Bagel Dough
- Steam pumpkins for 30 minutes, then mash until smooth.

- In a cup, mix water and honey until fully combined. Next, add flour, salt, yeast, mashed pumpkins, and honey water into the stand mixer with a dough hook.

- Mix until fully combined. The dough may seem more on the dryer side, but keep mixing until it forms into a dough. This process will take around 5-6 minutes.

- Once the dough forms into a ball in the stand mixer, remove and knead with your hands for 2-3 minutes or until it forms into a smooth, elastic ball. Cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Or until the dough becomes slightly softer so it is easier to work.

- After 10-15 minutes, cut the dough into six even pieces and roll each portion into individual balls. Cover the dough to prevent them from drying up while you work on the dough one by one.

Shaping Bagels
- Take one piece of ball, and roll the dough flat to around 12cm square.

- Line up cream cheese at the top of the bagel, leaving room on the sides to prevent the fillings from spilling.

- Tuck and roll the dough from the top down with your fingers, pinching the ends close before rolling each section and tucking the fillings in. Once you reach the end, pinch the ends close before rolling out the dough to around 15cm lengthwise.

- Flatten one of the dough ends and connect the ends together to form a bagel shape. Make sure to pinch the dough tightly, cover and let it rest for 80 minutes or until it has risen.Optional: I like to place each bagel on an individual parchment paper so it is easier to add to the water later.

Baking Bagels
- Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400F. Make sure the oven is fully heated before preparing the water mixture.

- In a large pot, bring around 8-10 cups of water to a boil and add in ½ cup of sugar to the boiling water. Boil each bagel for around 30 seconds on each side; this boiling step helps create the bagel’s characteristic chewy texture.

- Top the bagels with pumpkin seeds before transferring them back to the baking sheet and place them in the preheated oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and have a firm texture. Every oven is slightly different, so keep an eye out.

- Allow the bagels to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, you can slice them and enjoy your homemade Japanese bagels. They’re delicious on their own or with your favorite spreads.



