Bagel Tutorial
Here is a photo tutorial for making bagels. I have printed the recipe again, with pictures to illustrate key steps.
Gluten-Free Egg Bagels
Dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour mix, (click link to see the mix I used)
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon xanthan gum (I use Authentic Foods Brand since it is not grown on corn)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed (this is an important ingredient as it helps with the hint of malt flavor in a traditional bagel)
- 1 3/4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- 2 eggs + 2 yolks
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
To Finish:
- 12 cups water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 lightly beaten egg (for egg washing the bagels)
Method:
→ Place the dry ingredients (gluten-free flour mix, tapioca starch, millet flour, yeast, xanthan gum, brown sugar, and sea salt) in the bowl of your standing mixer.
→ With the paddle attachment, slowly mix ingredients until incorporated, approximately 30 seconds.
→ In another bowl, gently whisk the remaining ingredients (eggs, yolks, oil and water) until combined.
→ Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and with the paddle attachment, mix for 2 minutes on medium-high speed ( start your mixer slowly so ingredients don’t slosh out). The dough will be sticky, but not unbearably so.
→ Using a metal ice cream scooper or measuring cup, drop a “glob” of dough at a time onto a counter that has been lightly dusted with rice flour.
→ Making a cupped shape with your hand, roll the dough in a circular motion to create a smooth, rounded ball of dough. (don’t get discouraged as this takes some practice!)
→ Using your thumb, press straight down into the center of the dough ball and then move your thumb around a bit, in small circles to help widen the whole a bit.
→ Then, using your four fingers, press the dough down a bit to help make a “bagel shape.”
→ After shaping, move each bagel to a sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat. If you are using the parchment, you may want to lightly grease it to ensure easy removal of the proofed bagels.
→ Gently drape the bagels with oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rise in a warm, 80 degree place for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The bagels will look puffy and should be doubled in size. (The picture below shows the proofed or risen bagels.)
→ About 30 minutes into the rise, preheat your oven to 450 degrees in anticipation of baking your bagels.
→ About 20 minutes before the bagels are done rising, bring a large, wide-mouthed pot of water to a boil (approximately 12 cups of water). Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda to the pot.
→ Working with 3 to 4 bagels at a time (depending on the size of your pot), boil the bagels for 1 1/2 minutes per side. I flip mine at the half-way mark with a large slotted skimmer.
→ When the bagels are finished, remove them with the slotted spoon/skimmer and place on your prepared sheet pan. Don’t worry if a bit of water puddles off of them onto the sheet pan. This will evaporate in the hot oven.
→ Brush the tops of the bagels gently with the egg wash (1 lightly beaten egg). * You may notice that the bagels get a bit wrinkly from the boil. This is normal and they will smooth out when they bake. No worries!
→ Bake the bagels on the center rack of the preheated, 450 degree oven for 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 425 and bake for 15-20 more minutes. The bagels should be a very deep golden brown color.
→ Remove from the oven and cool bagels on racks.
→ If you have any bagels leftover, slice them, wrap them and store them in the freezer. To reheat: pop the sliced bagel in your toaster right from the freezer and they’ll taste just as good as the day they were baked! I usually make these bagels twice a month and we love pulling them out of the freezer for quick bagel pizzas, bagel breakfast sandwiches, etc.
Yield: Approximately 8-10 medium sized bagels
Hello,
I just got finished making these Bagels & I did a pretty good job for it to be my first time. I my stove is a little slower with the temp so I had to let them bake a little longer. The only thing that I know I need to work on is the rolling of the dough because I am not all that good with that yet. Once I try the taste of the bagels I will let you know how they are. I am hoping they are as good as yours look!! Again thaks for ALL of the recipes!!!! (all smiles)
You’ve been baking up a storm!
I hope you enjoy them. Shaping the bagels definitely gets easier each time. Happy baking!
Yes I have (all smiles), I am trying to have food to freeze so that when I get hungary I can just grab a snack out of the freezer. Plus we have a trip coming up to Paris and I need all the food that I can eat. Thanks again for your wonderful recipes!!!
My bagels don’t look anything like yours! They are flat and small! They tasted good though! I am going to try them again today, and I think I will try using 2 scoops per bagel.
Hi Maddie! I’m always so impressed when people tackle something like gluten-free bagels and are even willing to try again to perfect things! Good for you. Baking gluten-free can have such a steep learning curve at first. There just seem to be so many variables and everybody has different humidity and warmth in their kitchen. The bagels not rising enough could be caused by a bunch of different factors, but here are a few: yeast that isn’t fresh, too dry a dough, not enough warmth when rising, omitting xanthan gum, omitting or cutting back on the sugar in the recipe and under-mixing your dough. Hopefully you do try them again. They are really worth the effort.
I did and they worked so much better! I think the issue might have been not mixing the dough enough, and they were DELICIOUS!!
Thank you for getting back to me!! I’m thrilled to hear they were a success. You are an inspiration, because you didn’t give up!
Hi! I am 11-year old “Maddie”‘s Mom, and I just wanted to thank you for inspiring our oldest of 4 girls (1 of the 2 without Celiac) to become our baker in residence! She wakes up early in the morning on weekends to bake bagels and your amazing bread. She had to add 1/2c of coconut flour to the bread this weekend, because we didn’t have quite enough brown rice flour, and it was a great addition. It has been wonderful to explore your site and dive into the world of gluten free baking with Maddie!
This comment is one of my favorite comments ever! Thank you for making my day. I couldn’t be happier to hear that Maddie is finding inspiration here. What a treasure that is to have a daughter who is thoughtful enough to dive into a gluten-free baking adventure (when she isn’t even celiac). Many adults are overwhelmed by the thought of taking something like that on! Yep, this is definitely why I created the blog. I promise to be back soon with new recipes. Life just keeps getting in the way!