Easy, gluten free bagel and recipe aren’t things most of us would think belong in the same sentence. But with this recipe, I promise you’ll be thinking about gluten free bagels in a whole new light!
Until I developed this gluten free bagel recipe, it had been a long while since I’d had a really great bagel.
The gluten free bagel varieties I’ve tasted have been ok when toasted, but they’re nearly all frozen so they lack that bagel texture — that reach out and squeeze it and watch it bounce back quality (what do you call that??). You know what I mean: if you have to toast it from the get-go, there’s just not a lot to get excited about with pre-made, frozen gluten free bagels.
But with my gfJules Flour or Bread Mix, these gluten free homemade gluten free bagels are delicious on day 1 or day 2! They never get hard or rubbery. You can eat them cold, warm them or toast them.
What Flour Is Best for Homemade Gluten Free Bagels?
YOU can make bagels anytime YOU want them! And since you can also use my easy gfJules Bread Mix, there’s hardly even anything to add – just dump the mix in with the liquids and yeast, mix, poke a hole in ’em, boil ’em and bake ’em.
Of course, you can also use my bagels from-scratch recipe using my pre-blended gfJules Flour. I’m here to give you delicious choices, you know!
It’s important to use my award-winning gfJules pre-mixed All Purpose Flour Blend or gluten-free Bread Mix though, as recipes like this one will not turn out with the chewy/springy-ness you’ll want from your bagel without it.
In fact, as if we needed any reminder just how B.A.D. a gluten-free bagel can be, a restaurant sent along a side order of gluten-free bagels with our meal delivery the other night and they were a cross between so rubbery you could bounce them off the walls and so hard they could break your teeth — kindof like a lacrosse ball in bagel form. Definitely gives gluten free a bad name.
But back to truly great gluten free bagels …
I often hear people talk about interchanging gluten free flour blends in recipes; coming from regular gluten baking like we all were, it’s natural to think flours are all the same (like Gold Medal Flour is no different from the Safeway Brand of flour …) but in the gluten free world, nothing could be further from the truth! All gluten free flour blends are different — find out why here.
Even if you think you want to make your own gluten free flour blend, it will turn out differently from someone else making it because the individual RAW ingredients that combine to make the blend are all different! It’s true!
When I choose the raw ingredients for my blend, I have access to tons of choices; when you go to the store, you may have access to one or two, if you’re super lucky. And they all behave and interact differently.
The ingredients may LOOK the same on the ingredient label, but they are actually highly specialized. So go with the blend recommended for each gluten free recipe you try — mine or someone else’s on their site.
Trust me when I say that in this gluten free bagel recipe, if you use my gfJules Flour, you will have more fun rolling this dough because it will be stretchy, and you will get much more joy from the end results, too!
And don’t worry if you’ve never made a bagel before; there’s no magic to it, but the baking soda boiling step is key to getting that bagel-y sheen and dense bagel-y texture. You can also do an egg wash for that classic bagel “sheen,” if you like.
So start thinking differently about bagels. What’s your favorite way to eat them? You can do that again! Cream cheese, lox, peanut butter, plain, sammie, toasted (or not!) … have it your way!
Have you used one of my mixes or flour to make something exciting? Drop a comment and a photo on this or any recipe — I’d love to hear all about it!
P.S. Many thanks to Roberta T. for sending me her picture and basic recipe for making gluten-free bagels using my original gfJules Bread Mix. She certainly inspired this recipe!
Even Easier Method for Making Gluten Free Bagels
And if you’re looking for a super easy way to make this super easy recipe, I’ve found these great bagel maker molds from Lekue that make the whole process nearly hands off!
Simply press each gluten free dough ball down on top of one of these silicone molds and then boil the bagels ON THE MOLD, then bake them ON THE MOLD directly on the oven rack — no pan. They come out so crispy and you don’t even have to flip the bagels — yay!
Easy Gluten Free Bagel Recipe
Easy Gluten Free Bagel Recipe
These gluten free bagels are REAL bagels! Real bagel texture, real bagel flavor and they're really not so hard to make. This recipe will become your new favorite gluten free bread recipe; you may want to double it and be sure to always have some of these gluten free bagels on hand in the freezer at all times!
Ingredients
From Scratch Recipe:
- 3 cups (405 grams) gfJules® All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free Multigrain Baking Flour) OR flax seed meal
- 1/4 cup dry milk powder, dairy or non-dairy (e.g. Coconut Milk Powder) OR (35 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free Multigrain Baking Flour OR almond meal
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (e.g. Red Star® Quick Rise)
- 2 egg whites, room temperature (or egg substitute like 4 Tbs. aquafaba)
- 3 Tbs. honey OR maple syrup OR agave syrup
- 3/4 cup + 2 Tbs. warm water
- 1 Tbs. baking soda (preferred) OR salt (for the boil)
- toppings like sesame seeds, coarse sea salt, etc.
OR
- 1 package gfJules® Gluten Free Bread Mix*
Ingredients to add to gfJules Bread Mix
- 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (e.g. Red Star® Quick Rise)
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup olive oil (or other mild oil)
- 2 egg whites, room temperature (or egg substitute like 4 Tbs. aquafaba)
- 3 Tbs. sugar (35 grams)
- 1 Tbs. baking soda (preferred) OR salt (for the boil)
- toppings like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.
Instructions
- Whisk liquids together in a large mixing bowl.
- If baking from scratch, whisk all dry ingredients together in another bowl. Add either whisked dry ingredients or gfJules Gluten Free Bread Mix and yeast into the large bowl with liquids, beating on low speed of your mixer using paddle attachment, or mix with a wooden spoon, by hand.
- Continue to mix until dough comes together easily and is firm but not tough. If you find that the dough is tough or too firm and very resistant when pulled apart, mix in more water, two tablespoons at a time until the dough is able to be shaped easily but is not too sticky, loose or wet. It should not be resistant like taffy, it should be pliable and soft, but be able to hold its shape.
- Prepare a clean counter or pastry mat by lightly dusting with gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. Separate dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece out gently into a ball and poke a hole in the center with your thumb, OR roll into a log 9 inches long and bring the ends together by scoring with a fork and wetting the ends with your finger before pressing together and smoothing. Alternatively, use Lekue Bagel Molds and there will be no need to flip the bagels during the bake.
- Spritz with water to keep moist, then cover with cling wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place while bringing water to a boil.
- Prepare a large pot of water by adding 1 tablespoon baking soda and turning onto high flame/heat.
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Once water is at a full boil, gently drop bagels in, only boiling as many at one time as can boil without touching. Boil on each side for 30 seconds, then flip. Remove with a skimmer or slotted spatula and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet sprinkled with gfJules Flour to keep help absorb excess water and keep from sticking. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- If this process takes more than a few minutes, mist the bagels with water while waiting to boil or waiting to bake so that the dough doesn’t dry out or harden.
- Sprinkle tops of bagels with any desired toppings.
- Bake for approximately 8 minutes, then flip and bake for another 8 minutes. If desired, brush with egg wash of mixed egg + 1 Tbs. water after flipping to give bagels "sheen." Bagels are done when lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out dry or with dry crumbs attached.
- Makes 6 bagels. These stay soft on days 1-2 and are better toasted or warmed thereafter.
Notes
*Once cooled, slice and freeze (store in freezer bags) to have on hand any time you'd like to have a bagel!
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Nutrition Information
Yield 7 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 314Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 18gCholesterol 0mgSodium 736mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 5gSugar 18gProtein 9g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
And pin it for later!
Great recipe! Easy and really good results!
GORGEOUS gluten free bagels!! WOW!
~jules