Gluten Free Bagels

Last weekend I took my first cooking class ever! It was a class on Gluten Free Bread. I had been looking forward to it, and I had a wicked cold all weekend long and was pretty miserable... but when Sunday afternoon rolled around, you bet I was going to drag myself to this class! (You see, I really have never had great success with making my own GF bread. It always has turned out TOO dense, or never fully risen.. blah blah blah.) Anyways, it I got a few great recipes from this class, so it was worth it! 

This bagel recipe was unbelievably easy!! Who knew bagels were such a breeze to make? They stay fresh for about 4 days, but I just pop mine straight into the freezer. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone, the texture is terrific and not heavy at all. I made mine with sesame, poppy seeds and did a cinnamon sugar version. 

*tip- to speed up the rising process, I heat my oven to 200 degrees, then turned the heat off... and put my bagels in the warm oven to rise. It worked great!

Gluten Free Bagels- 

by Katy from Generous Servings

Ingredients-

1c warm water (105-110 degrees)

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp active dry yeast

Cornmeal for sprinkling

1c brown rice flour

1c sorghum flour

2/3c tapioca starch

2/3c potato starch

2/3c cornstarch

1/4c ground flax meal

1/4c almond meal

1 tbsp Xanthan gum

1 tsp guar gum

3 tsp salt, divided

2 tbsp, plus 1 tsp sugar divided

1/4c shortening (or unsalted butter) melted in 1/2c Hot water

4 egg whites

1. Combine warm water, 1 tsp of sugar and yeast. Let sit for at least 5 minutes, until foamy.

2.Grease one or two flat cookie sheets. Sprinkle cornmeal on them.

3. Place the flours, starches, meals, gums, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 tbsp sugar into bowl of stand mixer. Using the dough hook (or paddle works well too), mix the dry ingredients together just until blended.

4.Add the shortening (melted in hot water) to the dry ingredients and mix again for about 15 seconds.

5. Add the egg whites and mix until blended.

6. Add the warm yeast-water mixture and blend until well mixed. This should take about 3 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky. There is a good chance you will need to add some extra potato starch to the mixture, 1 tbsp at a time.

7. Rub some shortening or oil your hands. Take a ping pong size ball of dough out of the mixing bowl (use a scoop for consistency) and roll into a ball, then press it between your two hands to make it flatter, and finally insert your pointer finger into the middle of it to make a hole in the center of the bagel.

8. Place the bagel on the greased cookie sheet, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes.

9 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large stockpot of water with teaspoon of sugar and 1 tsp of salt to boil.

10. Quickly slip 2 to 4 bagels in the boiling water, depending on how many will fit. After 30 seconds, flip them over. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on rack to cool. Repeat with remaining bagels. 

11. Return bagels to the cookie sheet and add any toppings you might like. (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, herbs, salt, cheese etc)

12. Place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and place bagels on cooling rack.