It isn’t easy finding a good bagel these days. And it is crazy difficult to find a tasty gluten-free bagel. But there’s good news. These homemade Whole Grain Bagels are ridiculously good and chewy. Plus amazingly easy to make. Who knew?
I sure didn’t know. Though I am the worst bread maker ever, turns out making bagels is easy. The Canteen Whole Grain Blend gives the bagel a good chewy texture plus it’s healthy. Also, that it is dairy-free and nut-free is a plus. No fat, either. I developed the recipe based on Peter Reinhart’s in his book Artisan Breads Everyday. He’s my bread baking hero (though not gluten-free).
I also like that you can mix up the dough in minutes, form it into bagels in no time at all, pop them onto a prepared baking sheet and refrigerate up to 48 hours and they wait patiently and ferment themselves into a terrific flavor. Baking day is easy. Because they are already formed, all that needs to be done is boil up the water for poaching, preheat the oven, poach and bake, and eat.
The way to make the process easy is to make sure to have a container of the flour already made, have the ingredients at room temperature and set aside twenty minutes to mix up the dough and form the bagels. Baking day requires letting the bagels rest at room temperature for a while before poaching, seeding and baking. Poaching and baking take less than thirty minutes. The hard part is waiting long enough for the bagels to cool down enough to eat.
Also, they freeze really well – just slice, add a little plastic wrap or parchment to keep the halves separated, wrap the bagel well and put it in a freezer Ziploc. I let them come to room temperature and toast them lightly or heat them in a low temperature oven. Our version of your own frozen bagels.
Please read through the recipe a few times to become familiar with the steps and the notes I added to the instructions. It will help make your bagel making successful. Also, if you are new to this it might take a couple of batches to get it right.
Once again, here is the Canteen Whole Grain Mix which makes about 8 cups. One cup = 110 grams.
GF Canteen Whole Grain Blend
- 250 grams GF oat flour (2 1/2 cups)
- 180 grams Teff flour (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 180 grams superfine brown rice flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 120 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch (3/4 cup)
- 60 grams superfine sweet white rice flour (1/3 cup)
- 65 grams Canteen Flour Blend (1/2 cup)
| Whole Grain Bagels | Print |
- 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon rapid rise Red Star yeast (1 packet)
- 255 to 300 grams warm water (not hot) (up to 1 ¼ cups)
- 330 grams GF Canteen Bread Flour Blend (3 cups)
- 130 grams Canteen Flour Blend (1 cup)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2700 grams (3 quarts) (12 cups) water
- 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup or honey
- 1 heaping tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy or sesame seeds, dried garlic or onion
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and grease the paper with non stick spray.
- In a small container mix together syrup, yeast and 255 grams (little more than 1 cup) water until blended. In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together flours, salt, and xanthan gum. Pour in liquid and using a dough hook on low speed blend the dough together for 3-4 minutes. Add more liquid one tablespoon at a time (up to ¼ cup more) if the dough seems dry and stiff after 3 minutes of mixing. I typically end up using just shy 300 grams. The dough will be stiff and slightly tacky to the hands but not wet-like batter.
- Mix 2-3 more minutes on very low speed. Turn onto the counter top and knead the dough until it is just barely tacky and well mixed. It won’t look shiny but it will be a very solid dough. It might still be slightly tacky leaving smudges on the counter top. If you wet your hands, the dough is easier to handle.
- Roll into a fat log about 8-inches long. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece in the palm of your hand until it forms a ball and place on counter top. Flatten just slightly and using your thumbs press down in the center (using both thumbs pressing evenly) and create a good sized hole in the center. Smooth the hole and place bagel on the prepared baking sheet. Once all the bagels are placed on the sheet, spray the back of a large piece of plastic wrap with non stick spray and cover the bagels loosely. Let the bagels sit out on the counter top for an hour. Refrigerate overnight, at least and up to 48 hours. Don’t expect the bagels to rise much at all.
- Remove bagels from the refrigerator about 90 minutes before beginning to poach and bake. Let them sit covered on the counter top to rise (they will rise but just a very little bit) and come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°F.
- To test if the bagel is ready for poaching – drop one into a small bowl of cold water. If it floats to the top, the bagels are ready. If not, let them rest a bit more and try again.
- Line another baking sheet with clean parchment and grease with nonstick spray (the old one will be damp at this point).
- Warning about the poaching liquid – measure it. Using too much liquid will result in a boring bagel without the traditional bagel flavor. Bring poaching liquid to a boil and then to a simmer. Stir in the syrup, baking soda and salt. The baking soda will foam up like a volcano – turn down the heat until it is just simmering.
- Place four bagels into the simmering liquid and flip them at the one minute mark. Remove them after another minute and place on a new oil sprayed parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle on the toppings now. Repeat for the remaining bagels.
- Place bagels in the oven and bake 10 minutes. Turn temperature down to 375°F and rotate pan. Bake 12-14 minutes more or until a bagel registers 210°F on an instant read thermometer. Bagels will be darker on the bottom and golden brown all over. Cool on a rack until they are just barely warm. Cooled bagels can be sliced and frozen.
