The Controversial Gluten-Free Bagels
Not Recommended for People with Celiac Disease
I spent Saturday night reading scientific papers about gluten-free baking… I went through my cooking books trying to find some answers and IDEAS. Yeah, I'm kinda like that. Well, I was trying to figure out a recipe for gluten-free bread that can last more than 1 day without turning into an ancient rock that can be used as a weapon in a kitchen fight.
Picture that! Yeah, that goes through my mind every time I am in the refrigerated aisle of the supermarket looking for the frozen gluten-free bread. I literally feel I can use that bag of frozen bread to attack someone in self-defense… It is 2021 and weird sh*t still happening everywhere, soooo grab that bag of frozen bread just in case!
Not only that—I wanted a bready, delicious outcome. Something that tasted and smelled like the real deal… I really needed a good recipe, because I wanted yummy bagels. And I wanted them fresh for Sunday morning breakfast. Having no other option, I came up with my own recipe. I truly hope you can replicate it. Before you get too excited, I need to tell you two things. First, most of the time, I don’t know what I am doing. Second, I used Omission Beer for this recipe— YES, that’s why they are called the Controversial Gluten-Free Bagels.
Although Omission claims to be safe and less than 20 ppm, I still would not recommend that people with celiac disease try Omission OR this recipe. WHY? Because I would hate to hear that you had a reaction. Your health and safety are always 1st. So if you have celiac disease, close this page. Forget about these bagels — they taste AWFUL! YOU DON’T NEED THEM ANYWAY. *Hugs to you.
Ingredients:
1 Red Star Active Dry Yeast 1/4 oz yeast packet (It is all about the flavor)
1/4 Cup White Quinoa (lightly grounded using a coffee grinder).
1 Cup Stone Ground Sweet White Rice Flour (1/4 cup of this to be added the day of)
1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
1.5 Tsp. Xanthan Gum
1.5 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal (2 Tbsp of this to be added the day of)
6oz Omission Ultimate Light Golden Ale (It is all about the flavor!)
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats (lightly grounded using a coffee grinder) (to be added the day of)
1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda (to be added the day of)
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder (to be added the day of)
2 Eggs whites at room temperature (to be added the day of)
3 Tbsp Smart Balance Butter at room temperature (to be added the day of)
2 Tbsp Truvia Cane Sugar Blend (to be added the day of)
1/2 Tbsp Salt (because your everything bagel spice blend and the butter have salt)
Everything Bagel Spice Blend (to be added before baking)
The Making Process: One Day Before
Start with the Red Star— follow the instructions on the back of the packet. Wait for it to foam (proof). While so, combine the quinoa, sweet rice flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, cornmeal, olive oil, and beer. Once your Red Star is ready, add it to the mixing bowl. Mix for around 10-15mins. Lightly grease a medium container and transfer the dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the dough to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate overnight.
The Making Process: The Day Of
Bring your dough out of the refrigerator, and let it sit until it is at room temperature or closer. Add all the ingredients that are labeled for the day of the making process —see ingredient list. Mix well. While doing so, start boiling some water.
The Cooking Process: Boiling & Baking the Dough
Your dough is going to be sticky. It is ok! Just grab some and give it the form of a patty. Once the water is boiling, drop the patty and let it boil for 30 secs (each side). Remove from the boiling water after the minute. Place them on a sheet of parchment papers, so they can cool down. Make sure they are not resting on a pool of water. I put parchment paper on a cooling rack and place them there for approximately 20 mins. Once you can touch them, give them the form of a bagel, add the toppings, and bake away.
For baking, pre-heat the oven at 425°F. Place the bagels in the center of the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip the bagels and set the timer again for another 15 minutes. After 30 mins of baking, remove from the oven and enjoy!
With Love, Su!
FAQ:
Q: Why grinding your rolled oats and quinoa or using stone ground flour?
A: I have the impression that grinding your grains to produce your own flour slows the absorption of water in the ‘bread-making process’. That keeps the dough from getting too foamy right away which makes it hard to handle. After all, you are still keeping some big particles of your grain which seem to take longer to absorb water (from my perspective). I could be totally wrong (so please correct me if you need to!) but scientific papers have mentioned that using flours with low-starch damage (such as stone-ground flours) helps slow water absorption and trap fermentation gas— which is what creates the foam-looking appearance in your bread. With gluten-free bread is different because the dough is almost always looking unstable without that gluten network. And honestly, I have no idea if grinding the flour ( with a coffee grinder) results in a similar outcome as that coming from a stone grinder, but I feel it works. The bagels come out with a better bready appearance on the inside. One day later, they are still soft (even after spending all night in the fridge). I was impressed by the fact that I did not have to re-heat the bagels to enjoy the same outcome of the 1st day.
Q: Why are you using beer?
A: It gives a different flavor and aroma. The aroma is similar to that of real gluten-rich bread because beer comes from gluten-rich grains! Because I don’t have celiac disease, I try to use the advances in food science for my benefit. If the beer has gone through a gluten-removal process that breaks apart the gluten-protein chains to reduce ppm without losing much of that malty flavor, I am going to try to use it for foods like bread!
Q: Why did you add the baking soda and baking powder last?
A: The beer produces gas, the yeast produces gas (but mostly it gives an extraordinary flavor), the gluten-free dough always has a hard time trapping gas. It is not a secret that your dough will look flat and sad the day before, and it is not going to change the day of the baking process. No one uses all of these together because, it seems that, for most baked goodies you can use one or the other. And I honestly have not tried replicating the recipe without baking soda and baking powder. However, it made me feel like I was giving my dough one last opportunity to get some bubble action that can be trapped at the last minute when adding the last little bit of flour. Is this possible!? After all, baking soda and baking powder are used in batters that are going into the oven as soon as they are prepared because they produce gas quite quickly. So maybe these ingredients are giving my dough a last-minute boost? Any expert feedback will be appreciated.
