There was a time when there were no such things as gluten free bagels. How on earth people back then with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance found ways to eat more cream cheese, I'll never know! But thankfully our precious gluten free bread products have survived the Atkin's diet, low carb phases, Keto, and the like - and you don't even need a friend named Trader Joe to find them!

I'm sure many of you are able to go to your local grocery store and browse through a few store-bought bagel brands like Little Northern Bakehouse, Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free, Against the Grain Gourmet and more. In my case, living outside the United States in Costa Rica, finding even traditional bagels was quite the challenge, let alone something to accommodate us gluten-free eaters.

After years of going without one of my all-time favorite foods, I decided to try a little experiment... and as a result, I have good news for you! After reading through this quick recipe article, I know you'll be telling all your friends that the best gluten-free bagels are not found in the store, they are the ones you make yourself right at home! The recipe I have to share with you today is for my delicious gluten free plain bagels made with simple ingredients that, if I can find them in Central America, I'm sure you will be able to find, too!

My GF Bagels Recipe

Let's start with the heart of modern bread recipes: the yeast. Place the following ingredients into a bowl:

• 2 cups warm water (make sure this is not hot/boiling water)

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast

• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar

Then cover the bowl with a towel until it gets bubbly or frothy (around 20 minutes should do the trick).

Now you're ready for the gluten free flour. I use a white, all-purpose, gluten free flour that does not contain xanthem gum or something similar. The Schär Gluten-Free Bread Mix* works well for me (I use it for an amazing pizza recipe also - more on that another time!). So to the bowl you started already with the yeast, now add:

• 3 cups gluten free flour

• 1 tablespoon of salt

Mix it all together and knead it with your hands. Form it into a giant ball and place it on a floured surface (I just use my countertop). Then cut the ball into 8 big slices... your 8 bagel babies are about to take shape! Roll each piece into smaller balls and then press them down with your hand so it resembles a thick pancake. Now you need to cut out the centers. You can use a very small cookie cutter, a shot glass, or something similar. Save the holes to make little bagel bites along with your bagels. Then cover all the dough balls and let them rise on the counter at room temperature until they are a little fluffy (I waited around one hour).

In the meantime preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now on to the interesting part. You're going to boil your bagels like they're gigantic pieces of pasta! First let's prepare the water:

Bring a large pot of water to boiling and add:

• 2 tablespoons of baking soda

• 1 Tablespoon of malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses, honey, or something similar (I used cane sugar syrup that is easy to find here)

Bring the water back up to a boil.

Now take your fluffy bagels and drop them into the boiling water, one at a time, making sure not to crowd the bagels. You may have to do only 3-4 at a time. Soon the bagels will float to the top and when they do, wait for 1 minute, then flip them over and wait 1 more minute. Then take the bagels out and place them on a cookie sheet.

Once all the bagels have been boiled and are on the sheet, sprinkle the bagels with toppings like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, onion flakes, etc. Place the bagels into the oven at 450 degrees and bake for 5 minutes. Then flip them over and bake for 5 more minutes.

And... that's it! Cut them in half, then run to the fridge and grab your cream cheese, peanut butter, jam, or whatever your favorite toppings are to schmear on your bagel, and ENJOY!

The Bagel Conclusion

Not too bad, right? I know you can do it! And, now you'll be eating bagels that you know are certified gluten-free, made with the highest quality ingredients because you chose them yourself, don't contain crazy preservatives or large quantities of added sugar, and you'll have some serious bragging rights with the whole family! There's just something about making bagels yourself that brings so much more satisfaction than picking them up at your nearest Whole Foods. 

Now that you know how easy it is, you might be tempted to try and make them 'healthier' by using whole grain flour, buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, or something similar. I can tell you honestly I haven't tried these for bagels yet, but I have tried them for making bread loaves and pizza dough and my advice is to proceed with caution. If you want to try them, start with a small percentage instead of going in 100%. I don't want you to put in the work and then miss out on savoring your precious bagels!

I have yet to try making some of the more exotic bagels like cinnamon raisin, blueberry, or asiago. There are so many types of bagels to try. These will be fun to try. In the meantime, I wish you success in your bagel adventure and please share with me your experiences, photos and ideas! I have more free recipes for you, over 50 specialized recipes to help you on your fitness journey in my MITFIT 90 Program, and I publish a special Treat for you every Thursday in my weekly newsletter, so please signup!

Until next time, have a bagel for me!

- Suzanne W.

* Here are the ingredients of the Schär Gluten-Free Bread Mix I used: corn starch, rice flour, vegetable fibres (psyllium, bamboo), whole rice flour 3,8% , lentil flour 3,6% , dextrose, thickener: hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose; salt.