Easy Gluten Free Bagels | Authentic Taste and Texture (2024)

Today I'm bringing you a bagel recipe that's about to change your breakfast game forever. If there's one thing I've learned on my gluten-free journey, it's that great bread is possible. It's not only possible but also absolutely critical to enjoying our meals—and our lives—without feeling like we're missing out.

As a born and raised New Yorker, chewy, crusty authentic New York-style bagels have always been very important to me. Now I bring them to you, gluten free!

Bagels and I go way back. From the local bagel store of my childhood in New York, to the bigger, puffier bagels at the famed spots like Ess-a-Bagel and H&H Bagels when I lived in New York City, bagels have always been more than just bread to me. They're a connection to my past, a comfort food, a versatile snack or meal—and a baking challenge I was more than ready to tackle.

After many trials and a few too many ‘interesting' outcomes, I can confidently say I've cracked the code on baking gluten-free bagels that are not only as good as their gluten-filled counterparts but may even be better.

Why you'll love this recipe

First off, the texture is simply unmatched. These bagels are crisp on the outside, satisfyingly chewy on the inside, just like real, boiled bagels are meant to be.

It’s not just about the texture. It’s also about the bready, yeasty taste that’s perfect whether you toast them or not. The process of making these bagels is genuinely enjoyable and almost therapeutic, with each stage of preparation becoming a part of the joy in creating something delicious from scratch.

And who doesn't love a recipe that's forgiving, right? You don't need to be a professional baker to pull off these bagels. It's all about simple ingredients and techniques.

Plus, the versatility these bagels bring to your kitchen is unique. You can enjoy them plain, toasted with a bit of cream cheese, or use them as the foundation for the perfect sandwich.

A New York gluten free bagel, of a kind

When I first started developing recipes for bagels, I was inclined to make a true New York bagel: one that has a relatively tight crumb, and is intensely chewy.

That's the kind of bagel I grew up in NY eating from the local bagel store in town. The kind where teens worked after school. The kind that is required at a proper gluten free breakfast or brunch.

When I lived in New York City, I ate at places like Ess-a-Bagel and H&H Bagels. They had bigger, puffier bagels.

They were still chewy, but they also had a much more airy crumb. To me, they tasted fluffy. But they're not truly fluffy. These gluten free plain bagels are like those bagels of my young adulthood.

They're not the roll with a hole that you get from somewhere like Dunkin Donuts (bless their hearts). No one aspires to that sort of bagel, not even Dunkin Donuts.

Same goes for all the packaged gluten free bagels you can buy—at least all the ones I've tried. They are bagel-shaped bread.

These bagels are amazing fresh out of the oven. Pile a chunky chicken salad on one, and try to conceal your pleasure before you even take a single bite.

They're also awesome toasted. First, why would anyone do that with a true fresh bagel?

But if you're planning to toast your bagel, you may as well make a big batch, let them cool completely, slice them through the middle, and freeze them. Defrost at room temperature, and toast to perfection.

How to make gluten free bagels

Making these gluten-free bagels is truly an enjoyable process, and while it might look a bit lengthy, it's not overly complex. Let’s break it down.

We begin by combining our gluten-free ingredients to create a soft, workable dough. There's no need for high-end, hard-to-find ingredients, just regular pantry-style gluten-free ingredients are all it takes.

Once the ingredients are combined, we beat them in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the dough takes on a whipped appearance. Then, we chill it for a bit, which makes it easier to shape later and gives the yeast a chance to develop some flavor.

Speaking of shaping, that's our next step. We portion out our dough into individual pieces and start forming our bagels. But there's no complicated rolling and joining here. We just shape the dough into a round and then make a hole in the middle.

Once our bagels have been shaped, we give them some time to rise. They puff up to about 1.5 times their original size, creating a nice, light texture. They won’t double in size, so don’t let them overproof waiting for them to get even bigger.

Then comes the part that gives our bagels their authentic taste and texture – boiling them in a molasses bath! This step restricts the oven rise a bit and ensures that chewy, classic bagel texture we're after.

After a quick boil, the bagels are brushed with egg wash to give them a lovely golden color in the oven. Then, into the oven they go until they've reached a beautiful golden brown and the aroma fills your kitchen.

So, you see, while there are a few stages in the process, each one is straightforward and adds to the final result: chewy, tasty, authentic gluten-free bagels!

How to shape gluten free bagels the easy way

Bagels are sometimes shaped by rolling out a cylinder of dough, about 1 1/2-inches thick and then joining the ends together to create a round. That is not the way I shape or recommend shaping bagels.

If you shape your bagel like that, the edges may separate during boiling or even during baking. Plus, a bagel tastes no different if it's shaped that way. Maybe it's just for showing off? We do not need that.

I prefer to shape my bagels the easy way. Create a round of your portioned piece of dough as you would any other round of dough.

A smooth round piece of bread dough is shaped by cupping your hand around the dough, with the pinky edge of your hand resting on the surface and your hand in a C shape (or a backwards C if you're right handed like I am). Move your hand around in a circle, maintaining contact with the surface on the side of your hand at all times.

Then, poke a floured finger into the center and rotate the dough around that finger in concentric circles. If you're a visual learner and are sighted, watch the how-to video. You'll get the hang of it.

Why these gluten free bagels must be boiled and then baked

After the shaped pieces of dough rise just enough (you only want it to rise to be about 1 1/2 times its original size), you're going to boil them in a molasses bath. That's just 6 cups water with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses brought to a rolling boil.

If you have a cakey bread dough, no amount of boiling is going to give you a chewy dough. But if you have the right recipe with the proper balance of regular pantry-style gluten free ingredients like this recipe, boiling your shaped and risen bagels will keep them from rising too much in the oven and make them chewy.

When the bagels' oven rise is just a bit restricted, you are rewarded with a chewy bagel. Be sure not to let them rise too much once they're shaped, or your bagel dough will soak up water like a sponge and disintegrate during boiling.

Substitutions for gluten free bagel ingredients

I'd be careful with changing any of the ingredients here. This recipe works because of the right ingredients in the right quantities. But, if you do want to try, here are my best guesses. But no promises!

Gluten free dairy free bagels

The dairy in this recipe comes from butter and milk powder. The milk powder you use can be nonfat dry milk or whole milk powder. Whole milk powder makes a slightly richer result.

To replace the milk powder with a dairy-free alternative, coconut milk powder should work. I like Native Forest brand, but there are many others available now, including Anthony's brand.

In place of butter, vegan butter should work. I like Miyoko's Kitchen or Melt brand vegan butters best.

Gluten free egg free bagels

If you can’t have egg whites, you can try replacing the egg white with an equal amount, by weight, of aquafaba, which is the brine from a can of chickpeas. Try beating the aquafaba until foamy with a whisk before adding it to the dough.

In place of the egg wash on the outside of the bagels, try using melted butter or cream!

Do you have to use extra tapioca starch/flour, even if your all purpose GF blend contains it?

Yes! You must use tapioca starch as a separate ingredient.

All proper all purpose gluten free flour blends have tapioca starch in the blend. Here you need a touch more.

There is no other starch that I can recommend as a perfect substitute for tapioca starch/flour. It provides structure, stretch and a smoothness to the dough that I've really come to rely upon in many bread recipes.