These really and truly taste, look and have the mouth feel of a great bagel. Serve with cream cheese and, if you're so inspired, lox. They freeze beautifully and reheat well. For a treat, make them into Breakfast Sandwiches.
4 cups Better Batter Gluten Free Flour
1/4 c sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 package active dry yeast
3 cups warm water
1 egg white, beaten with 2 tbsp cold water
Flour, for rolling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line three or four baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix all Dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the water and knead with your hands until the mixture resembles very sticky play-doh.
Lightly flour a silpat or plastic wrap (it should barely be covered with a fine film of flour). Divide the dough into softball sized portions (you can make them smaller for a mini bagel, or larger for a deli-sized bagel).
Gently roll the dough balls on the floured surface of the silpat until they're smooth. Flatten each ball ito a disk, about 4 inches by 1 1/2 inches thick.
Very gently, with floured hands, poke a hole into the center of the dough an work it until the hole is about 1/2 inch in diameter. Repeat with all the dough.
Let the bagels rise for 30 minutes.
Heat a pan full of water, at least 3 inches deep to boiling. Drop no more than 3 bagels in at a time (they swell as they cook)!
Simmer for 3 minutes, gently turn over and simmer for another 4 minutes.
Place back on parchment paper.
When the tray is full, place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush all over with egg white mixture.
Return to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes more, or until deep golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing.
They came out so-so if you toast them twice. They're too dense inside probably because they were boiled so long. If I try again, I will boil for only about a minute, like traditional bagel recipes call for.
I believe that I technically failed at making this recipe, but the end result, though not as expected, was great. What makes these bagels so wonderful is the crust. The crust is crunchy like a baguette. OH, I have longed for crunchy baguettes and this satisfied my craving. My bagels deflated after baking. They were puffy when I pulled them out of the oven, but after they had cooled they flattened to a half inch or less. I thought that I had a new batch of bread crumbs. But, this flattening redeemed the bagel. I ate one bagel warm and was disappointed with the inside texture, it was moist and soggy. Later when I came back to my flat bagels, I decided to eat one anyways, cut it in half and toasted it. Once the inside had compressed, it toasted nicely, the outside kept is crustiness and the inside toasted nicely. Smeared with cream cheese and I was in heaven. I had plans to use for hamburger buns and mini pizzas. So, now I wonder where I went wrong, so that I can do it again. My question to Naomi is it the boiling of the bread that gave me such a nice crust? If I were to make rolls, would misting the oven create the same crust, or is it something about the bagel recipe, no butter or milk, that lends itself to a crispy crust.
Also, a word of warning, after boiling the bagels really stuck to the parchment paper when baking, so you might want to spray the parchment before baking, or use a silpat.
Hi, Kate!
Hopefully I'll be able to trouble shoot for you and answer your question about the crust:
Your problem could be one of three issues that would lead to deflated bagels:
1. You may have let the bagels rise too long. You must remember that ambient temperature, humidity, and activity of the yeast may affect how long the bagels need to rise.
Many times people want bread products to rise to the point where they visually resemble the finished product. This is too much rising and will cause the results you talked about.
Boiling should have 'proofed' them - causing a final spring of about 40%. This should be what gets the bagel to it's final 'size.'
2. You may have an oven that is 'off'.
This can be caused by two things:
a) most ovens are off by 25-35 degrees. This can make all the difference between a properly baked product and a real disaster.
If an oven is too low, the bread will not be cooked at the proper temperature and will be gummy as a final product.
If the temperature is too high, the bread has an extra initial spring that sets the crust before the interior has a chance to firm up. This causes a weak structure inside and will make the finished product collapse. If your breads are browning more quickly than the minimum time on the recipe, but are still gummy inside, this is a definite possibility for you.
The purchase of a cheap oven thermometer can make this problem 'go away'
b) You may be sabatoging the oven temp. Leaving the oven door open too long when placing the breads into the oven can drop the temperature by 100 degrees!
This sudden drop in temperature, accompanied by the draft from opening the door, will happen any time you try to 'sneak a peek' into the oven to check for done-ness. This is why we recommend that you do not check the breads until the minimum time listed on the recipe (in this case 20 minutes).
3. You may be under baking the bagels.
Many gf bakers are impatient - I think it's because we can't wait to get our hands on real-tasting gf food!
A difference of 3 minutes in the oven can make a world of difference between doughy interiors and a finished bread product that really works. And a structure that holds up.
Three minutes of cooling can also make a world of difference in the baked bread... It's important to note here that in general bread products (gluten free and otherwise) need a cooling off period before slicing, to allow moisture to escape from the center of the bread to the surface. How bread products (gluten free in particular) will be gummy.
This is why bread recipes tell you to let the bread products cool before slicing. As tempting as it is to crack into a fresh, hot bagel, you really need to let the bagel cool to a comfortable room temperature (or barely above) to get an accurate assessment of the true finished texture.
To answer your question about the crust:
Yes, it is the water bath that creates that fantastic texture.
Using a sprayer/mister on the bread in your oven will work.
So will placing a pan of boiling water on the floor of the oven when you add your breads to the oven.
Here at Better Batter, we prefer to throw 4 or five ice cubes onto the floor of the oven when we add our breads, repeating this during the last 5-8 minutes of baking. We find it's just as easy and carries less risk of lowering the oven temp.
Avoiding butter and milk will also help with the crust. The crispest crusts (the type you see in french bread) are made with simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, and just enough sugar to proof the yeast. The traditional method for french-style rolls or breads will also require you to use a hot oven and some form of the 'water' treatment we outlined above.
Best of luck to you, and thanks for asking a question!
Naomi