Gums

I would not categorize myself as much more than a born this way Jew - I spent the high holy days this year working and noshing. From time to time, though, my heritage comes in handy. Despite our somewhat drippy prior baking project, Cady once again proposed that we collaborate on a celiac-friendly food item. This time, she was hankering after bagels. Since the obliteration of gluten from her diet, Cady has searched high and low for a bagel that will not land her in sicksville. Although she has tasted numerous gluten-free "bagels," none have quite lived up to their name. As all good Jews know, it is not a real bagel unless it is boiled, then baked. Unfortunately, the whole world has not cottoned on to this fact. Some people undoubtedly believe that if a bagel does not contain all-purpose flour should be exempt from the crucial boiling process. This is a misconception that, with little time and effort, we quickly put to rest. We secured time in the kitchen at Chez Parental Units and set to work. This time we pretty much followed a recipe.

Note: some comments at the bottom of the recipe indicated that not just any gluten-free flour will work for this recipe. The flour must contained xanthan gum or some xanthan gum must be added. After searching at a small health food store and being pointed to the chewing gum aisle, I ended upon the phone with Whole Foods. I was reassured that they stock xanthan gum, but upon my arrival I was disappointed to find that they had sold out. Luckily, the wonderful Jessica's section at WF is the baking aisle. She pointed me to a highly recommended gluten-free flour that contained guar gum. MacBass (my iPhone) reassured me that guar gum can be a substitute for xanthan gum. I bought the flour and abandoned the xanthan.

Gluten-Free Bagels
adapted from Delight Gluten Free Magazine

- 2 cups warm water
- 2 packets active quick-rise yeast
- 3 cups gluten-free flour containing guar gum or xanthan gum
- 2 1/2 cups regular gluten free flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 quarts boiling water
- 2 tsp canola oil (or, as Cady pointed out, "some" oil is fine)

First, locate the dough hook attachment for your kitchenaid. It might be hiding in your old bedroom. For those who are unsure, the dough hook is pictured on the right.
 
Mix the warm water with the yeast in a small bowl. Let yeast dissolve about 5 minutes. In your stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt using the dough hook. A well should form in the middle of the dry mixture (it is OK to aid the well-creation process slightly with your hands. As much as I love kitchie, baking without one's hands is not baking). Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix on medium speed until a dough forms. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, as it will be tired.
 
Once the dough has rested, place it on a flat surface and divide into 12 pieces. Roll the pieces into the dough into about 1 inch thick logs. Form the logs into round bagel-like shapes, securely attaching both ends.

 
Place the dough bagels on a baking sheet, cover with a dish towel and let them rise for 30-40 minutes. The dough should rise during this time (we were unsure how much they really rose, but it all worked out in the end). While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and boil two quarts of water in a large pot on the stove. Once the water is boiling, pour in the canola oil. After the bagels have risen, gently place them about 4 at a time into the pot. Poach them for about 30-45 seconds, then remove them onto a greased baking sheet (make sure whatever is used to grease the sheet is gluten-free!). A slotted spoon did the transfer quite successfully. Feel free to sprinkle on some sesame or poppy seeds. Place the dough in the oven. The recipe said they should bake for 15-18 minutes, but ours needed a tad longer to reach golden brown perfection (about 25 minutes. They remained on the pale side but nicely browned on the bottom). Eat bagels plain, buttered, cream cheesed or however your heart desires. Don't be alarmed by the likeness of these bagels to gluten-full bagels.