Is there anyone who doesn’t like bagels?! Probably not. Does anyone love gluten-free bagels…probably not! Alas, I’m here to tell you, they’re just not that good from the gluten free freezer. …and then I made them from scratch. And holy SMOKES were they good! Now, I say this as someone from Connecticut, and our food was generally very influence by NYC – which means incredible bagels. I was absolutely thrilled with these, and Shawn really like them too. They’re one of those foods you couldn’t tell was gluten-free. They don’t last long, so you have to eat them fast, but this was one of my very happiest baking/cooking moments, knowing I could reproduce a bagel ALMOST as good as back home. I used honey to boil the bagels, and I got the original recipe from Sally’s Baking Recipes.

• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water 
• 2 and 3/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
• 4 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface and hands (I used gluten-free AP flour for this)
• 1 Tablespoon packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• coating the bowl: nonstick spray or 2 teaspoons olive oil
• egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 quarts water
• 1/4 cup honey

Whisk the warm water and yeast together – if you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. If you don’t, lightly stir until mixed using a wooden spoon. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough is very stiff and will look somewhat dry.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 6-7 minutes. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading. The dough is too heavy for the mixer to knead it.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel.  Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. I did run out of time and end up doing this overnight – the texture of the bagels would be improved if you stick to the 60-90 minutes, but it is not bad overnight.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.

Preheat the oven to 425. Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water. Whisk in the honey. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.