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It’s funny how much excitement I can get over something as simple as a bagel these days. After making these, I pretty much bombarded every mouth that entered my kitchen the next few days with bagel samples.

Although my willing (and unwilling) taste-testers all said they loved the bagels, I was immediately confused when their levels of excitement did not match mine. I asked everyone if they even noticed my recipe tasted like REAL BAGELS and waited for their jaws to drop in amazement. Instead, I received confused looks like “Well, of course. Isn’t it a bagel? What else would it taste like?”

I guess the experience is a little different for those of us who haven’t had a bagel or any gluten in five years. Can I get some celiac taste-testers? ;)

Recreating gluten-free and grain-free versions of things like bagels, breads, cakes, cookies, or any baked good is difficult when you can no longer use the ingredient making up 90% of the original recipe. Don’t ask me why I thought baking would be easy when I started this blog. Maybe because traditional baking was so easy? Or at least my version was (open box, dump ingredients into bowl, proceed to follow package instructions). Three years into blogging and I still don’t have limited ingredient baking figured out. I destroy so many baking recipes but I’m getting closer to understanding it! I have so much admiration for blogs like Brittany Angell’s and Gluten Free on a Shoestring who’s gluten-free baking always tastes like the real deal.

I really didn’t think my multi-purpose dough could be used for bagels but I had some dough scraps and gave it a try. Apparently, boiling is what does the trick. The texture completely changes from the dough’s texture after baking or frying. It gives the bagel that smooth, shiny outside while the inside becomes dense and chewy.

It took several attempts to get the baking time and temperature right which is why the cinnamon raisins bagels look darker than the sesame bagels. Plus, the cinnamon makes them darker too.

Because of the texture, these don’t crumble apart when sliced or toasted. I enjoyed a few of them plain and a few of them toasted with dairy free cream cheese on top. I didn’t realize how much I missed bagels with cream cheese!

I definitely plan on trying these bagels with other flavors but I haven’t decided what yet. I always loved poppyseed bagels and everything bagels. What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments – I need some inspiration!

Chewy, Yeast-Free Bagels

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 23 mins
Total Time: 38 mins
Yield: 4 bagels

Ingredients

1 batch multi-purpose dough
5 C water

To make cinnamon raisin bagels, you’ll also need:

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C raisins

To make sesame bagels, you’ll also need:

2 Tbsp white sesame seeds
2 tsp Penzeys Spices fox point seasoning blend, optional but recommended!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
If making cinnamon-raisin or any bagel with mix-in ingredients, start here, otherwise proceed to step 3. Incorporate 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and the 1/2 cup of raisins (or whatever mix-ins you’ve chosen) into the dough. Once the dough is kneaded, add another half teaspoon of cinnamon and twist to form streaks throughout.
Dust a clean work surface or a sheet of parchment paper with a little extra tapioca starch. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and form each into smooth balls of dough. Place the dough on your work surface and just slightly flatten them with your hand to get them a little wider (and bagel shaped!) Use your thumb to punch a hole in the center of each bagel.
If you’re not using toppings, skip this step and proceed to step 5. If you’re making sesame bagels or adding toppings of your choice, mix together the sesame seeds and seasoning (or whatever toppings you like) and set aside on a small plate or shallow bowl.
In a small saucepan, bring the 5 cups of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add one bagel and boil for 2 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Use a heat-resistant slotted spoon to check that the bagel doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot when you first put it in. Remove with the slotted spoon and repeat the process with the 3 remaining bagels.
If you’re adding toppings, while the bagels are still wet but cool enough to handle, dip the tops in the topping mixture.
Bake the bagels on the parchment lined baking sheet for approximately 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bagel comes out clean and the middle no longer looks “gummy”.
Best served fresh and tastes great toasted. Store any uneaten bagels refrigerated in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave or toaster when serving later.

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Comments

Darcie says
March 2, 2017 at 12:32 pm

These look delicious!!! I love cinnamon crunch bagels, those are my fav :) I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for your baking recipes, I think they are fantastic. Especially those chocolate chip cookies!

- Meagan Fikes says
  March 2, 2017 at 2:40 pm
  
  Thanks, Darcie! I think my baking recipes are good, it’s just the number of times I have to make them before getting it right that gets to me. Especially since it sometimes involves throwing away pretty expensive ingredients. And I only wish I could take credit for those chocolate chip cookies! It’s not my recipe lol! But they are to die for and I love making them all the time! I actually just made them this past weekend.
  
Nannette says
June 3, 2017 at 3:52 pm

I want to hug you! I am so tired of every bread recipe having mozzarella cheese in it I could scream. And tired of everything tasting so heavy of almond flour. My hats off to you!! This was as close to a Panera bagel as you can get and I was so happy! I made two with Lilly’s sugar free chocolate chips and two with frozen blueberries and they are both amazing. Thank you, thank you and thank you again! I will be using this dough for many things to come ♥️

- Meagan Fikes says
  June 3, 2017 at 4:30 pm
  
  Nannette, your comment just made my day! I’m so happy you were able to enjoy this recipe. I completely forgot about chocolate chip bagels! That and the blueberry would be great variations.
  
Jessie Suitts says
December 7, 2017 at 6:24 pm

What could I use instead of almond flour. I have an almond allergy:(

- Meagan Fikes says
  December 8, 2017 at 11:43 am
  
  Hi Jessie. I’ve never tried this with any other flour so I can’t make any promises. But I don’t see why pumpkin seed flour or sunflower seed flour wouldn’t work. (Click the links to read descriptions and tips about them.)
  These flours add bulk without absorbing liquid which is similar to how almond flour behaves. Also, note that when using sunflower seed flour, you may end up with some green in the finished product from the high chlorophyll content in the seeds but it’s perfectly safe to eat.
  If you decide to give one of these substitutions a try, I’d be interested in hearing how it turns out!
  
laura says
March 24, 2018 at 8:35 pm

These are so good! They taste like ACTUAL bagels. They’re amazing. Thank you!

★★★★★

- Meagan Fikes says
  March 24, 2018 at 10:31 pm
  
  I’m so happy that you like them, Laura! Thanks for the rating :)
  
jessica says
April 28, 2018 at 5:47 pm

Thank you so much for this recipe! Chewy and delicious. I

★★★★★

- Meagan Fikes says
  April 29, 2018 at 10:02 am
  
  So happy you like them Jessica!