Bagels? Real bagels? No WAY.

As a Celiac, there are some things I had given up ever eating again. Pizza is one sad casualty of Celiac disease...honestly, I have yet to find a pizza dough that mimics my old "wheaty" favorite...if any of you find one, please comment or email me. :) I'd LOVE to find one.

Another thing I never felt I would eat, and really enjoy ever again was bagels. I love bagels, they are doughy, chewy, crunchy on the outside when you toast them, and...you slather it with cream cheese. Yum.

Well, I was wrong. Today, I made bagels...and they came out way better than I could have imagined. They were REAL, boiled and baked bagels. 

It was incredible. I nearly cried. 

No I didn't...not really. But I was smiling. And you deserve to smile too...so here's the recipe. 

Do not be put off by the boiling...super easy, and it only took 15 minutes to finish all 12. It's not a big to-do.

The "Real Deal" GF Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

4 1/2 cups Jules "Nearly Normal" GF flour

3 Tablespoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast

1 2/3 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used Roasted Saigon Cinnamon...yum.)

3/4 cup raisins (TIP: I plumped mine in 1 cup boiling water before adding them. Made all the difference!)

Tip: I used my KitchenAid for this process. I think you could do the kneading by hand and it would be fine...but just so you know how I did it.)

Mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour with sugar, salt, yeast, and cinnamon. Add water and melted butter; the mixture will be the consistency of a batter. Gradually add the 3 remaining cups of flour until mixture forms a stiff dough. Fold in raisins by hand, kneading softly to incorporate. Cover and let rise for 30-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a large pot with 3-4 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add the 1 T. sugar and 1 t. salt to the water. Have a pair of tongs handy to flip the bagels while boiling. 

After dough has "risen" (it will not rise much, being such a dense dough), shape bagels by pinching off 12 balls and poking a hole in each ball, gently forming a ring, like so:

Poke a small hole in each ball of dough.

And work it into a ring from there.

And there you have it! A little raw bagel!

Next, when all the bagels are formed, it's time to boil!

Drop one bagel at a time into the boiling water.

Boil 3 minutes. FLIP. Boil another 2 minutes. Remove.

Boil 4 bagels at a time - boil for 3 minutes, FLIP the bagels, and boil for another 2 minutes. Remove, drip excess water off the bagels, and place on cookie sheet (that has been greased with cooking spray). Do this until all bagels are boiled.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until tops and bottoms are golden brown. I lo-broiled mine for 3 minutes to get that golden-brown look!

375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Until golden brown.

Cool on wire racks. Store 'em in ziploc bags in the fridge to keep them fresh longer. 

But they probably won't last very long in my house...I give 'em 3 days. TOPS.

Shmear 'em with cream cheese and eat 'em up, baby. 

Yum.

Side view.

Store 'em! Refrigerator is best for GF baked goods.

Look at that beautiful golden brown!

Enjoy, loves.

xoxo