A long time ago, in a different house, and without celiac disease, I was known to make amazing bagels.  Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, just like a real bagel should be.  Fresh from the oven, there is no store bought bagel that can compare.  I spent four years in Montreal, eating St. Viateur bagels.  Those were good times and great bagels.  

Fast forward to now, with celiac disease and the serious lack of real bagels out there.  I've had several that have been ok.  They've been a good substitute for no bagels, but they haven't been awesome bagels that compare to real bagels.  And then bagels happened.  

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There's a woman named Sue.  She lives in the Kingston Ontario area and she bakes gluten free.  She has a TV show on Cogeco cable.  That is so awesome!  It is too bad that although she's about two hours away, I can't watch her TV show.  Cogeco cable isn't available in Ottawa.  So I watch her youtube segments when she posts them, and I look follow her on Facebook and Instagram to see what her show is about in the coming week.  Her bagel recipe caught my eye!  She, like me, uses easy to find ingredients that are available here in Canada.  No funky or fancy ingredients or expensive flour blends.  I like that!  She also uses a classic bagel making technique that involves boiling the bagels before baking them.  I was a little excited as I was reading her recipe.  She uses powdered milk though, so I needed to make a substitution.  I ended up making a few substitutions while still staying true to her recipe.  Here's the link to her page.  As you can see, she even uses this technique to make pretzels!  Are you excited yet?  

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So here's my version of her recipe.  Please, if you can use milk powder, give hers a try.  She also uses guar gum, which I really want to try, but I'm having a hard time finding it.  

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Real Bagels

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1 cup white rice flour

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour

2 cups tapioca starch

1/2 cup almond meal (replacement for milk powder.  If you have a nut allergy, try quinoa flour)

3 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp salt

2 TBSP sugar

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1 cup warm water

1 TBSP yeast

2 egg whites (large eggs = 1/4 cup)

1 tsp sugar

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1/2 cup hot water

60g shortening (~1/3 cup)

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In mixer bowl, add 1/2 cup warm water, egg whites, sugar and yeast.  Give it a whirl to mix and let the yeast start to froth while you start preparing the rest of the ingredients.

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In a measuring cup, add 1/2 cup hot water and shortening.  Warm up in microwave until the shortening is completely melted.  Set aside for now.

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Measure out all dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix with a spoon.  

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Add the last 1/2 cup of water to your frothy yeast mixture, then with mixer on low, add the dry ingredients.  Pour in the water and shortening while the dough is mixing.  The dough should form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.  Mix well.  Don't worry too much if it starts to stick again.  It will be perfect.

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Divide the dough into six tennis ball sized portions.  Knead into a smooth ball, then flatten into a disk.  Make a hole in the middle with your thumb and fingers and smooth it out into a bagel shape.  You can use a little bit of water to smooth out the dough.  Place the bagels on a parchment lined cookie sheet, or other freezer safe tray.  Place the bagels in the freezer for at least 2 hours.  

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In a large wide stock pot, bring 8-10 cups of water and 1/3 cup of sugar to a rolling boil.  Drop the bagels in one or two at a time, allowing them to cook without touching each other.  Using a slotted spoon, ensure the bagels do not stick to the bottom of the pot.  Flip them over at least once, and boil until they float on the surface.   Using the slotted spoon, remove the bagels and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.  Continue until all six bagels are ready.  (Sue dunks them in cold water after boiling... I completely forgot this step and my bagels were still AMAZING... I love it when recipes are pretty much fool proof- so your call)

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Bake in 425F oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.  Store in an airtight container once completely cooled.  

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The next day the bagels were still nice and crisp with a chewy inside.  The third day, the crispiness was less, but the inside texture was still perfect.  They toasted up nicely and tasted just like fresh.