What happens when two Jews have to be grain-free for health reasons? Well first, they lock themselves in the kitchen until they crack the code for bagels they can eat! These are as good as the real thing and far better than any gluten-free bagel you can buy.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Makes: 6 bagels
Water for boiling
1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
Light olive oil or coconut oil for greasing the parchment-lined baking sheet
2½ teaspoons (7 g) active yeast
2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey
1 cup (240 ml) warm water (about 110°F [43°C])
1 cup (90 g) blanched almond flour
1 cup (130 g) cassava flour, plus more if needed
¾ cup (100 g) potato starch
1 rounded teaspoon sea salt
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in the apple cider vinegar. Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Liberally grease a parchment-lined baking sheet with the oil.
Combine the yeast, honey and warm water in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until the mixture becomes foamy and active. If that doesn’t happen, toss it and start over—it means either the yeast is a dud or too old, or the water was too hot or too cold.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cassava flour, potato starch and salt. Add to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. The consistency of the dough should be more like clay than a traditional dough. The perfect texture for these is just dry enough to work with, but still a little sticky. If that’s the case, divide the dough into six portions. If not, add a tablespoon at a time of either water (15 ml) or cassava flour (8 g), depending on whether it’s too wet or too dry, until it’s the right consistency.
There are two ways to form the bagel shape. Either way, wet your hands before handling the dough and work on a surface liberally dusted with cassava flour.
A. Roll into a snake shape with slightly tapered edges, and bring those edges together.
Or
B. Roll each portion into a ball and stick your thumb through the center, creating a hole and stretching the dough to be bagel-shaped.
Once the water is boiling, turn it down slightly so it’s at a strong simmer. Drop the bagels into the water, 2 or 3 at a time. Use a metal spatula to get them off the counter if they don’t keep their shape when you try to lift them.
Once the bagels float, boil them for 4 minutes.
Transfer the bagels to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow the bagels to rest for 30 minutes before slicing. Yes, this is difficult, but consider it a necessary step, or else the bagels will be gummy when you cut them.
These are best toasted, and also freeze and reheat wonderfully.
Bubbe’s tip: My little bubula, remember cassava flour is different from tapioca starch. To read more about this, be sure to refer to the resources page!