Bagel Goodness
Well, hello! I know I promised to post a recipe last month and disappeared yet again. My bad!
There’s soooo much going on in my life (some are tough things perhaps I’ll share at some later time, and some are potentially exciting developments to come) that I can hardly string two words together after working with patients and taking care of everything else at the end of each day.
Summer is getting to its end even though the air is still full of heat and humid heaviness. It kind of flew by, but I’m okay with time passing. It brings some hope that better things are out there, waiting to enter our lives in the future.
I didn’t get to do any summery things, just didn’t have time. My kid enjoys his summer freedom to the fullest though: motorcycle rides (getting his ass wet during summer rains), beach time, vacation time, and girlfriend time. They’ve been together for 18 months, playing house for the past 5 months, and they’re still lovey dovey with each other. So, it must be love! 💕 Life is good when you’re young!
I miss seeing my patients in person and going to my practice office in the city even though working remotely has been going well. Technically, I can return to the office, and it’s large enough to have over 6 ft distance between us, but I know it just won’t work with the mask requirements. I need to see their faces and facial expressions fully to have productive sessions, and they need to have physical freedom to express their emotions. So, return to office date is TBD but not anytime soon. I was also invited to join a digital mental health platform, and I need to write an article for yet another digital mental health publication (as soon as I can force my butt to sit down and to quiet my mind so I can write).
And, I’m always working on trying to stabilise my health through whatever means I can. I’ll probably always have some degree of neurological and autoimmune symptoms, but I’m still trying to achieve a better balance, especially in my energy levels, as severe autoimmune fatigue is the most prevalent issue I have to deal with every day.
There’s so much more that happened, but I think I want to jump to the actual recipe before something else takes my attention away.
(P.S. It took me two days to write this little post. Hello, my name is Diana, and my life is messy now.)
What’s Cooking This Week
One of the trends that emerged during this pandemic was homemade foods, baking, and all kinds of crafts. I mean, I did a lot of cooking and baking even before it was in style, but I think it brought a special meaning during these last few months. When everyone jumped on making bread craze, I felt I wanted to post a recipe for my beer bagels (I just took some months to actually do the post). There are a few good gluten free beer companies, so use the one you like the most. On a side note: I do not like any kind of beer, gluten free or not, and I’ve never enjoyed the taste (don’t try to change my mind about it), but I like using it in yeast breads as it brings in certain richness and a delicious caramel flavor. Gluten free yeast dough requires different flour type than for cakes or any other goods. It has to be higher in starch and without xanthan gum added. Please use the flour blend I recommend or some other yeast pastries gluten free blend. King Arthur original formula without gums can be substituted if none other is available, but some liquid proportions may need to be adjusted.
Gluten Free Beer Bagels
Blends by Orly Manhattan blend works the best here, and choose a beer that is medium to dark.
Start by combining all dry ingredients and setting it aside. To make a yeast sponge, combine water, yeast and molasses, stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes till yeast starts to bubble on the surface.
In a standing mixer bowl, combine yeast sponge with beer and then gradually add dry ingredients till a soft dough forms.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it gently to make it elastic and workable.
Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a thick rope.
Curl a rope piece around your closed hand to form a bagel and pinch the ends together with some flour.
Set all bagels on a baking sheet and cover with a towel. Let them rise in a warm place for about an hour.
In a large pot of boiling water, boil bagels one at a time for 10 seconds on each side.
Place bagels on baking sheets lined with parchment and top them with seeds.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until the tops are deep golden.
Serve bagels with fresh butter or any other spreads or toppings you want.
Look at the soft crumb and chewy inside! It’s New York style bagel for you.
This recipe makes 12 bagels but you may want to double it as you won’t be able to stop eating them.
Gluten Free Beer Bagels
Ingredients
- 3 cups gf bread flour I used Blends by Orly Manhattan
- 1 cup gluten free beer warm
- 3/4 cup water warm
- 1 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Optional: toppings and seeds
Instructions
- Start by combining all dry ingredients and setting it aside.
- To make a yeast sponge, combine water, yeast and molasses, stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes till yeast starts to bubble on the surface.
- In a standing mixer bowl, combine yeast sponge with beer and then gradually add dry ingredients till a soft dough forms.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it gently to make it elastic and workable.
- Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a thick rope.
- Curl a rope piece around your closed hand to form a bagel and pinch the ends together with some flour.
- Set all bagels on a baking sheet and cover with a towel. Let them rise in a warm place for about an hour.
- In a large pot of boiling water, boil bagels one at a time for 10 seconds on each side.
- Place bagels on baking sheets lined with parchment and top them with seeds.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until the tops are deep golden.