Gluten Free Bagels

Hi everyone! It's time for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, and this month's theme is the bagel. This is up there with some of the hardest rallies we've done (I find gluten free yeast breads the hardest to make gluten free), so thank you to Morri for hosting this month! Be sure to check her page for all of the posts this month!

2.25:1 - Sponge:Flour

I used Bruce Ezzel's bagel ratio, where the sponge consists of a small amount of yeast and equal portions flour and water. Here's my two lessons learned while experimenting:

1. Xanthan or guar gum is a must. The first attempt I made I used a flour blend of plain white rice flour, brown rice flour, and potato starch without any xanthan gum. Let's just say that dissolved into a floury mess while boiling the bagel....so for my second iteration I chose to use sweet white rice flour, tapioca starch and xanthan gum in an attempt to produce a dough that wouldn't fall apart in boiling water. 
2. Don't let the sponge rest for longer than 8 hours. I let my sponge (the first set of ingredients in the recipe that rests for 5 hours.) set overnight in another iteration overnight and it produced a more sour taste because it over-fermented. A couple other ralliers experienced this as well, so I recommend a 5-6 hour fermentation time for the sponge.

I hope you enjoy!

Inactive Prep Time 5 hours
Active Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Yields 4 bagels

Ingredients
4 oz sweet white rice flour
2 oz tapioca starch
2 tbsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp yeast
6 oz water

1 tsp salt
2 tsp honey
4 oz sweet white rice flour
1 oz tapioca starch
poppy seeds
1/2 tablespoon baking soda

Steps
In a medium bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Cover and set aside for 5 hours, 8 hours maximum.

With a dough mixer, combine the salt, honey, flour, and starch to the sponge. It will take about 10 minutes to get a thoroughly mixed dough. Set aside for about 20 minutes.

Divide the dough evenly into 4 balls. Cover and let set for another 10 minutes. Flatten each ball into disks, and poke a hole through the middle of each. Cover and let set for 10 minutes, then flip over and let set for a final 10.

While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 450F, and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 2 liters of water to a pot with the baking soda, and bring to a boil.

After the dough has risen, reduce the heat on the water down to medium, and add the bagels to the pot. Boil for about 4 minutes each side. Remove the bagels from the water and place onto the baking sheets. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of each bagel. Place in the oven for 14 minutes, until slightly golden on top. Once cool, slice and serve with your favorite filling. Enjoy!