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These Gluten-Free Sourdough Bagels are also vegan and made with gluten-free sourdough starter, whole grain gluten-free flours, and whichever toppings and mix-ins you love! These gluten-free bagels perfect for enjoying fresh from the oven or keeping in the freezer for a rainy day.
No gluten-free sourdough starter but still craving bagels? Check out these amazingly fluffy gluten-free bagels made with yeast!
Practically every single day since I first posted the recipe for my homemade gluten-free sourdough bread, I’ve gotten requests for one sourdough recipe more than anything else: gluten-free sourdough bagels!
In my Gluten-Free Sourdough Facebook Group, people request a gluten-free bagel recipe all the time. And I am SO thrilled to finally be able to share the recipe with you – and it’s a good one!!
Bagels have a very special place in my heart, so I wanted these to be perfect. For my whole life, my paternal grandparents have told me stories of the Jewish bakery that my great-grandparents owned in New York that made the most amazing bagels.
My grandparents, who met when my grandma was 13 and my grandpa was 15, would go to the bakery after school for egg bagels and water bagels hot from the oven. Unfortunately, no recipes have been preserved for me, just one cake server remains as my connection to that bakery.
But, as you can imagine, once I started recipe testing for gluten-free bagels, I needed them to be amazing. It runs in my blood! Of course, a gluten-free sourdough bagel isn’t what my ancestors were making, but I know these would make them proud.
These gluten-free sourdough bagels are…
- Perfectly baked and chewy on the outside
- Soft, tender crumb on the inside
- Mild sourdough flavor that isn’t overwhelming
- Perfect for adding your favorite toppings
- Easy to make with a little patience
Are bagels gluten-free?
No, unless you’re specifically seeking out gluten-free bagels, like these gluten-free sourdough bagels, bagels are not naturally gluten-free. They are traditionally made with wheat flour.
What is in gluten-free bagels?
So if not all bagels are gluten-free, you’re probably wondering what is in gluten-free bagels. Well, let me tell you! For this recipe, we’re using these ingredients:
- Active Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter: if you don’t have a gluten-free sourdough starter yet, follow this guide for how to make one! Since we’re skipping a preferment for this recipe to help these bagels be made more quickly, you’ll want your starter at peak activity when you make this recipe.
- Whole Psyllium Husk: psyllium husk is a form of fiber that acts as our gluten for these bagels: it provides the binding properties and elasticity that help the dough become workable. It gives the structure and support for the bagels to rise, as well. You cannot skip it or replace it with another ingredient.
- Maple Syrup: this provides sugar for the yeast to feed on, which allows the bagel dough to rise.
- Water: filtered water is best for all bread making!
- Olive Oil: this helps soften the crust so it doesn’t get too crunchy in the oven.
- Starch: starches, such as potato starch and tapioca starch, help give a nice, fluffy texture to the bagels.
- Gluten-Free Grain Flours: I love using a combination of different grain flours for this recipe, such as brown rice flour, sorghum flour, quinoa flour, millet flour, teff flour, buckwheat flour…I provide a recommended and tested combination in the recipe, but you can experiment with different combinations here.
- Salt: because no recipe is complete without it :)
- Baking Soda: this isn’t added to the dough, but you’ll use it for the baking soda boil that’s needed for a bagel to be a true bagel. It gives the classic chewy bagel crust!
Can I use a GF flour blend for this recipe?
If you would like to use a mix that you can pre-make to simplify the baking process, I recommend using my homemade gluten-free bread flour blend. This blend contains both starches and whole grain flours, so you’ll use it in place of the total amount of starch + flour. In this case of this recipe, that is 380g.
If you prefer a store-bought blend, I like this multi-flour blend from Vitacost. This blend uses very similar ingredients to the ones my recipe calls for, with no additives or gums.
How to make gluten-free bagels:
- Start by hydrating the psyllium with water, and then mix in the maple syrup, olive oil, and active sourdough starter. It should form a thick, gel-like consistency.
- While that hydrates, mix together your starches, gluten-free grain flours, and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a dough whisk or the dough hook of your stand mixer to mix into a smooth dough, scraping down the sides as needed to make sure all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Cover and let the dough bulk-ferment in a warm place for about three hours, or until noticeably puffy.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape each piece into a bagel. I like to do this by rolling into a ball and then using my thumb to press a hole in the center, and then open the hole a bit more with my fingers.
- Place the bagels on a lined baking sheet and cover with a towel; let rise for 1 hour.
- While the bagels rise, preheat the oven and get a big pot of water boiling.
- When the bagels have puffed up, add the baking soda to the boiling water and boil the bagels 1 or 2 at a time, depending on the size of your pot, for 30 seconds on each side. Remove from the pot, letting the excess water drip off, and place back down on the baking sheet.
- Repeat for all bagels and add any toppings, like everything bagel seasoning or other seeds of your choice.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown!
How to store gluten-free bagels:
To store, keep in an airtight bag or container for 2 to 3 days at room temperature.
You can also slice them in half and store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Want more gluten-free sourdough recipes?
- How to Make Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Crackers
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Rosemary Roasted Garlic Gluten-Free Sourdough Rolls
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Focaccia
Gluten-Free Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
For the bagels
- 150 g gluten-free sourdough starter
- 20 g whole psyllium husk
- 380 g filtered water
- 20 g maple syrup or honey
- 20 g olive oil
- 60 g potato starch
- 50 g tapioca starch
- 130 g superfine brown rice flour, see Notes
- 140 g sorghum flour, see Notes
- 12 g salt
For the boiling mixture
- 1½ tablespoons baking soda
- 6 cups water
Equipment
- Dough Whisk
Instructions
- In a bowl or large liquid measuring cup, hydrate the psyllium husk with water, and then mix in the maple syrup, olive oil, and active sourdough starter. Let stand for about 10 minutes. It should form a thick, gel-like consistency.150 g gluten-free sourdough starter, 20 g whole psyllium husk, 380 g filtered water, 20 g maple syrup or honey, 20 g olive oil
- While that hydrates, mix together the tapioca flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, and brown rice flour (or my gluten-free bread flour blend) and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.60 g potato starch, 50 g tapioca starch, 130 g superfine brown rice flour, 140 g sorghum flour, 12 g salt
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a dough whisk or the dough hook of your stand mixer to mix into a smooth dough, scraping down the sides as needed to make sure all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
- Cover and let the dough bulk-ferment in a warm place for about three hours, or until noticeably puffy.
- Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles, and then divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 122g each) and shape each piece into a bagel. I like to do this by rolling into a ball and then using my thumb to press a hole in the center, and then open the hole a bit more with my fingers. You can also roll the dough into a long piece and then seal the ends together.
- Place the bagels on a lined baking sheet and cover with a clean tea towel; let rise for 1 hour.
- While the bagels rise, preheat the oven to 425℉ and get a big pot of water boiling.6 cups water
- When the bagels have puffed up, add the baking soda to the boiling water and boil the bagels 1 or 2 at a time, depending on the size of your pot, for 30 seconds on each side. I use a spider to place the bagels in the water and remove them, as it allows excess water to drip off easily. Remove from the pot, letting the excess water drip off as much as possible, and place back down gently on the baking sheet.1½ tablespoons baking soda
- Repeat for all bagels and add any toppings, like everything bagel seasoning or other seeds of your choice. Immediately place into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and crisp on the bottom.
- To store, keep in an airtight bag or container for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. You can also slice them in half and store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
After multiple tries I was finally able to get a perfect bagel. Part of the experiments were my fault because I didn’t have all the flours you listed but had lots of bags of blends with xanthan gum and they are approaching their expiration date so I was hoping to use them to avoid food waste. They actually weren’t bad (they puffed up wonderfully) but IMO were a little gummy, which may have been eliminated if I cooked them longer. However, toasted, my husband thought they were perfect and he’s super picky!
In any case, I did finally get all the individual flours.
The first try was not a complete flop but I think my dough dried out too much during the rise because it’s very dry here where I live in the PNW. Or maybe I messed up a measurement. Not sure. They didn’t rise much.
When I use all the listed flours, a much longer rise time is required in both steps than written in your recipe. The second rise needs at least 2 hours during the cold PWN, even with a controlled 75 degree area for some reason. After the second rise this time, noticing that the dough had a dry crust on top, I kneaded the dough again before forming into balls, which seemed to help. I baked the batch 30 minutes, covered the bagels with parchment paper, and baked another 5 minutes. I let them cool overnight before cutting open.
Question 1: what do you suggest to prevent dough from drying out in dry environments? I thought about dampening my tea towel that covered the dough but was afraid of ruining my batch so didn’t dare. I wasn’t sure if the dough needed to breath through the tea towel. I’ve seen where people spray olive oil on plastic wrap before covering but I don’t want plastic wrap to touch my food. I do have beeswax cloth though but again, wasn’t’ sure if the dough needs air.
Question 2: how long to you allow bagels to cool before cutting?
Question 3: you mention over proofing in one of your responses to a comment about gumminess. How do you avoid over proofing? Is this just experimentation due to environmental conditions?
Thank you!
Hi Holly, glad you enjoyed the bagels! You can definitely use a damp tea towel or some sort of beeswax wrap to prevent the top of the bagels from drying out. I usually let the bagels cool most of the way to the touch before cutting into them, it helps to prevent gumminess but it’s hard to resist a warm bagel fresh from the oven :) over-proofing is when the dough gets far too puffy/too much rise and it does depend on timing, unfortunately because everyone’s rising conditions are different it’s impossible to give a specific time period that this might happen in.
If I want to put them in the fridge overnight should I bring them to room temperature before boiling and baking the next day?
Hi Zoe, if they don’t seem to have risen much, I’d let them rise at room temperature for a bit! If they have, you can go straight to boiling.
Thank you!! They turned out so good my family couldn’t believe how tasty they were
I was wondering if I am able to ferment these in the fridge overnight compared to 3 hours in warm place?
Hi Lauren, yes that’s fine! Enjoy.
Hello! These were fantastic bagels – thank you so much!
So glad you loved them!
Hi! I’m excited to try and make these! I don’t have tapioca starch though, so could I just use 110g of potato starch and 270g of flour? Thanks!
Hi Jessica, yes that will be fine.
Could both the potato & tapioca starch be replaced by corn starch? I’m just starting gluten-free and I’m just learning different replacements. I know corn starch is a replacement but didn’t know if it would greatly affect the outcome. Thank you!
Hi Sandy, yes you can use cornstarch :)
Can this be used with discard instead of active starter?
You likely won’t get as good of a rise with discard compared to active starter.
Everything I’ve made on this site has been great! I’ve tried a lot of sourdough recipes and gluten free cookies . These bagels are so yummy! I ran out of sorghum flour so subbed about 20 grams of quinoa flour .
So glad you’re loving them, Leslie! Thanks for the review.
is it possible to do yeast instead of sourdough starter?
Hi Izzy, yep – I have a recipe just for that! Check this gluten-free bagel recipe out.
Appreciate the recipe but my dough came out so soggy that I had to continue adding flour. Not sure why. I got it to a consistency where I can roll them out and make the bagel shape. Waiting on the rise now. Hoping for the best because I love bagels.
Hi Kai, how odd! Did you change any of the flours or was your starter particularly runny? Sometimes you need to let the dough rest for a bit too to help the psyllium absorb more liquid. I hope they turned out well!