I Want a Good GF Bagel

I grew up in a small town in south Jersey that had a non-existent Jewish population and, therefore, no Jewish deli. Every Sunday, my father would get up at the crack of dawn and make the trip into Philadelphia to go to Famous Delicatessen. He would bring back bagels, lox, whitefish salad, pickles, and creamed cheese. Upon his return, my dad would walk down the bedroom hallway and declare that, “breakfast is served!”.  He would open the curtains in each of our rooms and continue to convince us to wake up. Following the smell of the platters of onions and fresh bagels, my brothers and I would scramble downstairs to the feast. We were often greeted by our family friend and neighbor, whom would already be picking at the lox and drinking coffee. This tradition carried on through divorce, college, adulthood and even through “low carb” diets.



(image of a bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers, red onions)

Now, seven years and counting of being gluten-intolerant, I have had more dissatisfying gluten-free bagels than I can count. No amount of toasting will help them and forget about eating them fresh. I have read and heard that the Udi's bagels being offered at Einstein Brothers are okay but still too bready and lack that slightly hardier texture on the outside to balance the chewy texture inside.

So, one day when we were experimenting with the very versatile Bistro Flour Blend that we make, we decided to make a bagel. This bagel was so good with the perfect texture and flavor that I had been craving. So, now what? Could we make a gluten-free bagel for retail? I will let you know soon!

-Julie