These cinnamon raisin bagels are infused with cinnamon and studded with raisins throughout the dough. One bite of these Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, and you will want to make these again and again.
Making bagels can sound intimidating. You have to make the dough, shape it into bagels, boil them, and then bake them. Even more so to make them gluten free. It is a lot of steps, but I can say there is nothing like eating homemade bagels! I will walk you through every step to make these homemade gluten free cinnamon raisin bagels!
These bagels have the perfect slightly chewy texture that bagels are known for. Enjoy them plain or toasted with butter, cream cheese, or jam. The sweetness of the raisins and the warm, comforting flavor of cinnamon make cinnamon raisin bagels a favorite among many bagel lovers.
This recipe is based on my popular Gluten Free Bagels recipe. I tested this recipe with two gluten-free flour blends, my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend and Authentic Foods Steve’s GF Bread Blend. (I have also used Cup4Cup, but you need to add over one cup of additional flour to use that blend in this recipe.)
Why I love these gluten free cinnamon raisin bagels:
- They taste like bagels. Real ones.
- I tested three gluten free flour blends, so you know what works.
- You can make them as sweet as you like.
- You can freeze these bagels to have them on hand at any time.
Best Raisin Bagels I’ve made!
Maria B., Facebook commentThanks Fearless Dining – Gluten Free Recipes for a great recipe!
If you love to bake gluten free but need some help, I have written up all of my best Gluten Free Baking Tips for you.
Allergen Information:
This cinnamon raisin bagel recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free.
If you love breakfast as much as we do, try more of my delicious gluten free breakfast recipes.
This Authentic Foods Steve's Gluten Free Bread Blend is hands down the best gluten-free flour for yeasted bread recipes. With this flour, you can braid, shape, and roll incredible bread, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crust. (Note, it doesn't work in a bread machine.)
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with three flour blends. Authentic Foods Steve’s GF Bread Blend and my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend (gum-free.) I also tested this recipe with Cup4Cup. The Cup4Cup gluten free flour version will take more work because it needs over 1 cup of additional flour compared to the other brands.
- Yeast – I used active dry yeast. Be sure to check that your yeast is gluten free. Red Star “Platinum” is NOT gluten free!
- Brown Sugar – I used light brown sugar, but either will work well.
- Salt – I used sea salt, but you can also use kosher salt.
- Water – You can use tap water, but if your tap water has a lot of chlorine, I recommend using purified water. It helps the yeast grow a lot better.
Tips For Sucess:
- Mix the raisins in when you mix the wet and dry ingredients. Don’t add them after the dough is mixed, or the raisins will not distribute evenly throughout the dough.
- If you want your bagels to be darker, use dark brown sugar.
- Rise your bagels in a warm 200º F oven. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap, then put them in the warm oven.
- Add maple syrup to the water when you boil the water for the bagels.
- Egg washing the bagels is optional. I did the egg wash for my gluten free flour blend and not for Steve’s bread blend. You can see they still look alike in the photo below.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add warm water no hotter than 110º F to a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and yeast to the water. Stir and let it sit for 5-8 minutes until it is bubbly.
Step 2: Pour the yeast mixture into a stand mixer. Put the paddle or dough hook attachment on the standing mixer. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl, including the flour, salt, remaining brown sugar, and raisins.
Turn the mixer on low speed and increase the speed to medium until the dough forms a ball.
You can also mix up this dough by hand in a large
Step 3: This is what the dough should look like in the
Step 4: Remove the dough and place it onto a silicone mat. Shape the dough into an oval/rectangle.
🔑 Sandi says: I found with both the Authentic Foods Steve’s Bread Blend and my homemade gluten free flour blend, I did not have to dust the surface with any flour. I did have to dust quite a bit with the Cup4Cup. If you are using a different blend, dust your surface if needed.
Step 5: Use a knife to cut the dough into 6-7 pieces. I got 6 bagels using Steve’s bread blend and 7 bagels with my gluten free flour blend.
Preheat your oven to 200º F, then turn off the oven.
How To Shape Your Bagels:
There are two ways to shape your bagels. You can shape each piece of dough and poke your finger in the middle, pushing it out to form the hole, or you can roll and pinch the ends together. I found rolling the dough into ropes and pinching the ends worked better for bagel texture.
Here is a visual of how the two blends rose. I didn’t take photos of the Cup4Cup because I am further tweaking the recipe for that blend. You can see both blends got an amazing rise!!
Step 6: Loosely cover the bagels with plastic wrap. Place them in the warm oven to rise. Rise for 30-45 minutes until the bagels double in size. I found both gluten free flour blends needed the same rise time. It will probably vary by the blend used.
Preheat the oven to 425º F.
Step 7: Bring a pot of water and maple syrup to a rolling boil. Add one bagel and boil for 45 seconds, and then gently flip it to the other side and boil another 40 seconds.
Use a large slotted spoon to remove the bagel so the water drips off the bagel.
Step 8: An egg wash is completely optional in this recipe. For regular plain bagels, the egg wash is what allows the toppings to stick to the bagels. We are not topping these gluten free cinnamon raisin bagels in the photo comparison below. The stack on the right has an egg wash, and the one on the left does not.
Bake the bagels for 20-22 minutes. The actual baking time will vary by the size and thickness of your bagels.
Step 9: Allow the bagels to cool on a wire cooling rack. Enjoy them warm or at room temperature.
Top with cream cheese. You can also make this awesome Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Schmear in under 5 minutes!
Storage:
Slice the bagels and store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. I highly recommend freezing the sliced bagels in a freezer bag over the refrigerator because gluten free bread tends to spoil quickly.
If you love cinnamon and raisins, you will love my Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe!
Recipe FAQ:
The best tip for making great bagels is to be sure you are using a gluten free flour blend that works with yeast. Many big-name blends, like Bob’s 1:1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure, do not work in yeast recipes.
You can put anything you like on a cinnamon raisin bagel. My favorites are cream cheese, strawberry jam, and a honey drizzle.
Yes! Chocolate chips, dried cranberries, walnuts, or any mix-in would be delicious in these gluten free cinnamon bagels
More Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes:
- This Gluten Free Baked Oatmeal is perfect for a large family!
- If you love a hearty breakfast, this Garden Vegetable Shakshuka is full of delicious flavors.
- These are the best Gluten Free Pancakes, and they are also dairy-free.
- These Gluten Free English Muffins are fun to use to make breakfast sandwiches.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
The Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast * see note
- 1 ¾ cup water purified is best
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * See notes! Very important for specific flour blend details and weight measurements.
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins packed
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the purified water and microwave it for 20 seconds. You want the water to be warm, but no hotter than 110º F.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and the yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5-7 minutes until it is bubbly.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the paddle or bread hook attachment. Add the gluten free flour, remaining brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and raisins.
- Mix on low speed until the flour is mixed in, gradually increasing the speed until you have a formed dough.
- Note you can also mix the batter up by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, and place it onto a silicone mat. Shape the dough into an oval/rectangle.
- Note: I found with both the Authentic Foods Steve's Bread Blend and my homemade gluten free flour blend, I did not have to dust the surface with any flour. I did have to dust quite a bit with the Cup4Cup. If you are using a different blend, dust your surface if needed.
- Use a knife to cut the dough into 6-7 pieces. I got 6 bagels using Steve's bread blend and 7 bagels with my gluten free flour blend.
- Preheat your oven to 200º F, then turn off the oven.
- There are two ways to shape your bagels. You can shape each piece of dough and poke your finger in the middle, pushing it out to form the hole, or you can roll and pinch the ends together. I found rolling the dough into ropes and pinching the ends worked better for bagel texture.
- Loosely cover the bagels with plastic wrap. Place them in the warm oven to rise. Rise for 30-45 minutes, until the bagels double in size. I found both gluten free flour blends needed the same rise time. It will probably vary by the blend used.
- Preheat the oven to 425º F.
- Bring a pot of water and maple syrup to a rolling boil. Add one bagel and boil for 45 seconds and then gently flip it to the other side and boil another 40 seconds. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the bagel so the water drips off the bagel.
- An egg wash is completely optional in this recipe. For regular plain bagels, the egg wash is what allows the toppings to stick to the bagels. We are not topping these gluten free cinnamon raisin bagels.
- Bake the bagels for 20-22 minutes. The actual baking time will vary by the size and thickness of your bagels.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- I tested this recipe with three flour blends. Authentic Foods Steve’s GF Bread Blend (pictured above) and my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend (gum-free.) I also tested this recipe with Cup4Cup. The Cup4Cup gluten free flour version will take more work because it needed over 1 cup of additional flour compared to the other brands. I plan to test Cup4Cup again and try to modify the liquid-to-starch ratio a bit more. I have not tested any other gluten free flour blends. Many blends do not work with yeast so read the back of the bag you have to ensure it will work with yeast.
- If you use a blend not tested by me, and it doesn’t contain a binder, you will need to add one teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum.
- Yeast – double check the brand you use is gluten free. Red Star Platinum is NOT gluten free!
- Store the bagels sliced in a zipper bag in the freezer.
- To use Authentic Foods Steve’s GF Bread Blend (it is an amazing blend if you haven’t tried it) you do not need to edit or modify the recipe. It was 329.4 grams.
- If you use my blend, you need to add an additional ½ cup of flour. 449 grams total.
- Cup4Cup needs work. I had to add 1 ¼ cups of additional flour in order to work the dough into bagel shapes.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
I recently made these using your blend, 449 grams as directed, tap water warmed to 100 degrees F, and instant yeast mixed in with the dry ingredients. The dough mixed up perfectly, no extra flour was needed to shape. I divided the dough into 9 bagels, about 115 grams each. The shaping method that worked best for me was forming each piece into a ball, poking a hole in the middle, and then gently shaping the bagel. My oven has a “bread proofing” setting which holds the oven at about 85 degrees. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. I tried one of them as soon as I could after they were done baking, and it was so chewy and delicious, I immediately made another batch. They’re sliced, wrapped in a bit of plastic wrap, and in the freezer! Highly recommended!!!
I am so glad you loved these bagels. Than you so much for coming back to let me know!
I used H-E-B Organics Gluten Free all purpose flour blend and i had to add about 2 1/2 cups extra flour. i didn’t have to sprinkle flour to cut them. I made them into 8, but probably should have made them into 10 or 11. The texture and flavor were good though and I would definitely make the recipe again. I found rolling and pinching together didn’t work as well for me because they broke in half in the water bath. I will try the DIY flour suggested.
I haven’t tried that flour since HEB isn’t around here, but I am glad it worked well. I agree pinching the ends isn’t great and I try to make circles and make the hole in the middle.