Homemade Sourdough Bagels

These homemade sourdough bagels are fluffy, chewy, and very easy to make at home. Plan for an overnight ferment, which aids in flavor and digestibility.

This recipe alone makes maintaining a sourdough starter worth it. The good news? Keeping up with a sourdough starter is so easy (and very low maintenance). I’m sharing all the tips and tricks you need to ensure this bagel recipe is absolutely foolproof. It is a perfect recipe for beginners and experts alike!

All You Need to Know About Sourdough Starter for This Recipe

First and foremost, use a well-established sourdough starter for this recipe! I keep my sourdough starter in the refrigerator in a large container and pull it out only when I need to siphon off some discard to use in an easy sourdough discard recipe or when I need to feed starter to use in a recipe.

I use this sourdough jar to feed sourdough prior to using in recipes like these bagels. It holds the perfect amount for this recipe and others like it.

I make these bagels using a sourdough starter fed with a 1:1:1 ratio. It is thick but pourable. It is ripe and ready to use within about four to six hours of being fed. The exact time of when your starter will be ready will depend on the temperature of the starter and water and flour, the temperature of your kitchen, and a multitude of other factors.

Using another feeding ratio, like 1:5:5 or 1:10:10, will mean the starter needs more time to ripen before using. Any starter that has been fed and is ripe and bubbly will work in this recipe, no matter the ratio used to feed it.

If you want to prep just enough sourdough starter for this recipe (following a 1:1:1 ratio), use 57 grams starter, 57 grams room temperature water, and 57 grams flour.

*Make sure the sourdough starter is very ripe and bubbly before using in the recipe.*

Timeline for Sourdough Bagels

For a sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio, I use the following timeline in order to have fresh, baked bagels before noon on the second day. Adjust the schedule as needed depending on when you want the bagels to be finished and how long your starter takes to ripen:

• Day 1: 2:00 p.m. feed sourdough starter and let rest at room temperature until ripe and bubbly.
• Day 1: 9:00 p.m. mix dough, cover, leave out at room temperature
• Day 2: 9:00 a.m. (give or take an hour; wait until dough has doubled) form dough into balls and let rest for 10-15 minutes
• Day 2: 9:30 a.m. shape bagels and boil water
• Day 2: 10:00 a.m. boil bagels and add toppings
• Day 2: 10:30 a.m. bake bagels

The dough can rest in bulk for 12 to 14 hours at room temperature. If your schedule requires the dough to rest longer, refrigerate and cold ferment the dough (up to 3 days). 

Important Notes About This Recipe

It’s essential to keep the following in mind about this recipe to ensure you turn out the best bagels of your life:

1. The dough for this recipe is likely going to be thicker and stiffer than other yeast doughs you may have worked with when making bread or rolls. This is important – bagel dough needs the extra flour and structure so the bagels hold their shape and don’t disintegrate in the water bath.
2. If the sourdough starter you are using is thinner or thicker than the one I use, you may need to adjust the flour amount for the bagel dough up or down.
3. Judge the amount of flour by the look and feel of the dough – the dough should form a stiff ball that is not overly soft and sticky (but it shouldn’t have any dry patches of flour). If you live in a really dry climate, at high elevation, or have a super thick starter, start with 5 cups flour and add the rest gradually (and only if needed).
4. Weighing the ingredients for the dough will ensure foolproof results. If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet, it is my top-recommended kitchen tool for better baking! This is the one I have and highly recommend (I’ve been using it for years).

How to Shape Sourdough Bagels

1. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface and divide the dough into twelve equal pieces, about 128 g/4.5 ounces each.
2. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth, taut ball. Let the balls of dough rest for 30 minutes. This helps relax the gluten so that when they are shaped, the dough holds its shape without stubbornly springing back.
3. Use your thumb to poke a hole through the very center of each ball then use both thumbs together to twirl and stretch the dough until the hole is 1 to 2 inches in diameter (the bagel will be around 4 inches across).

It’s ok if the bagels don’t look perfectly symmetrical! Once they are boiled and baked, those imperfections are hardly noticeable.

Make-Ahead Tips

If stored in a well-sealed bag or container, the bagels will stay fresh for several days at room temperature, especially if they’ll be toasted prior to eating.

Don’t store the bagels in the refrigerator as that can dry them out (same goes for all bread – say it with me: never store bread in the refrigerator!).

The bagels can also be frozen for several months.

We are a bagel loving family (we love this non-sourdough bagel recipe in equal measure), and I have yet to hear anyone in my household declare they have officially had their fill of bagels. Give us all the bagels. Every day, all day. We will eat them without complaining. Making and freezing homemade bagels is the the gift that keeps on giving for easy breakfasts (…and dinner and snacks and everything in between).

Why You’ll Love These Bagels

It seems impossible to have a bread product be dense and chewy and fluffy all at the same time. But these homemade sourdough bagels achieve that…which makes me love them with an intensity that is reserved for only the best baked goods (and for my children, of course).

The topping options are many, and the serving options are plentiful, as well. Slice, toast, butter, slather with cream cheese, make into a sandwich, eat plain.

There’s no wrong way to enjoy these sourdough bagels. Once you get the timing down, they’ll become a routine bread bake that will 100% help you feel like a total rock star.

Homemade Sourdough Bagels

Yield: 12 bagels

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 22 minutes mins

Rising Time:: 12 hours hrs

Total Time: 13 hours hrs 22 minutes mins

5 stars (12 ratings)

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Ingredients

Bagels:

• 2 cups (460 g) room temperature water
• ¾ cup (170 g) ripe and bubbly sourdough starter (see note)
• 6 cups (850 g) bread flour
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) salt
• 3 tablespoons (60 g) honey

Water Bath:

• 3 quarts water
• 3 to 4 tablespoons honey

Egg Wash:

• 1 large egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Optional Toppings:

• Sesame seeds, Everything Bagel seasoning, grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese, coarse salt, cinnamon and sugar, etc.

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Instructions 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all the dough ingredients and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until a smooth, stiff ball of dough forms that clears the bottom and sides of the bowl. The dough will likely be thicker and stiffer than other traditional bread doughs; that's normal. The dough will soften as it ferments and rises overnight. Add additional flour only if the dough is very sticky. Add additional water only if the dough is struggling to come together in a ball and has dry floury patches. (See note below about how the consistency of the sourdough starter may impact the dough.)
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl, cover, and let the dough rest at room temperature (ideally around 70 to 72 degrees F) for 12 to 14 hours until doubled and very puffy.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased countertop and cut into 12 equal pieces, about 128 g/4.5 ounces each. Form each piece of dough into a taut, round ball. Let the dough balls rest for 15 to 30 minutes to relax the gluten (this will make them easier to form into bagel shape without the dough springing back).
• Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
• Take each dough ball and press a hole through the center. Using your two thumbs and middle fingers, stretch and turn the dough until the hole widens and the dough forms a bagel shape. Place each shaped bagel on the prepared baking pans (six bagels per half sheet pan).
• For the water bath, bring the water and honey to a boil in a large saucepan.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Transfer the bagels, three or four at a time, to the simmering water. I like to gently re-stretch the center of the bagel if it has closed up while the bagels have rested. This is optional; if you do the same, make sure to stretch gently so as not to deflate and compress the bagel.
• Cook the bagels for 1 minute. Flip and cook for another minute. Use a wide spatula to lift each bagel up, letting the excess water drain back into the pot. Place the boiled bagels onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them several inches apart. I bake six bagels per half sheet pan.
• Repeat with the remaining bagels.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and water. Brush the top and sides of each bagel and then sprinkle with desired toppings: sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, cinnamon and sugar, coarse salt, grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, or other toppings of choice. If leaving the bagels plain, the egg wash is optional.
• Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove the bagels from the oven, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely (don't let them cool completely on the baking sheet as they have a tendency to stick due to the sugar/water bath).

Notes

Sourdough Starter/Flour Amount: I make these bagels using a sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio. It is thick but pourable. If the sourdough starter you are using is thinner or thicker, you may need to adjust the flour amount for the bagel dough up or down. Judge the amount of flour by the look and feel of the dough – the dough should form a stiff ball that is not overly soft and sticky (but it shouldn’t have any dry patches of flour). If you live in a really dry climate, at high elevation, or have a super thick starter, start with 5 cups flour and add the rest gradually (and only if needed).

Make sure the sourdough starter has been fed and is ripe and bubbly before using in the recipe.

Timing: For a sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio, I use the following timeline for this recipe:
-Day 1: between 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. feed sourdough starter
-Day 1: 9:00 p.m. make dough, cover, leave out at room temperature.
-Day 2: 9:00 a.m. (give or take an hour) form dough into balls and let rest for 10-15 minutes. 
-Day 2: 9:30 a.m. shape bagels, boil water.
-Day 2: 10:00 a.m. boil bagels, add toppings, bake bagels. 

The dough can rest in bulk for 12 to 14 hours at room temperature. If your schedule requires the dough to rest longer, refrigerate and cold ferment the dough (up to 3 days). 

Author: Mel Gunnell

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake

Serving: 1 bagel, Calories: 257kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.2g, Sodium: 601mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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