Homemade Sourdough Bagels

Top down view of sesame seed topped bagel with several other baked bagels.

Yield: 12 bagels

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 22

Rising Time:: 12

Total Time: 13 22

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.

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: 12:00 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).