If you’ve ever wanted to try making sourdough bagels, I have the recipe for you! This recipe is easy to make and consistently yields beautiful, delicious, perfect bagels. It’s based on this recipe from Farmhouse on Boone. She has lots of amazing sourdough recipes you should try!
The thing that makes a bagel is the boiling step. Just before baking, the risen dough is boiling in a baking soda and sugar solution. That’s what give them their signature chewy texture. It may sound like a production but it’s a very simple and quick process.
Sourdough Bagel Recipe
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup water, plus 2 or 3 tablespoons as needed
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar or honey
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups bread flour
For boiling the bagels
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Make the Sourdough Bagel dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, 1 cup of water, granulated sugar or honey, salt, and flour. I love making bread dough in this beautiful crockery bowl my sister gave me. It makes me feel very homesteadery!
Stir to combine, switching to mixing with your hand as the dough comes together. I have broken a wooden spoon trying to mix this dough before so I like using my hands. This is a very stiff dough so take your time and make sure all the flour is incorporated.
If you are having trouble getting all the flour mixed in, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and knead the dough in the bowl to mix. Once all the flour is incorporated into the dough, knead it a few more times in the bowl. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Rest and rise
After 30 minutes, uncover the dough and knead it 3 or 4 times in the bowl. This dough is too stiff to do stretch and folds so I just knead by hand in the bowl. Cover and repeat the rest and kneading process one more time.
Cover for the proofing or main rising time. This may take 2-3 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Sourdough also takes longer to rise than a commercial yeast but I thinks it’s worth the time. Once the dough is doubled and puffy, you are ready to move on to the next stage of making bagels.
Now you have a couple of options depending on how your day is going, the time of day, and when you want to eat your sourdough bagels. You can shape them right away, let them rise, then boil and bake them. Or you can shape them, let them rise on a covered tray overnight in the fridge. All you need to do the next morning is let them come to room temperature for about an hour, then boil and finish them in the oven. The third option is to let the covered dough sit in the fridge overnight then shape the bagels, and finish making them the next morning.
Shaping the bagels
I chose to transfer the dough to a metal bowl with a lid and refrigerate overnight and shape the bagels in the morning. Tip the dough out of the bowl and cut into 8 equal size pieces. The chilled dough will be stiffer than at room temperature. This does make it easier to work with.
Shape each portion into a ball by tucking the edges into the bottom side of the piece of dough to make a smooth ball. Set aside while you shape all 8 pieces. You likely won’t need any flour on the countertop since it’s not a sticky dough.
Loosely cup your hand over the portion of dough, smooth side up, and move your hand in a circle to roll the dough into a tight ball. As your fingers push and rotate the dough it will tighten up the outside of the dough which is called a gluten cloak. This will help shape it into a tight smooth ball. Set aside and repeat with each piece of dough.
To finish shaping, press your thumb down through the center of one ball of dough. Pick up the dough and press your other thumb through the other side of the dough. Rotate your thumbs to shape the center. Place the shaped bagel on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat shaping each piece of dough.
Leave 2 or 3 inches between each bagel to rise. Cover the baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise for 1 hour. The bagels should be airy and puffy looking.
Boiling the Sourdough Bagels
Bring the 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat in a wide pan. Preheat your oven to 425°. As soon as the water is boiling, add the baking soda and brown sugar. It will bubble up a bit when the baking soda hits the water but that’s normal.
For the next part you will need to work quickly. Carefully pick up a bagel and lower it into the boiling water. I usually put them in top down but it doesn’t really matter. Add 2 or 3 more bagels. The pan should not be overcrowded but you can do more than one at a time.
Boil for one minute before turning to boil on the other side for one minute. You may need to turn the heat down to medium-high if the water is foaming up too much. The bagels shouldn’t boil hard but they need to be boiling the whole 2 minutes.
They will puff up some in the hot water but once they are in the oven they will have what’s called an oven spring. This is the final rise yeast bread has at the beginning of baking before the yeast is killed by the heat.
Pull the bagels out of the water with a slotted spoon or spider. Set them on the parchment lined sheet and repeat with the remaining bagels. If you are using a topping, now is the time to sprinkle that over each one. The wet dough will help the topping stick. We like everything bagel seasoning.
Bake and serve your homemade bagels!
Once all the bagels are boiled and any toppings are added, bake in the 425° oven for 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Cool the Sourdough Bagels on the baking sheet before serving. These are great served warm with butter or cream cheese. The next day I like to toast them before serving. Store any leftover bagels in an airtight container at room temperature.
Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
Bagel dough
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup water plus 2-3 tablespoons
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar or honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 cups bread flour substitute part whole wheat if desired
For boiling the bagels
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Pour the sourdough starter and granulated sugar or honey into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the water and stir to combine.
- Add the salt and flour. Mix to form a stiff dough. If there is flour left in the bowl, add water a tablespoon at a time until all the flour can be incorporated.
- Cover dough and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Uncover and knead the dough in the bowl 3 or 4 times to make a stiff but smooth dough. Cover and rest for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough is doubled in size and puffy.
- At this point you can choose the timeline for finishing the bagels. The dough can be refrigerated overnight and shaped in the morning, shaped and then refrigerated overnight, or shaped and baked right away. The dough is easier to work with after refrigeration. I usually chill the dough overnight and shape, rise, and bake them the following morning.
- To shape the bagels, divide the dough into 8 even portions. Shape each piece into a ball by folding the sides to the bottom until it's a fairly tight ball. Place the dough on an unfloured countertop and cup your hand over ball. Gently move the dough in a small circle with your fingers providing light pressure on the sides of the ball. This should pull the dough into a smooth tight ball.
- Insert your thumb into the center of the dough ball and push through to the countertop. Pick up the dough and push your other thumb through the hole from the opposite side and gently rotate the bagel to shape the center.
- Set each shaped bagel on a parchment lined baking sheet. cover with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for 1-2 hours or until airy and puffy.
Boiling the bagels
- Bring the 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the baking soda and brown sugar.
- Gently lower 3 or 4 bagels into the water and boil for 1 minute. Turn the bagels over and boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the bagels from the water with a spider or large slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels. Top with salt or everything bagel seasoning if preferred.
- Bake in a 425° oven for 25 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving with butter or cream cheese.
