Sourdough Bagels
A good bagel can be hard to find…
I’ve had my fair share of buns with holes in them trying to pass themselves off as bagels. Yes, buns with a hole in them taste good, but they aren’t bagels.
Bagels are known for their chewy (NOT fluffy) texture and crispy crust. To achieve this chewiness, the hydration must be on the lower side (50-60% is ideal) and the bagels must be boiled before baking.
Bagels are traditionally made with storebought yeast, but you can easily make them with sourdough following the same principles.
Unlike my country loaf recipe, bagels must be kneaded. You can do so by hand, as I do, or with a machine. By hand it will take 10-15 minutes. This will form the gluten structure and help the bagel keep its shape. When in doubt, just keep kneading! I am guilty of under-kneading these bad boys, which will cause breakage when baking.
And if you really like bagels (as I do), but are bored of a plain old bagel, you can experiment with different flavors and add-ins. As pictured above, I have made rye and beet bagels using this method!
Enjoy these little guys with some vegan cream cheese and smoked tomatoes, or hummus and cucumber tomato salad—OR, if you really know what’s up, peanut butter and hot sauce.
I have updated the original post to include two variations, rye and blueberry. I have also modified the instructions to include a mandatory rest time before kneading. Happy baking!
Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 100 grams active sourdough starter*
- 250 grams water
- 7 grams salt
- 100 grams white whole wheat**
- 400 grams bread flour
- 1 tablespoon molasses or malted barley syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (2.5 quart is ideal) mix the sourdough starter, water, and salt.
- Add in the dry ingredients (white whole wheat and bread flour) and continue to mix. Once dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork or spoon, start kneading with your hands until it becomes a shaggy ball. Allow to rest for thirty minutes. Then, knead again for 10-15 minutes. Perform a windowpane test to see if the gluten is developed. If the dough rips easily, keep kneading. When in doubt, knead some more!
- Once the gluten is properly developed, allow to rise for 4-8 hours at room temperature.
- Once the dough is doubled in size (if you are using a 2.5 quart bowl, it will fill the bowl), you can either go immediately to the next step or allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight.
- Take the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into six pieces, roughly 150 grams each. Roll the pieces into balls. Then, pinch the middle of each piece of dough and twist it like it’s a wheel. The dough will eventually break and form a hole. Keep twisting and stretching the dough to make the hole bigger. Keep in mind, the hole will close up a little while it’s baking. ***
- Allow the shaped dough to rest for 2-3 hours.
- When the dough has become noticeably puffy, preheat your oven to 450 F with the baking tray in the oven. Boil a pot of water, big enough to hold at least one bagel at a time (I use a 2 quart pot). Add 1 tablespoon of molasses and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water.
- Once the water has boiled, reduce it to a simmer. Add one bagel to the water (if you have a big enough pot, you may be able to boil two bagels at once). After two minutes, use a slotted spoon or chopsticks to flip to bagels. Allow the bagels to boil for another two minutes on the other side. Continue for all six bagels.
- As you are finishing each bagel, you can place the bagels on a silicone mat or parchment paper for ease of transfer. Once the bagels have all finished boiling, use the silicone mat to transfer the bagels on a baking tray (I use cast iron) and bake for 25 minutes at 425 F. Leave in for an extra few minutes if they are not brown enough to your liking.
- Voila! You have delicious sourdough bagels. They will last 5 days at room temperature stored in a paper or cloth bag. They will get a little stale after the third day but will taste fine toasted. Alternatively, freeze them in a freezer safe bag. They will last up to a year frozen.
Notes
Supplies
Kitchen Scale
2.5 quart mixing bowl with cover
Fork or mixing utensil
Pot for boiling water
Chopsticks or slotted spoon
Silicone mats or parchment paper
Bench scraper
Baking tray (I used cast iron)
* Depending on the room temperature and your schedule, you may want to use more or less sourdough starter. Use less sourdough starter if it is warm and more if it is cold.
** If you don’t have white whole wheat, replace with whole wheat or more bread flour.
*** Please watch my short or long form videos to see the shaping method.
**** This recipe makes six small bagels. If you would like larger bagels, cut the dough into four pieces at approximately 225 grams each at step eight and bake for a few minutes longer at step ten.
Variations
* For rye bagels, replace the white whole wheat with rye flour and add 10-15 grams of caraway seeds.
* For blueberry bagels, add 75 grams of dried blueberries to the dough before kneading.
