Sourdough Bagels

Last Updated on March 6, 2021 by Jess

Do you love bagels in the morning? Or perhaps you have excess sourdough starter, and my goodness, you aren’t about to waste it? Well, then it seems sourdough bagels are a recipe begging to be made!

In the months prior to turning 33, I made a list of 33 things to do while I was 33. They ranged from bake a fruit tart, compete in an obstacle run, visit three new state parks, all the way to take a to class at the local farm to table foundation. Oddly enough, this little list changed my life forever. I chose two different classes: Baking Bread with Sourdough Starter (having no idea what sourdough really was) and a Restorative Yoga Class (totally outside of my comfort zone). The Restorative Yoga Class led me to the instructor who exactly one year later led me through a training to become a barre instructor, which I now do on the side. And the Baking Bread with Sourdough Starter class? Well, my family hasn’t eaten store bought bread since I started baking 2 years ago. 

Fast forward a few months after the class

The scene: My husband making his usual breakfast of an egg and bagel sandwich. Consequently, this got him husband thinking. He off-handedly said, “I wonder if you could make sourdough bagels…” A Google search later, and I had a recipe I was ready to follow, which I found at EveryDayFull (Click here for the link). 

I promise making sourdough bagels is so much easier than it seems. You just need a little time and be willing to spend it in the best room in the house, the kitchen. My bread baking schedule usually has me feeding my starter and prepping my loaves to ferment over the weekend. Because of this, it is also a perfect time to make bagels since your starter will be nice and healthy. There will also likely be a lot of it; a perfect time to use up two cups of starter! Remember, if you don’t have two cups of starter to part with, just pull it from the refrigerator a few days early and double it each day. You’ll have enough before you know it! (Thank goodness for exponential growth-I am a math teacher in my other life 🙂 ) 

Enough small talk. Let’s get to creating sourdough bagels! 

Your ingredients for sourdough bagels

• 2 cups healthy sourdough starter
• 1 ¼ to 1 ½  cups water
• 1 T olive oil
• 5 ½  cups flour (I like to do a combination of white and wheat; most recently, 3 cups white and 2 ½ cups) 
• 1 T kosher salt

• 1 T of baking soda (to be used when you boil the bagels)

Additionally, you will also need a wash to brush the bagels with prior to baking. You have lots of options: 

• 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water, beaten (This is the best choice, but I don’t love how much egg is “wasted” when you get done so I often choose one of the other options)
• 2-3 tablespoons of milk 
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter 

Your steps To Sourdough Bagels

• In a stand mixer, combine the starter, flour, water, salt and olive oil. I start with 1 ¼ cup of water, and then judge if I need the other ¼  cup when I get to the next step. Mix for 30 seconds or so. Then allow to rest for 10-15 min.
• Turn on the mixer again and mix on low for 4 minutes. You have to watch this and take care of your mixer. The dough is thick and will cause your mixer to struggle. Just watch it. If it doesn’t seem to be combining well, you can slowly add another ¼ cup of water. 
• Turn your dough into a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rest for 4-5 hours. I have let it rest as long as 6 hours without issue in the winter. However, my house is cooler, so just play with it. That’s the joy of sourdough, the time has some flexibility.

resting time

• Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into anywhere from 12-18 pieces, depending on the size of bagel you enjoy. Roll these pieces into balls, flatten, and use your thumb and forefinger to create a hole in your bagel, about 1 ½ – 2 inches diameter. Set these on parchment paper, cover with a towel, and allow to rest an additional hour.
• Meanwhile, bring a large kettle of water 1/2 full to boil. Once it reaches boiling, add the baking soda. Do this SLOWLY. It can boil over and make a big mess. Believe me, the glass on my oven has forever stains to prove it. Also grease two large cookie sheets so they are ready for you!
• Drop each bagel into the boiling water for 1 min, flipping halfway through. You can put 4-7 in the kettle at a time. Then place them on the greased cookie sheets.

Baking Time

• Use a brush to put the egg wash on each bagel (this gets them nice and shiny!), and put toppings on if interested! Our favorites are dried minced onion, cheddar cheese, and sesame seeds.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Then you must enjoy one straight out of the oven. It’s required. They are THAT good.

What are your favorite toppings? How do you eat your bagels? Are they just a breakfast food or an all day kind of thing? Me, I like the cinnamon and sugar ones for a mid morning snack 🙂

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Don’t have a sourdough starter, but you want to create one? Check out King Arthur Flour’s directions here.

Once you have created a starter, I bet you’ll be baking bread. You’ll also have to maintain the starter. I have a set of videos on how to do that! Just click here!