Boring bagels? Not anymore! These homemade sourdough bagels are the most satisfying and delicious bagels you'll ever eat! And they come together in just a few hours with very little hands on time!
Sourdough bagels are made in three simple steps: forming the dough, boiling the bagels in baking soda water and baking the bagels in the oven.
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Jump to:
- Why this recipe works
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Make the dough
- Rise and shape
- Recipe
- HOW LONG DO THE SOURDOUGH BAGELS STAY FRESH?
- VARIATIONS FOR THIS SOURDOUGH BAGEL RECIPE
- HOW LONG DO THE SOURDOUGH BAGELS STAY FRESH?
- HELPFUL TOOLS TO HAVE
- What is dry malt non-diastatic baking powder?
- VARIATIONS FOR THIS SOURDOUGH BAGEL RECIPE
- Related
- Comments
Why this recipe works
These soft and chewy bagels are easy to make with just 3 steps! The addition of commercial yeasts helps the sourdough starter to rise more quickly than traditional sourdough recipes.
Traditionally these homemade bagels are not sourdough, but I just love the texture and tanginess that the sourdough starter adds to this recipe. Besides, I’m always looking for creative ways to use my sourdough starter discard, like my Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake!
Ingredients
- SOURDOUGH STARTER DISCARD || This recipe is super flexible because you can use either fed (peaked or ripe) active sourdough starter or the ‘hungry’ sourdough starter discard. This is the byproduct of feeding and caring for a sourdough culture. The sourdough must be ‘fed’ water and flour at regular intervals to keep the colony healthy and growing. To learn more about the basics of sourdough, I've broken the process down in my post Simple Sourdough Bread. Read How to Make a Sourdough Starter if you need to make a starter, or troubleshoot issues you are having with yours.
- BREAD FLOUR || All purpose flour creates a slightly more dense and less chewy texture bagel. Bread flour is the best option for this recipe.
- INSTANT YEAST || Sourdough starter naturally contains yeast and will rise over time, but to keep this recipe fast, I have added commercial yeast. This allows the dough to be lighter and fluffier in only an hour! I buy my yeast in bulk and keep it in the freezer.
- WHOLE MILK || This adds a richness to the bagels that can only come from the addition of fat to the recipe. Personally, I have not tried this yet with a milk substitute, but in my opinion I think it would work… the bagel may be a bit less flavorful, though.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
When I am making breads or sourdough recipes, I always measure my ingredients by weight in using grams. A kitchen scale allows me to get a consistent final product. Sometimes a scoop of flour or splash of milk that is a little heavy handed isn’t a big deal, for example when baking cookies, but for breads the weight matters!
Make the dough
- Place the mixing bowl on a kitchen scale that is set to grams, then hit the tare button. The tare function tells the scale not to count the weight of the bowl, which is important!
- Add the hungry or active starter, bread flour, whole milk, yeast, sugar and salt to the mixing bowl. I use the tare button between each addition to measure directly into the bowl.
3. Knead the dough in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for about five minutes, or until the stiff dough clings to the sides and feels soft and only slightly sticky to the touch.
If the dough is too dry, add a splash of milk. If the dough is sticking to the bowl and seems too wet, add flour gradually until the texture improves. There is a bit of intuition involved with making sourdough recipes, but you will get the hang of it!
Rise and shape
4. Leave the dough in the mixing bowl, cover it with a tea towel or plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm to bulk rise for an hour for the first rise. I turn my oven on to preheat for a few minutes, then shut it off to create a proofing box of sorts or boil a cup of water in the microwave and then store it in my modified proofing box.
5. After the dough has warmly rested for an hour, it will feel soft and pillowy. On a clean work surface remove it from the mixing bowl and divide the dough into eight equal pieces using either a knife for pastry scraper.
6. Form each piece of dough into smooth balls and then gently flatten them into bagel shape discs. Using a donut hole cutter or a thumb, press a hole into the center of the bagel. See picture above for the three phases of forming a bagel.
7. Let the bagel dough rest on the counter for the second rise, covered by a tea towel, while a large pot of water comes to a boil.
8. Once the water reaches a boil, add the baking soda. The baking soda acts as both a binder and pH stabilizer to keep the bagels shape during the boiling process.
9. Once the boiling water is ready, add 2-4 bagels to the pot. The shaped bagels SHOULD NOT TOUCH EACH OTHER. Set a timer for one minute and let the bagel boil.
10. After one minute, flip the bagel over with a slotted spoon and boil the other side for one minute more. Remove the bagels from the water and let any excess water drip off before setting them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
11. Brush the bagel tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of flaked sea salt or seasonings. I'm using Everything But the Bagel Jalepeno. Bake the bagels at 350° for about 20-25 minutes.
This could vary depending on your oven. In my oven, I place my sheet pan on the bottom rack and bake for exactly 25 minutes. Sometimes I rotate the pan after 15 minutes if they appear to be browning unevenly.
12. Once the bagels are golden brown and cooked through (check for an internal temperature between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit), let them cool on a wire rack.
Pro tip: I like to put a bowl of cream cheese on the hot pan to soften up so we can dig right in!
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Recipe
Chewy Sourdough Bagels (easy discard recipe)
Equipment
- large pot
- baking sheet
- cooling rack
- stand mixer
Ingredients
- 227 grams sourdough starter fed or discard
- 360 grams bread flour
- 170 grams whole milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the hungry or active starter, bread flour, whole milk, yeast, sugar and salt to the mixing bowl. I use the tare button between each addition to measure directly into the bowl.
- Knead the dough in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for about five minutes, or until the stiff dough clings to the sides and feels soft and only slightly sticky to the touch.
- Leave the dough in the mixing bowl, cover it with a tea towel or plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm to bulk rise for an hour for the first rise. I turn my oven on to preheat for a few minutes, then shut it off to create a proofing box of sorts or boil a cup of water in the microwave and then store it in my modified proofing box.
- After the dough has warmly rested for an hour, it will feel soft and pillowy. On a clean work surface remove it from the mixing bowl and divide the dough into eight equal pieces using either a knife for pastry scraper.
- Form each piece of dough into smooth balls and then gently flatten them into bagel shape discs. Using a donut hole cutter or a thumb, press a hole into the center of the bagel.
- Let the bagel dough rest on the counter for the second rise, covered by a tea towel, while a large pot of water comes to a boil.
- Once the water reaches a boil, add the baking soda.
- Once the boiling water is ready, add 2-4 bagels to the pot. The shaped bagels SHOULD NOT TOUCH EACH OTHER. Set a timer for one minute and let the bagels boil.
- After one minute, flip the bagel over with a slotted spoon and boil the other side for one minute more. Remove the bagels from the water and let any excess water drip off before setting them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the bagel tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of flaked sea salt. Bake the bagels at 350° for about 20-25 minutes.
- Once the bagels are golden brown and cooked through (check for an internal temperature between 195-205℉, let them cool on a wire rack.
Notes
HOW LONG DO THE SOURDOUGH BAGELS STAY FRESH?
The sourdough bagels can be stored in a plastic bag or airtight container for up to two days on the counter or two months in the freezer.VARIATIONS FOR THIS SOURDOUGH BAGEL RECIPE
This recipe can be made so many different ways!- For cheesy Italian bagels, before baking the bagels, brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and sea salt. Once it has baked, serve the bagels with warm marinara sauce.
- When I am craving the flavorful punch of Everything But the Bagel seasoning, I make my plain bagels and sprinkle them generously with the seasonings after the egg wash and before baking. They are so tasty when served with softened cream cheese.
- If you love dried fruit, try my Sourdough Bagels with Dried Fruit! Dried cherries, cranberries, raisins, apricots... the sky is the limit! I do like to coarsely chop the fruit into tiny pieces to help keep the texture more constant. Try serving it with cinnamon cream cheese. To make this, add 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix it for several minutes until smooth and fluffy using the whisk attachment.
- Is there anything more satisfying than biting into a Panera cinnamon crunch bagel? The crispy brown sugar and cinnamon crust, then a soft and chewy bagel dough inside slathered with cinnamon cream cheese. What if i told you it IS possible to skip the bagel shop drive through line and make these heavenly breakfast bagels at home! Let me show you how to make these Sourdough Cinnamon Crunch Bagels at home!
Nutrition
HOW LONG DO THE SOURDOUGH BAGELS STAY FRESH?
The sourdough bagels can be stored in a plastic bag or airtight container for up to two days on the counter or two months in the freezer.
HELPFUL TOOLS TO HAVE
It is slightly possible that I have been obsessed with baking my entire life. When I graduated from high school, I asked for a stand mixer. This spring my stand mixer will be twenty years old and is still going strong! It is not an absolute necessity, but I cannot imagine kneading dough for five minutes without using my KITCHEN AID STAND MIXER. I use it for mixing cake batter, cookies, frostings, crepes, DIY sugar scrubs, literally anything and everything.
A KITCHEN SCALE is necessary for weighing sourdough ingredients. This is the model that I purchased several years ago, and I chose it because it was inexpensive and had plenty of positive reviews. I also am obsessed with my SILPAT BAKING MAT to keep my cookies and bagels from sticking to the baking sheets. This is the exact one I have, and I actually have several different sizes.
Another tool that I use frequently is parchment paper. It works like the silpat, but can be thrown away after use. This is the exact pack of PARCHMENT PAPER that I prefer. It is unbleached and naturally nonstick. You can see it in several of these bagel photographs.
What is dry malt non-diastatic baking powder?
The last game changer for this recipe is DRY MALT NON-DIASTATIC BAKING POWDER. Yes, this is different than diastatic malt powder. While most bakers don’t routinely have it in their pantry, this is what gives baked goods (like pretzels and bagels) their gorgeous golden crust.
It is made with barley flour and is formulated to provide boosted enzyme activity and add sweetness to doughs like pretzels or bagels. I have made bagels and pretzels without this powder, but it definitely makes the crust better.
VARIATIONS FOR THIS SOURDOUGH BAGEL RECIPE
This recipe can be made so many different ways!
- For cheesy Italian bagels, before baking the bagels, brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and sea salt. Once it has baked, serve the bagels with warm marinara sauce.
- When I am craving the flavorful punch of Everything But the Bagel seasoning, I make my plain bagels and sprinkle them generously with the seasonings after the egg wash and before baking. They are so tasty when served with softened cream cheese.
- If you love dried fruit, try my Sourdough Bagels with Dried Fruit! Dried cherries, cranberries, raisins, apricots... the sky is the limit! I do like to coarsely chop the fruit into tiny pieces to help keep the texture more constant. Try serving it with cinnamon cream cheese. To make this, add 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix it for several minutes until smooth and fluffy using the whisk attachment.
- Is there anything more satisfying than biting into a Panera cinnamon crunch bagel? The crispy brown sugar and cinnamon crust, then a soft and chewy bagel dough inside slathered with cinnamon cream cheese. What if i told you it IS possible to skip the bagel shop drive through line and make these heavenly breakfast bagels at home! Let me show you how to make these Sourdough Cinnamon Crunch Bagels at home!
Related
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marianne
Your link to non diastatic malt powder links to diastatic Is this an error? I don’t see any “ non”. Thanks. Marianne
Meg
Yes, that is an error... I will get it fixed! Thank you for letting me know! I've tried using the diastatic powder before, just to see if it worked, and it made my bagels very dark. Not burned, but unappealing.
connie
how much baking soda per water.
Meg
Use a stock pot or dutch oven that can hold enough water that the bagels can be submerged without touching. I use a 5 quart dutch oven that I fill halfway full with water. I only add 2-3 bagels to the water at a time so that they never touch edges. No matter the amount of water you are using, just add 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Hope this helps!