The Best Homemade Sourdough Bagels

These homemade sourdough bagels have a little tang, are chewy, and crusty. A bagel that makes it to the table for lunch and dinner, not just breakfast.

Why You'll Love These Easy Sourdough Bagels

If you are looking for amazing bagels to have every single morning, this recipe is for you!

Freezer Friendly. These bagels freeze so well! I always make a double batch and freeze it so that the kiddos can have a quick breakfast on weekdays.

Easy to Make. There may be a few times you will need to mix, but most of the work is done by patiently waiting for the rise.

Healthier than store-bought. These 5-ingredient bagels are made with whole ingredients and are gut-friendly.

Ingredients Needed

• Bubbly Starter
• Bread Flour (I use King Arthur Bread flour)
• Water
• Honey
• Salt (I used Himalayan salt, but sea salt will work just fine)
• Toppings (in this recipe, I used everything bagel seasoning and asiago cheese)

Equipment Used

Here is a list of my favorite pieces I have in my kitchen that I used to make the bagels

• Kitchen Aid Mixer
• Slotted Spoon
• Wide Mouth Pot
• Half Size Pan

How To Make Sourdough Bagels

Before we get started, let's talk about the levain.

What is a levain? It is a sourdough starter used in a recipe, by combining water, flour, and some fresh bubbling starter. In some recipes, levain is used as a preferment to help the dough rise and give a slightly different flavor profile. In this sourdough bagel recipe, the levain will rise first, then it will be added to the remaining ingredients to make the bagel dough.

Step 1: Start with a levain.

I suggest using a mixer. I have a KitchenAid Mixer, and it worked well without overworking it. Combine all the levain ingredients in the mixer bowl and mix with a spatula. Once all ingredients are combined, cover with plastic wrap.

I placed a bowl of hot water under the mixer bowl and let the steam warm the levain and help the fermentation process. I didn't boil the water. I just used hot water from the faucet, which was plenty warm.

Allow the levain to start bubbling. It will not double in size but will grow slightly and form bubbles on the top. My house was about 71°F at the time, and with the hot water under the mixer bowl, the fermentation took 2 hours. I have let it stay for 3 hours and have achieved the same result.

Step 2 Once the levain is ready and slightly bubbly, it's time to make the dough. Add the ingredients in the same mixer bowl with the levain—honey, flour, salt, and fresh starter.

Using the dough hook, mix the dough at a low speed. Make sure all the dry ingredients are hydrated, leaving no flour in the bowl. From this point, mix the dough for about 5-6 minutes.

The dough will not stick to the sides of the mixer bowl but will still have a sticky feel. That is normal.

***This is not your traditional bagel. The dough will be different from your typical bagel recipe.

After mixing the dough, divide it into 12 equal pieces. Each ball will weigh approximately 4.6-4.7 oz. Prepare a pan with parchment paper and spray it with cooking oil. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to the paper. Cover the dough balls loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest for 20-30 minutes.

After the dough rests, it's time to shape these homemade sourdough bagels. This is the fun part because you can see the bagels come to life.

Step 3: There are several ways to shape bagels. I use only one method. Why? It's the easiest way, and it works every time! Poke a hole with your thumb in the center of the dough ball. Slowly stretch the dough in the middle with your thumbs until you reach the desired width in the center, typically ½ inch or so.

Place the bagel shapes back on the pan with parchment paper. A half-size baking sheet comfortably holds six bagels, so you will need two. Follow up by spraying the top of the bagels with cooking oil as well. This will prevent the bagels from sticking to the plastic wrap. Cover each pan loosely with plastic wrap, ensuring the dough is not exposed to air.

Step 4: Allow the shaped bagels to rest and rise just a little before placing them into the fridge. In my 71°F house, the rise took about 1 ½ hours.

How did I know they were ready to go into the fridge? I did the float test.

Float test: Prepare a bowl with room-temperature water. Place a bagel in the water. If it floats to the top within 10 seconds, it is ready to go in the fridge. If not, let the bagels continue to rise. Check every 15 minutes after that.

Once your bagels have passed the float test, they are ready to go in the fridge and slow down the fermentation process. Your work is done on day one!

Step 5: Day Two! It's time to boil the homemade sourdough bagels. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before boiling, and allow them to come to room temperature slightly.

Prepare any toppings you would like for the bagels. I purchased everything bagel seasoning and asiago cheese. Use a wide bowl to fit a bagel. Shred the cheese and place it into a bowl as well.

Turn your oven to 500*F so it can preheat.

Fill a wide-mouth pot with water, baking soda, and honey. Adding baking soda will give it a chew, and honey will add sweetness and color.

Allow the water to come to a boil on high heat. Once the water starts to boil, place 2-4 bagels into the pot. You can lower the heat to medium so the water does not start foaming up. Boil one side of the bagel for 1 minute. Turn the bagel over with the slotted spoon or spatula and boil it for 1 minute on the other side.

While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the parchment paper with cornmeal. You can use the same parchment paper and pan the bagels rested on overnight in the refrigerator.

Immediately after boiling the bagel, turn it top side down and dip it in the everything bagel seasoning to coat the top. Shake off the extra seasoning and place it on the pan with cornmeal.

If you are using asiago cheese, immediately after boiling, sprinkle bagel with asiago cheese.

Place the pan in the preheated oven. I baked the bagels one pan at a time on the middle rack for 10 minutes. If you like your darker bagels, bake for another 2 minutes.

Remove the bagels from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. It will be tempting to cut into them right away, I know. But I do suggest waiting so you can enjoy the bagels' flavor without burning your tongue.

How to Enjoy Sourdough Bagels

We all know the staple topping to any bagel is cream cheese. But have you tried any other way?

Make a sandwich: Mediterranean chicken, egg salad, or broccoli tuna. Make your favorite deli meat sandwich or even a yummy BLT.

Enjoy with a soup. A great way to enjoy a broccoli cheddar soup or butternut squash soup.

Print