Posted on 39 Comments

Sourdough Bagels

Bagels are delicious, everyone knows that. Homemade sourdough bagels are the next level delicious.

And the process of making sourdough bagels is relatively simple.

Ready in: 
36 hours
Serves:
8 people
Yield:  
8 bagels, 110-115g each
Units:
US, EU

Ingredients

Sourdough starter 

Dough

  • 500g bread flour (100%)
  • 300g water (60%)
  • 100g starter (20%)
  • 15g sugar(3%)
  • 10g salt (2%)
  • 2g malt ( could be replaced by 6g of honey)
  • cornmeal flour to prevent sticking

Garnish

  • You can use sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt flakes, quinoa crisps or anything you’d like to cover your bagels with.

Boiling 

  • You need a wide pot
  • 1 gallon of water

• 1 tbs of brown sugar

Directions 

Day 1

Starter

Night before

  • Add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at a room temp 74-78F for about 8-10 hours until starter reaches its peak (at least triples in volume).

Day 2

Dough

Morning

  • Mix water, sugar, sourdough starter (100g on its peak, the rest use for future feedings), malt, salt and flour in your mixer. The dough might seem stiff, but during mixing it will relax and get a nice consistency during fermentation. 
  • Cover and let it rise until it becomes lighter with bubbles on surface, for 4-6 hours , perform a couple folds during that time.

Shaping 

  • Prepare the baking tray with the parchment paper in it. Place the dough onto a non-floured surface.
  • Flatten the dough into a rectangle and divide it into 8 equal pieces, about 115 grams each.
  • Roll each piece into a small log.
  • Start to roll and press each log until it reaches 8-9in. (21-23cm.) lengthwise.
  • Roll each log around a palm of your hand.
  • Tuck both ends of a log under the palm of your hand and roll it until both ends will stick together. 
  • Deep the bottom of each bagel into cornmeal flour.
  • Set them on the prepared baking tray.
  • Cover the tray with bagels. Let them rest for 1 hour at a room temperature.
  • Then transfer the tray to the fridge for 6-18 hours (overnight).

Day 3

Morning

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 1tbs of brown sugar.

  • Preheat your oven to 425F (220C).
  • Add the seeds and/or any other toppings to a rimmed tray or a shallow bowl.
  • Remove bagels from the fridge add 3-4 bagels into the pot and wait for them to float to the surface, for about 10 seconds (some will float right away).
  • Cook for 30 seconds on each side for a thin crust. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the water, dip the rounded side into seeds (or whatever topping) to coat.
  • Place them back on to the sheet-pan covered with parchment paper generously sprayed with oil.
  • Bake the bagels for about 20-25 minutes at 425F.
  • Store in a plastic bag at room temperature for up to 2 days.  Bagels freeze well; freeze them whole or sliced, covered in plastic wrap and a layer of foil, for up to 3 months.

Enjoy your sourdough bagels 🙏

39 thoughts on “Sourdough Bagels

  1. I’m so excited to try this recipe. Thank you for explaining the steps in great detail. God bless🌷🍃

    1. Dear, Rama! Thank you so much for your support 🙏

    2. Thank you for sharing your bagel recipe.
      I made the recipe, but the result is not ok, but the taste is good, I try again to do it

  2. Thank you so much I’ve been searching for a bagel recipe I appreciate your sharing

  3. Thank you so much for sharing your bagel recipe I’ve been looking for a long time for one

    1. Bonnie, thank you!
      I hope you’ll like them 🙏

      1. They were awesome my first ones were accrued looking but boy they were wonderful. I have a question if you get your dough made up to where you let it rest until it bubbles an emergency arises, can you put it in the refrigerator till the next morning and still be successful

      2. Bonnie, thank you fir your feedback!
        You definitely can keep the dough till the morning, then shape them, proof for about 2 hours, put back to fridge to chill down, then boil them and bake 🙏

  4. Thank youuu dearest 💕❤️💕❤️💕

    I’m already in the process. Shaping!!!
    Tomorrow cooking and baking.

    You are the best! So generous girl. 💥💥💥💐💐💐💐💐

    1. Sally, thank you!
      Please let me know how will you like them 🙏🙏

  5. I have already made these once ! I’m making them again today !!

    1. Awesome! It’s my to go recipe too 🙏

  6. Just tried this out and my house smells wonderful. I followed everything to the T but couldn’t get that lovely dark caramel color you achieved! I even left it in for an extra 12 min to get a darker color but was still somewhat pale. Any suggestions? Thanks for an otherwise easy to follow recipe!

    1. Jennifer, hi!
      Sorry to hear you didn’t get that lovely brown color. Most likely they were underproofed. (Result is pale bread)
      With stronger starter fermentation will go faster, with weaker, it will go slower.

  7. These were absolutely amazing! I will be making these again for sure!

    1. Thank you so much for your feedback 🙏

  8. These were absolutely amazing! I will be making these again for sure! I used semolina to dust as I didn’t have any cornmeal and they worked well too.

    1. Awesome

  9. If I don’t have corn meal, can I replace with other type of flour?

    1. You can use whole grain flour

  10. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you!

    1. It is super yummy 😋

  11. Love your no-knead batards. Sadly, this dough was tooooo wet. Impossible to handle despite 3 or 4 coil folds over the course of 7 hours. Very slack. Going back to sourdough bagel recipe from Littespoon Farm. Actually looks the same—but 45g less water.
    I make the levain early in the day, then mix dough in evening and let rest overnight. In morning I form, boil, & bake.
    https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-bagels-recipe/

    1. Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Maybe the flour was weaker, then the one I’m using.
      Anyway, thank you for your honest feedback 🙌

  12. I’ve tried these bagels for the first time and they came out perfect! This is the first recipe I didn’t have to throw away my dough and redo anything. Thank you for sharing your recipe. House smells divine and they taste AMAZING!!

    1. Thank you, Yana for your feedback 🙏

  13. Hi!! What is the purpose of refrigerating the bagels after shaping them? I usually put the dough in the fridge after bulk ferment, then take them out and shape them and let them proof a couple hours at room temp and then put them right in the boiling water. They always come out good this way but I’m wondering if I’m missing out on anything! Thanks

    1. Katie, hi!
      That’s how I was trained to do. Apparently it should help them to keep the shape. But now I want to try your way, without fridge. Thank you.

  14. Hi Natasha, this is my first time trying one of you recipes although I have been following your amazing work for two years.
    unfortunately I did not quite succeed to achieve the perfect result. the dough was too wet and hard to control although i followed the same exact recipe but maybe i needed more details of how long should I mix the ingredients . the dough was too hard to shape as well and it did not proof well in the fridge so i should check my starter health probably. thanks a lot Natasha for sharing your work. I hope next time it work out well

  15. What type of oil did you use to fry the bagels

    1. You have to bake bagels 🙏

  16. What oil do you use to fry the bagels

  17. Hello Natasha,
    I have a question about your Sourdough Bagels recipe. When you call for 10g of sourdough starter are you talking about a refreshed starter at its peak or do I need to build a Levain or can I just use the sourdough starter from my refrigerator?
    Thank you!

    1. Hi!
      Yes!
      I’m using starter on its peak.
      And please give your starter at least 2-3 refreshments after fridge

  18. Hi there, thank you for this recipe, but I have a question about what is the difference between sourdough starter and starter??? I don’t know

  19. Hi Natasha!
    I tried it and the dough was a bit hard to shape on an unfloured surface… and the dough would stretch and bounce back, making it hard to shape the rings. Any thoughts? I thought I may have let the dough overproof a bit but would like to hear your opinion!

    1. Hi!
      Sometimes you have to let the dough rest a little before shaping 🙏

  20. By malt you mean malt Sirup right? Do you think it works to use only malt and no sugar?

    1. Hi!
      I was using powdered malt.
      And I think you can replace sugar with malted syrup.

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