Sourdough bagels are savory, chewy, crusty, and deliciously tangy. These are an amazing way to start your morning or to enjoy for a yummy brunch.
Sourdough may be one of my favorite ways to start the morning, whether it be breakfast strata, pancakes, English muffins, crepes, or these delicious bagels.
It’s a delicious, easy, and filling way to start our busy days, fueled up.
Bagels may seem intimidating, but I promise that they really aren’t that difficult. It’s much like making any baked sourdough recipe, with the added step of cooking it in boiling water for a few minutes before baking.
These sourdough bagels have a yummy and tangy flavor, pairing really well with sweet or savory dishes. They’re a wonderful comfort food.
I love slathering cream cheese or homemade butter all over them.
Below, I share a few different variations and a bunch of bagel sandwich ideas.
Sourdough Bagel FAQ
Are all bagels sourdough?
No. They are typically leavened with either sourdough or commercial yeast. Unless they are specifically labeled as sourdough, you can expect bagels to be made with commercial yeast.
Why is there a hole in a bagel?
There is a hole for more even cooking throughout. This also helps with crust development.
Are bagels bad for you?
While they tend to be higher in calories, these simple sourdough bagels are made with wholesome ingredients and healthy fermented grains.
What do you eat bagels with?
There are so many ways to eat bagels. Most commonly, they are served with cream cheese. See below for sandwich recommendations.
Why are bagels boiled at first?
You boil bagels first to set the crust, which allows them to hold their shape in the oven. The longer you boil them, the thicker the crust. Boiling for 60 seconds on each side yields the perfect result. Although this step may seem silly, don’t skip it – it is one of the most important.
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Tips:
- Use a slotted spoon or ‘spider’ strainer to flip and pull the bagels out of the boiling water.
- If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can check out this post, where I show you exactly how to make a starter from scratch.
- Cook 2-4 bagels in the baking soda water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
- You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
Tools you may need:
Measuring cups and spoons
Large pot or dutch oven
Parchment paper
Topping ideas
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sesame seeds
- Dried onion/dried garlic flakes
- Poppy seeds
- Everything But The Bagel seasoning
- Cinnamon sugar topping
Additional Bagel Add-Ins:
Mix in these extras into the dough right before forming into bagels:
Blueberries – add fresh blueberries
Cinnamon and raisins
Chocolate chips
How To Make Sourdough Bagels From Scratch
Add sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and two cups of flour to a stand mixer.
Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be really stiff and difficult to incorporate.
Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until it is smooth and pliable. You could also knead by hand, but the stand mixer makes this process much easier.
Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap; allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours. Don’t just cover with a dry towel, because it will create a hard skin on the top of your dough, which you don’t want.
After the dough has fermented, divide into 8 equal pieces.
Roll the dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for two hours or until puffy. The time will depend on how warm your house is. It could take 1 to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional).
Place boiled bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Sourdough Bagel Sandwich Ideas
Truly, a sourdough bagel is a vessel for the yummy toppings you want to add.
- Breakfast sandwich – add a fried egg, bacon or sausage, cheese, and some lettuce for a yummy way to start your morning.
- Cream cheese and veggie. Spread cream cheese on bagel, add slices of tomato, cucumber, avocado (optional). Sprinkle with salt and enjoy.
- Avocado… bagel. Rather than toast. Add sliced avocado and sprinkle with salt.
- Locks – cream cheese and smoked salmon (locks) make a really delicious sandwich any time of day.
- Turkey club. Really any of your favorite lunch meat will do; top with slices of cheese, tomato, avocado, and an egg.
- Ham and cheese. Top with ham and a slice of Swiss or cheddar cheese. Bake it in the oven until the cheese starts to melt. Honey mustard takes this up a notch.
- Add chicken salad
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter, bubbly and active (113 grams)
- 1 cup water, 236 grams
- 2 tablespoons honey, 21 grams
- 2 teaspoons salt, 10 grams
- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 560 grams
For boiling the bagels
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and two cups flour to a stand mixer.
- Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be really stiff and difficult to incorporate.
- Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until it is smooth and pliable.
- Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours.
- After fermentation, divide into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll the dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
- Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1-4 hours or until puffy.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
- Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional).
- Place boiled bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Notes
- Use a slotted spoon or ‘spider’ strainer to flip and to pull the bagels out of the boiling water.
- Cook 2-4 bagels in the baking soda water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
- You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I let my sourdough ferment for an extra 12 hours since I am gluten intolerant and i’ve read that the gluten content decreases with longer fermentation, is this possible for the bagels as well? Rather than the 8-12 hour rise.
I would stick them in the fridge after the first 8-12 hours. This will slow down the fermentation so it is likely to not overproof.
Hi! I am sort of new to sourdough, but have already made a few of your recipes thanks to all your inspiration. I‘m loving it (and so is everyone in my family)! Made these bagels a few weeks ago and just prepped a second bath to ferment overnight. What a treat.
Thanks for your step by step instructions and the video!
That is so wonderful to hear! Glad you are enjoying the recipes
Can you ferment the dough in the fridge for upto 2 days?
Thx
Yes, that should totally be fine.
Amazing! 10/10. For those who mentioned a problem with the bagels sticking to the parchment, it’s possible that your dough was too moist or needed more kneading. Mine was not at all sticky and didn’t even require a floured surface to roll into balls after the long ferment. Very easy to work with.
I’ve encountered stickiness in the past (my first attempt at both the sandwich bread and cinnamon rolls) and have learned that it was caused by not enough flour during mixing, or not kneading long enough. No expert, just my humble opinion.
Newish to the Sourdough journey. Lisa has been my mentor and muse. So far, I’ve done the cinnamon rolls twice, sandwich loaf twice, and today tried the bagels (first attempt). Followed the bagel recipe exactly and they are perfection. I impressed myself (as well as my husband). They were so good, that I plan to make a batch, freeze, and take them along on a flight to Nashville for a girls trip. They’ll be gobsmacked as I’m known for my lack of culinary skills/interest.
Thanks so much for sharing, Terri! Sounds like you are on your way to becoming a sourdough expert!
Hi! I read above that you said to add mix in right before shaping. Is this the best time to add cinnamon and raisins? And is it straight cinnamon or cinnamon and sugar?
That’s correct. I usually just do cinnamon, but you could probably do a cinnamon sugar if you like sweeter bagels. Let us know how they turn out!
Hi. I made the bagels today. They were very tasty! When I put them in the boiling water they sunk to the bottom. Are they supposed to do that?
Oh that is interesting. Mine have always floated. Did they still puff up when baking.
Not really, just a little bit.
Oh very interesting. I wonder if they needed more time to rise or something.
Hi Lisa,
What temperature do you bake the bagels at?
425 degrees
Hi Lisa! Congrats on baby #8! We have six-four biological and two adopted from China. I homeschooled all but the last one (autism and other issues), cook from scratch, though whole food plant based now, and have a huge garden that feeds us all winter long. My only baking however, includes my friends Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines, which is pretty much never. I earned a kitchen aid mixer many years ago selling Pampered Chef but never took it out of the box and ended up giving it away. I had brain surgery last month and my aunt came to visit and help out. She introduced me to sourdough starter and my first loaf of bread. While searching for more recipes I found you on YouTube and made your pizza crust and bagels. I used whole wheat flour for the bagels and they were good but a little dense. I topped half with everything bagel and the other half with garlic and vegan Parmesan. Everyone loved them! So much that my husband bought me a new GE stand mixer and different flours to experiment with! Thanks for your easy to follow videos!
Thank you, Tara! I am so glad you have discovered the world of sourdough baking! Thank you for your kind words and sharing your story!
I’ve been making these weekly lately- I think they’re so fun to make and my husband LOVES bagels. Thanks for this recipe!
So glad you enjoy it! It’s one of our favorites.
i have been working on getting these just right for a few months, and i finally feel like i got them down! These are so fun to make and so tasty. Thank you!
That’s awesome! It’s always worth the practice and effort that goes into it. Thanks for sharing!