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 made this dough twice step by step with active starter and both times it was so tough my kitchenaid couldn’t knead it. The second time I went with it and tried it out and after sitting overnight it was still too tough to shape into bagels, they kept tearing. Do you know why this might’ve happened? Thanks!
It is a firmer dough, but it shouldn’t give you troubles like that. I would try kneading by hand and working with the dough to make it more malleable.
I had to add another half cup of water to get the consistency described!
When would be the best time to add cinnamon and raisins? I made this recipe once before and tried adding them in during shaping and it was difficult to incorporate and I think because i worked them again so much they turned out to be tough.
I would add it during the kneading stage.
How much cinnamon and raisins would you add? Thanks:)
I usually eyeball based on how we like it! So, it is really a personal preference. But I’d say roughly 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of raisins. You can also use my cinnamon crunch bagel recipe for reference, too: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-cinnamon-crunch-bagels
This recipe did not work for me. I followed the recipe exactly, but the dough was way too stiff and would not mix all the flour even though I tried adding less than 1/2 cup at a time. Shaping the dough was extremely difficult and very dry.
I’m sorry for your frustration. I encourage you to try it again. I’ve not had that problem before.
I had the same problem. Way to flour and it wouldn’t mix in no matter what and now they are tough and hard to shape
Depending on the hydration of your sourdough starter and even your environment can make a big difference when baking. If it is hard to mix, I suggest adding a little more flour until the dough can be easily combined.
It’s only two cups of flour in steps one two, my dough is very runny like a pancake batter. Definitely not very stiff and difficult to incorporate… Am I missing something?
There should be more flour. You incorporate it 1-2 cups at a time.
My bagels are extremely tough. I know there are many variables but could you give me a few to pay attention to. Thank you
Depending on the circumstances, sometimes if there is too much flour it can cause the dough to become tough and not chewy like you’d want in a bagel.
I’m making this recipe, but bagels will be done proofing too late to boil/bake as the room temperature is colder, requiring longer proofing. I’m going to put in fridge, but tomorrow should I let them warm up again before boiling? Or can I go straight from fridge?
You should be able to go straight from the fridge if you already shaped them. If they still need to be shaped, then you can let them warm up a little bit to make the shaping easier.
AMAZING!! The easiest bagels I have EVER made!! My hubby took a bite and said YES!! And he has had Nee York bagels and said they are amazing!! Can’t wait to try other recipes!!! Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
If you want to incorporating fruit (blueberries) when do you add them. I only want it in a few of them not the whole batch
I actually have a post on blueberry bagels here you can reference: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/blueberry-sourdough-bagels
I’m making this recipe for the first time. During the fermenting process, should the dough grow and, if so, by how much? Mine doesn’t seem to be getting much larger and has been fermenting for nearly 8hrs. Thank you!
The dough should typically double in size!
Can you leave the dough in the fridge for a day or so before you bake?
Yes, for up to five days before baking.
At what point would you put it in the fridge? After it has sat on the counter for 8-12 hours?
I would put it in the fridge after shaping, but before boiling. I have also put it in the fridge at the end of the bulk rise when I didn’t have time to shape and boil at that particular moment. It does make shaping more difficult if you do it this way though.
After taking out of refrig how long should they sit before boiling?
If they went into the fridge shaped and have been in the fridge at least 12-15 hours, they can be boiled right away. If you put the dough in the fridge before shaping, I would take out the dough, let it sit out for 1-2 hours, then shape, rise for a few hours (2-4), and then boil.