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.
When you say to cover the dough with a wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours, is that in the refrigerator or on the counter? Also, have you subbed in whole wheat flour of some of the AP flour? Thanks for all the great recipes!
On the counter! You may be able to sub a little bit of whole wheat for AP flour. I would try making the recipe first as it is, so you can get used to making the dough and know what it’s supposed to feel like before you swap for some whole wheat.
Hi!
Do you think this would work with a GF starter and GF 1:1 flour?
Thanks!
I’ve never tried it, but I would think it would work okay! If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Is it okay to use bread flour instead of AP flour?
Yes, that should be fine.
I agree that the dough was really tough after adding the additional 2 cups. I had to take out of my kitchenaid and knead by hand for the last little bit. I added in cinnamon, sugar and raisin to half of the bagels after fermentation. I ended up letting them proof after shaping for a little longer than 6 hours and they really puffed up. I used my enamel coated cast iron dutch oven to boil. The baking soda in the water I think really helped to actually clean my dutch oven because when I wiped it down after using it was sparkling clean. overall great recipe! thanks.
I make this recipe all the time in my house. I’ve probably made it about 10 times in the last couple months. It’s a staple for us! The only hiccup I have had is that I can’t seem to get it quite right when I freeze it to boil and bake on another day. They always come out dense and flat and I’ve tried all different rise times. Should I try baking them and then freezing them?
Yes you can freeze once they are baked!
I made your bagel recipe and this is my list of questions:
1. What does the baking soda in the water do?
2.The crust is a bit tougher than I prefer ( and the little ones can’t bite thru), is there a solution to soften the crust in this process?
3. May I say thankyou for all you do to produce these videos and recipes to share and teach us??!
The baking soda helps give that signature chewiness of a bagel. I’m not sure why it would be so tough. I’ve never experienced that. Do you think its possible they baked a bit too long? Thanks for your kind words!
Can you replace the honey with sugar in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it, so there may need to be some adjustments made. Let us know if you try it!
Are you able to make this recipe using discard?
It needs to be active in order for you to get a good rise.
I just mixed up the ingredients by hand and my dough is not super smooth. I did add a little more starter due to my house being very cold right now and that has seemed to help in other sourdough baking for this chilly time of year. Should I have added a little extra water to account for the extra starter?
Thanks so much Lisa we enjoyed these ! I used my instant pot yogurt setting for proofing for 8 hours. Doubled in size nicely. Have you ever tried using bread flour instead of AP? They came out a bit more fluffy than I would have liked for a bagel. Also baked at 425 deg for 15 mins and bottoms were almost burnt so plan to do 400 next time. Ovens and flour are different for everyone so just sharing incase others find the same. Thanks again just started my sourdough journey ! Love your blog and channel !
I haven’t tried bread flour, but I’m sure it would work! Let us know if you do and how they turn out!