These sourdough cinnamon crunch bagels are a super delicious and possibly addicting breakfast or brunch. Chewy bagels topped with a cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter topping that is baked until caramelized and crunchy.
I’ve been on a bagel kick lately trying out a bunch of different recipes. There is just nothing like a homemade bagel for breakfast (we also love to use them for sandwiches for lunch).
My original recipe can be made in so many ways, but I really had a taste for one that tasted just like a Panera cinnamon crunch bagel.
These turned out so amazing. They are fluffy while having a perfectly chewy texture and mouth watering crunchy cinnamon sugar topping.
Make this recipe for a special brunch, Christmas morning (you can even prep ahead so all you have to do is top with the cinnamon topping and bake in the morning), or really any day of the week. It’s really hard to just eat one. Even the little bits of caramelized sugar on the pan are delicious.
Also, these are guaranteed to make your house smell amazing and like a beautiful fall day is just wafting through the house.
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.
- When boiling the bagels in the water bath try not to overcrowd your pot. Also, the bagels should float.
- You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
- Make the dough ahead, allow to ferment at room temperature, and then pop into the fridge before or after shaping if you want to bake them later. I like to do it after shaping, because shaping the dough after refrigeration can be a bit challenging. You could also let it sit at room temperature for a bit before shaping as well.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Ingredients
Bagel Dough Ingredients
All-purpose flour: You could also use bread flour if desired. The amount of water may need to be adjusted.
Active sourdough starter: This is a starter that has been fed 4-12 hours before starting the dough. It is bubbly, active, and has about doubled in size. It should also pass the float test. Take a little bit of starter and place in a glass of water. If it floats it is ready to use.
Water: Preferably filtered water. Tap water may contain too much chlorine which can inhibit the wild yeast in the sourdough starter.
Cinnamon: This adds a nice warmth to the dough, perfect for fall and winter.
Salt: I prefer sea salt or Himalayan salt
Honey: You can also substitute with regular sugar or maple syrup.
Cinnamon Crunch Topping
Brown Sugar
Sugar: I like organic cane sugar. Regular white sugar will also work.
Melted butter: The butter acts like a glue to combine the crunch topping. It also gives it an amazing crust that melts over bagels.
Cinnamon: Pumpkin spice would also be amazing
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Measuring cups and spoons
Large pot or dutch oven
Parchment paper
Kitchen scale (optional)
Slotted spoon or spider
Bench scraper (optional, but handy)
How To Make Sourdough Cinnamon Crunch Bagels
Add sourdough starter, warm water, honey (maple syrup or sugar), salt, cinnamon, and two cups of all purpose flour to a bowl of a stand mixer.
Mix with the dough hook attachment until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. This is a pretty stiff dough.
Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Knead until it is smooth and pliable. You could also knead by hand, but the stand mixer makes this process much easier. Less of an arm workout.
Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap; allow to ferment at room temperature in a warm place for 8 to 12 hours for the first rise. The cover must be tight or damp or else a dry crust will form at the top of the dough, and while it will not completely ruin your homemade bagels, it makes it a little less desirable.
Shape
After the dough has fermented, divide into 8 equal pieces. I like to use a bench scraper to make it easier.
Roll the dough into balls in a circular motion, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your index finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
Place shaped bagels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rest in a warm spot for two hours or until puffy. The time will depend on how warm your house is. It could take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil and add the baking soda and sugar. If you are sensitive to baking soda, you can just use sugar.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and butter together. Set aside.
Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the boiling water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
Shake off excess water and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Generously sprinkle the top of the bagels with the sugar mixture. I like to try to mound it up right in the center.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the cinnamon mixture has a little crunch. Enjoy the delicious smells.
Serve with butter, cream cheese (hazelnut cream cheese would be amazing), nut butter, etc.
Storage:
Store in a paper bag at room temperature. Do not store in an airtight container, like a plastic bag. They will turn into a slimy mess. Trust me. They also do not freeze well.
FAQ:
Are sourdough bagels healthier?
Yes. They are higher in nutrients and lower in gluten making them easier to digest.
These bagels on the other hand do contain a lot of added sugar. So they are more of a special treat.
Why are my sourdough bagels tough?
Most likely it is due to a starter that was not active enough, over-fermentation of the dough, or they did not rise enough before baking.
Why didn’t my sourdough bagels rise?
This is most likely due to over-fermentation or under-fermentation of the bagel dough. Not giving the bagels adequate time to rise until about double, will leave you with flat bagels. If you allow the dough to rise too long, it could also lead to flat bagels.
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- My Favorite Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Blueberry Bagels
- Sourdough Buttermilk Pancakes
- Easy Sourdough Discard Pretzels
- Puff Pastry Made With Sourdough Starter
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back to the recipe card and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Cinnamon Crunch Bagels
Ingredients
Bagel Dough
- 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
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
For boiling the bagels
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Cinnamon Crunch Topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter-melted
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter, warm water, honey (maple syrup or sugar), salt, cinnamon, and two cups of all purpose flour to a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix with the dough hook attachment until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. This is a pretty stiff dough.
- Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Knead until it is smooth and pliable.
- Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap; allow to ferment at room temperature in a warm place for 8 to 12 hours for the first rise.
- After the dough has fermented, divide into 8 equal pieces. I like to use a bench scraper to make it easier.
- Roll the dough into balls in a circular motion, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your index finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
- Place shaped bagels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough rest in a warm spot for two hours or until puffy. It could take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a full boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and butter together. Set aside.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the boiling water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
- Shake off excess water and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Generously sprinkle the top of the bagels with the sugar mixture. I like to try to mound it up right in the center.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the cinnamon mixture has a little crunch. Enjoy the delicious smells.
- Serve with butter, cream cheese (hazelnut cream cheese would be amazing), nut butter, etc.
Notes
- When boiling the bagels in the water bath try not to overcrowd your pot. Also, the bagels should float.
- You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
- Make the dough ahead, allow to ferment at room temperature, and then pop into the fridge before or after shaping if you want to bake them later. I like to do it after shaping, because shaping the dough after refrigeration can be a bit challenging. You could also let it sit at room temperature for a bit before shaping as well.
- Store in a paper bag at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does this recipe apply to einkorn flour?
Delicious and easy to make! I’ll be starting more tonight to share the goodness. Going to use this recipe a lot! Thank you so much for willingly sharing all your recipes and advice. Merry Christmas!
So glad you enjoy this recipe!
What stand mixer do you use for your sourdough recipes? Thanks!
https://amzn.to/3TBrgXX (affiliate link)
These did not turn out like the picture at all. The topping melted off and ran all over the pan. These were too much work for a result that was disappointing
I had the same thing, the topping basically burnt and ran off the bagels and the bottoms are now soggy. They taste great! I would still like to make them again with modifications to get a crunchy topping.
I made these with a few modifications… Instead of adding cinnamon to the dough I added homemade cinnamon baking chips and folded them in right before shaping the bagels. Then I used turbinado sugar on top instead of regular sugar And it didn’t melt and run all over! Turned out fantastic!
We absolutely loved the results and I may not ever have to go buy bagels from Panera again 😂
Yum! That sounds delicious!
How dose the finished bagel do in the freezer? Are they good after being in the freezer?
I had the same experience as some others…my dough didn’t rise on the second rise (shaped bagels) and the sugar mixture mostly came off onto the pan. However, they’re still edible and although a bit tough- they’re delicious!! They won’t go to waste! I’m looking forward to trying some of the other bagel recipes as this is the first I have ever made. Thank you for all the inspiration!!!
My dough isn’t rising. I used really bubbly starter, I put the dough in a warm oven for both risings, and it’s just not rising.
Hmm. Did you try the float test to make sure it was ready? How long did it rise? How warm was the oven? There could be a lot of variables.
My dough is also not rising. It didn’t rise in the BF nor are the bagels getting puffy after shaping. The starter was nice and bubbly and also passed the float test.
It could have something to do with temperature or rise time. There are a lot of factors.
From my experience, it’s the cinnamon in the dough. It inhibits the rise. I tried the recipe, as written, the first time. My bagels did not rise and were super dense and flat. They did not float either. This has not happened to me in all of my times making bagels.
The second time around I did not add the cinnamon during the bulk ferment. I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon after the bulk ferment and before shaping into bagels. I did not have any issues with them rising. They rose fine, floated, and were delicious!
That is good to know! I actually had that thought after a few people had said they were having issues with it rising. I haven’t and have used cinnamon is previous recipes as well. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Plan ahead and just make them. You won’t be sorry!
Do you prefer cup or weight (gram) measurements? Does it matter? For example, if recipe calls for 3 cups or 400 grams of flour. But, after adding 2 1/2 cups of flour it already weighs 400 grams. Do you add the other 1/2 cup? Or do you stop at 2.5 cups. It seems like certain brands of flour can weigh more? Thanks
It depends on the recipe. Sometimes it is just easier to set a bowl on the kitchen scale and measure everything out. And sometimes I will just use volume measurements. That is why I like to include both, so you can use what works best for you!
How much baking soda and sugar to add to boiling water?
Oops, fixed the recipe card.
The cinnamon crunch topping just melts and dissolves all over the bagel and on the pan. How can you cook the bagels the full time WITH the topping on it and it not melt away? I guess I will try adding it later in the cooking time?
Some will fall off the bagel, but it shouldn’t be the majority. I usually pile it up in the middle to avoid losing the topping.
I have done this recipe twice and 90% melts off the bagel and onto the pan and burns. Both times I piled right in the middle ;( help!
Oh no. It could be that the brown sugar mixture is too moist. Maybe add a little less butter or add a little more brown sugar.