The Best Sourdough Bagel Recipe

These soft, chewy, homemade sourdough bagels are so easy and delicious! This is truly the best sourdough bagel recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’m sure you’ll love it too!

I like to consider myself a bit of a… bagel connoisseur.

Firstly, they must be quite chewy on the outside, but not too chewy. 

Secondly, they need to be beautifully soft on the inside, yet still dense and firm enough to hold the cream cheese. 

Thirdly, they must be easy to slice.

Lastly, they need to stay fresh for at least a couple of days. (I’ve had my fair share of rock-hard bagels)

Sure, I could go to a grocery store and find a bagel that checks most of these boxes, but I also want something that nourishes and supports my body, and store-bought bagels tend to be loaded with chemicals, preservatives and generally bad ingredients! 

Are Sourdough Bagels Healthy?

Sourdough has so many benefits. Not only are you avoiding commercial yeast, but fermenting the dough makes your bread much easier to digest. 

Also, sourdough bagels taste amazing.

Seriously… I could eat 5 of these in a day. 

These homemade bagels are so versatile. Try making a bacon egg and cheese sandwich, mini pizzas, or a peanut butter and jelly! Smear them with cream cheese, butter, avocado, honey… the options are limitless. 

You can also check out my recipe for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels if you’re feeling something extra special!

Ingredients

200g. Active Sourdough Starter

500g. All Purpose Flour (You can also use bread flour. Organic flour gives the best results!)

9g. Salt

240g. Water

14g. Baking soda for boiling

How to make sourdough bagels

Beginning the day before you want finished bagels:

Combine the starter, flour, salt, and water in a mixing bowl, then knead for 10-15 minutes by hand, or 10 minutes with a stand mixer.

Shape into a ball and place back into mixing bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to ferment for 8 hours at room temperature.

Move the dough to your refrigerator and refrigerate overnight. 

In the morning, use a bench scraper to separate your dough into 8 equal pieces, then shape them by rolling each ball against the counter to form tension. Next, poke a hole in the center and stretch it out just a bit.

Place your shaped bagels onto a parchment lined baking sheet, then lightly cover with a damp tea-towel and allow to rise 1-2 hours. They should look puffy. 

Preheat your oven to 375 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (Using about 2 liters of water), and add 14g. (1 Tbsp.) of baking soda to the water. 

Carefully lift the bagels from the parchment paper and place in the boiling water. Boil the bagels for 1 minute, then flip and boil 1 more minute. Only cook 2-3 bagels at a time to avoid lowering the temperature of the water. 

Allow most of the water to drip off, then place them back on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake bagels for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Allow your bagels to cool for at least 10 minutes so that they can finish cooking on the inside.

How to store sourdough bagels

After cooling completely, you can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. 

Do not store in refrigerator, as this will make them go stale more quickly. 

For longer storage, simply pre-slice the bagels, (It’s not fun to slice a frozen bagel) and then freeze them. Place frozen bagels directly in the toaster; they’ll be good as new! 

Tips

If you want to use sourdough discard from a mature starter, you can. Just make sure the dough at least doubles in volume before you move it to the refrigerator. 

These can also be made with bread or whole wheat. If substituting with whole wheat, I would recommend using half whole wheat and half all-purpose, or else the bagels may end up a bit dense. 

Standard Measurements

Don’t have a kitchen scale? Not to worry! Just make sure you measure your flour carefully.

1 c. Sourdough Starter

4 c. All Purpose Flour

1 c. Water

1.5 tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Baking Soda (for boiling)

The Best Sourdough Bagel Recipe

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What are your favorite toppings to put on a bagel? Let me know down in the comments!