You all know I love me some sourdough. I've taken a long time to perfect my recipes so you can easily enjoy them as well.
Get yourself a scale and dive right in! I keep all the seasonings on hand that I like for my "everything" - sesame, poppy seeds, onion flakes, garlic powder. I like to do it this way and make my own because one, it's cheaper, and two, I can go ahead and customize how garlicky I want it! You also control the salt this way, because some premade blends are pretty heavy on the salt.
This is a two-day adventure, so make sure you count backwards from when you want to serve them to make sure you know when to start the dough.
Tips for Bagel Making
You'll create your dough and let it rest/rise for 8-12 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Then after you shape them, they will rest again for 2-3 hours. Finally, you boil them and then you are ready to bake! That's why you need to start these far ahead from when your last batch runs out.
Shaping a bagel takes some practice. The fastest way to make smooth bagels is making a 6-inch log of dough, overlapping the ends, and rolling it on the counter to "seal." Once you master this I think it's really the best way, and you'll notice that is the classic shape you see on bakery bagels.
Another way is to simply roll a ball and poke your finger through the center. Spin it on your fingers a bit to widen the hole and there ya go. These are often lopsided for me but it gets the job done.
Roll into a log about 6 inches long, and then kind of loop the rope around your hand so the ends are overlapped under your fingers, and roll them together on the counter to create a bagel. This is the fastest way to make smooth bagels, but you can also do this; roll each hunk of dough into a ball. Poke a finger through the middle of the ball and spin it around to create a bigger loop. Once you master the log roll method, you will much prefer it!
I boil my bagels in sugar water before baking. This gives them the slight crust or glaze that you normally see on bagels. I don't use baking soda because that will give them a pretzel-y flavour and also makes them brown even more. You can go ahead and switch it up but just keep that in mind depending on what you are looking for.
When all the bagels are done, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with optional extra seeds. Seeds are beautiful and texturally fun but make a huge mess anytime someone cuts, toasts, and butters a bagel. So if it's kids doing their own prep, I lean towards no seeds to keep a semblance of countertop sanity.
These freeze super well so don't be afraid to make extra! Just label them and chuck them in the freezer for a quick brunch when guests come over. Make sure you also have homemade butter on hand!
And if you really do get tired of the bagels, feel free to give them a large dice, toss with some olive oil, and bake until you have croutons for your garden salad.
Sourdough Everything Bagels
Ingredients
- 450 grams active sourdough starter starter that doubled and is bubbly but not sunk
- 750 grams water
- 75 grams sugar
- 1500 grams all purpose flour
- 30 grams salt
- 40 grams sesame seeds
- 40 grams poppy seeds
- 60 grams onion flakes
- 15 grams garlic powder
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add starter, water, and sugar together and mix. Add flour, salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes, and garlic powder. Knead for a few minutes; it's a really stiff dough. Cover and let rise 8-10 hours in a warm place or overnight if it's cooler in your house.
- Dump dough onto counter and divide into 12-18 balls, depending on how big of a bagel you like. Roll into a log about 6 inches long, and then kind of loop the rope around your hand so the ends are overlapped under your fingers, and roll them together on the counter to create a bagel. This is the fastest way to make smooth bagels, but you can also do this; roll each hunk of dough into a ball. Poke a finger through the middle of the ball and spin it around to create a bigger loop. Once you master the log roll method, you will much prefer it!
- Let bagels rest 2-3 hours, covered, on the counter.
- When ready to boil, bring 2-3 quarts of water and ¼ cup of sugar to a boil in a 1 gallon or bigger pot. Gently drop bagels in, 5-6 at a time, boiling 1 minute on either side. When they're done boiling, put on a parchment or silpat lined tray.
- When all the bagels are done, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with optional extra seeds. Seeds are beautiful and texturally fun but make a huge mess anytime someone cuts, toasts and butters a bagel…so if it's kids eating them, I lean towards no seeds to keep a semblance of countertop sanity.
- Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, turning pans around halfway. They should be just starting to brown.
Notes
- This will make 2-3 dozen bagels depending on how big you make them.
- These slice and freeze really well, and we also discovered that leftovers make excellent croutons!
Melissa Shepps
These are amazing, my family devoured them!
Would it be hard to make different flavored bagels based on this recipe?
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No you could use whatever additions you would like. Get as creative as you want!
Kels
Instead of sugar, could we sub honey?
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Yes you can you would just need to adjust the amount due to honey being a liquid.
Rosie Velisavljevic
The dough was beautiful it was so big it exploaded from my kitchen aid vessel over night they proved beautifully on the counter after shaping and I'd placed them on well floured parchment but they stuck terribly when removing to boil so they are delicious but lost a lot of their rise in the cooking.
Kirsten Johnston
This happened to me the first time I made the bagels. The second time I rubbed a small amount of coconut oil onto the parchment and they came off easily without damaging the bagels.
Lisa
So delicious! Made 24 with the expectation that half would go in the freezer, but that didn't happen bc my family devoured them. No substitutions or corrections needed, great recipe!
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Well done!
Claire
These are great, absolutely loved them! About broke my stand mixer with these though, a lot of dough hahah.
Laura
I've made these 3 times now - never disappointed. Tonight I'm baking everything, plain and cinnamon raisin.
Emilie
This was only my 2nd ever time baking
With sourdough and they turned out amazing ! Thank you
Rebecca
Very yummy and very straight forward. I make them plain without the seeds inside or out and they turn out great each time. I also usually half the recipe so my kitchenaid can handle it and it usually makes 10 130g bagels.