Name: The Best Easy Sourdough Bagels
Prep time: 720 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 778 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Active Sourdough Starter; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 2 tablespoons oil; 1 1/4 cups warm water; 3 1/2 cups flour; For Boiling & Topping Bagels:; 2 tablespoons Baking Soda; 1 egg

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These easy homemade sourdough bagels have a nice chewy crust but are pillowy soft on the inside. The perfect recipe for a sourdough beginner!

bagels on a white plate on a wood counter top

Why Make Sourdough Bagels Instead of Yeast Bagels?

Sourdough not only imparts a delicious tangy flavor to the bagel, but also creates nice chewy bagels that are smooth and firm on the outside while being soft on the inside.

Aside from taste, sourdough uses wild yeasts to rise the dough instead of commercial yeast. While commercial yeasts rises faster, the wild yeast in sourdough provide more than just a rise in your dough.

Bread items that are long fermented can provide benefits in easier digestion, lower gluten content and gut healthy probiotics, making your favorite bread items a better alternative to typical breads made with commercial yeast.

two bagels on a white plate, one with everything bagel seasoning and one plain.

How to Enjoy Sourdough Bagels:

Toasted and filled with cream cheese and topped with everything bagel seasoning is my favorite way to enjoy them! However there are so many ways to enjoy them–bagel egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, ham and cheese lunch sandwiches and even pizza bagels.

Topping options are also limitless here are a few of our favorite toppings: brown sugar cinnamon, sesame seeds, plain, poppy seeds, blueberry, jalapeño cheddar and more! Toppings are the perfect way to get creative with sourdough recipes like these homemade bagels.

This easy sourdough bagel recipe uses the exact same dough for my favorite sourdough sandwich loaf. In fact, many times I double my sandwich loaf recipe so I can make a sandwich bread and 8 bagels at the same time!

This dough can be made overnight or long fermented. I love the benefits of a longer fermentation so I usually put my dough in the fridge for 18-24 hours after mixing. Don’t be scared by sourdough terms like “fermentation” if you are new to sourdough! I will explain this process step by step. With only 6 ingredients, you will be making bagels in no time!

What You Will Need:

Bench Scraper or Knife
Stand Mixer (or good arm muscles)
Large Pot
Slotted Spoon or Spider Strainer
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

Active Sourdough Starter (see note in FAQ about using discard)
All Purpose Flour
Sugar (white sugar, brown sugar or honey)
Salt
Oil
Baking Soda
Toppings (optional)

SAMPLE BAKING SCHEDULE:

7 AM Feed sourdough starter a 1:1 ratio of water to flour. I feed about 1/2 cup of each.

7 PM Mix together the bagel dough and put in the fridge to ferment.

7 AM Remove dough from the fridge and allow to warm up.

8 AM Shape, boil and bake bagels.

9 AM Eat.

HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BAGELS:

Prepare the Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer mix together active sourdough starter, sugar, salt, oil, water and all purpose flour. If you are adding an inclusion like blueberries, jalapeños, cheese, etc. add up to 1/2 a cup to the dough now.

Mix on low until a smooth dough ball forms.

Knead the dough for 3 or 4 minutes in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and lightly oil the top of the dough with olive oil so it doesn’t dry out. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and place in the fridge for 12-18 hours to let the dough rise. For a longer fermentation, let the sourdough bagel dough sit for up to 24 hours.

Note: I have let my bagel dough sit even longer (up to 48 hours) in the fridge and it has been fine, but I can’t recommend that it works every time without more testing.

When you want to make bagels, remove your bagel dough from the fridge and allow it to warm up on the counter for about an hour.

Shaping Sourdough Bagels:

Split your dough in to 8 equal dough ball pieces using a knife or bench scraper. If you want precise measurements, use a kitchen scale to weigh out the dough pieces.

I don’t worry with using a kitchen scale for precise measurements, instead I just split my dough into four quarters then half each quarter to make 8 pieces that are roughly the same size.

Roll each dough piece into a smooth ball by tucking in the edges of the dough towards the center and then rolling the dough seam side down across the counter towards you to build tension in the dough and form a smooth dough ball. Check out the video linked below for a step by step tutorial.

Once all 8 dough pieces are rolled into a ball, work one by one to create the classic bagel shape. To poke a hole in the middle press your thumbs through the center of the dough ball and work your hands around the dough to make a bagel shape.

Continue this process for all 8 dough balls.

Once done, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Boiling Sourdough Bagels:

Boiling shaped bagels in water with baking soda is what gives bagels there unique chewy crust.

To do this, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the water.

Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, dip in 2-3 bagels at a time and boil them for 30 seconds on each side.

The bagels should float or at least hover in the water above the bottom. Be sure to not let any bagels sink and stick to the bottom of the pan.

Remove the boiled bagels to a parchment lined sheet pan spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Repeat the process until all bagels have been boiled.

Topping Sourdough Bagels:

If you are using a topping to sprinkle over the top such as everything bagel seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt etc. you will want to make an egg wash to help the toppings stick.

In a small bowl, beat one whole egg.

Using a basting brush, lightly coat each boiled sourdough bagel.

Sprinkle on the toppings of your choice.

Baking Sourdough Bagels:

Bake the bagels at 425 degrees for 25-28 minutes.

IMPORTANT: Resist temptation and do not cut into the warm bagels until they are fully cooled! I know, warm bread is the BEST, but trust me on this one. These bagels continue to bake on the inside after being pulled from the oven. If you cut into them before they are cooled, the bagels will still be gummy on the inside.

Once completely cooled, cut them open and slather with cream cheese. Enjoy!

Store leftovers in an air tight container.

Bagels freeze well in a an air tight freezer bag for up to 3 months.

FAQ:

Can I use discard to make sourdough bagels? Recently fed discard (within a couple days) can be used with a longer fermentation period. I have done this many times with success, but you need to make sure you have a very strong active starter. I would not try this with the discard from a brand new starter.

Can I add inclusions like jalapeños, cheese, blueberries, nuts, etc. into the dough? Yes! Inclusions should be mixed in before shaping or when mixing the dough. Either tends to work fine. Toppings like poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds etc. are added right before baking.

I forgot my dough in the fridge for more than 24 hours, can I still use it? Probably. This is the reason I love sourdough. There is SO much flexibility! I have successfully made bagels that sat in the fridge for 48 hours or so several times. I do my bulk ferment in the fridge for this very reason, because the cold slows down fermentation preventing overfermented dough that is hard to shape and bake. If the dough feels so puffy and loose that its hard to shape, it probably won’t do well. However if the dough feels strong and firm I would give it a try!