Sourdough Bagels

Sourdough Bagel

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Sourdough Bagel
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Sourdough Bagel

Recipe by whenyourhungryCourse: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

25

minutes
Resting Time

2

hours 
Total time

2

hours 

40

minutes

Bagel is traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from a yeasted dough which is roughly hand sized. Bagels are firstly boiled for a short time in water and then baked. This homemade bagel recipe proves that you can make deliciously chewy bagels in your own kitchen with only a few basic ingredients.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cups warm water (150 ml)

  • 2 tsp active dry yeast

  • 2 tsp sugar/honey

  • ¼ cup sourdough starter  (Optional)

  • 2 cups flour (bread flour or all purpose flour)

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 egg white with 1 tbsp water (For egg wash)

  • For boiling the bagel

  • 8 cups water

  • 1 tbsp honey

Directions

  • For preparing the sourdough bagel dough, whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl along with sugar/honey. Cover and allow to sit while it gets activated. This would take about 5 minutes
  • Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate large bowl – Take the flour and salt and mix this well using a folk (aerate the dry ingredients)
  • Make a well in the center of the flour mix and add the sourdough starter. The starter is optional, you can skip this step if you do not have a sourdough starter
  • Pour the yeast mixture and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula mix this well until a shaggy dough is formed that is difficult to mix further
  • Turn this dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes  
  • If the dough seems very sticky, add a teaspoon of flour at a time until the dough starts to take shape. You would have finished kneading the dough when it is soft, smooth and the holds a ball-shape (Alternately, if you have a stand mixer, knead for about 6-8 minutes on low speed)
  • Let the dough now rise until it doubles in size, which would take about 2 hours. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place (oven with light on in colder weather places or either on the kitchen counter)
  • Shape the bagels when the dough is ready by punching it down to release and air bubbles. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and shape each into a ball shape
  • Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 2 inches in diameter
  • Cover the bagels in a muslin cloth for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath
  • Preheat the oven to 425F or 220C
  • For the water bath, use a large wide pot and heat up the 8 cups of water. Add honey and boil the water on medium high heat. Drop the bagels into the water, 2 at a time and make sure they have room to float around.
  • Cook the bagels for a minute on each side
  • Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel
  • Place the bagel onto a lined baking sheet, sprinkle with any seasoning if you prefer and bake for about 20-25 minutes until dark golden brown
  • Remove from the oven and allow the bagels to cool on the baking sheet for about 30 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack
  • Slice, toast and top your bagel with cream cheese, butter/ham or whatever are your favorite toppings

PRO TIP

  • Cover the leftover bagels in an airtight container and consume with 2-3 days or freeze for about a month, thaw and room temperature, toast and devour 
  • You can also double this recipe and that would yield 8 bagels 
  • Another option that you can also experiment is with half wheat flour/Rye flour and half all-purpose or bread flour. This bagel would still turn out to be delicious

Go check out https://whenyourhungry.com/category/bread/ for some more bread recipes

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