You guys are going to love this incredibly easy no kneed sourdough bagel recipe! You can use discard or active starter and is a great beginner recipe! Sourdough bagels are so versatile, you can have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack!
Sourdough bagels are not only healthier than your conventional store-bought bagels, but they seriously taste better as well! The flavours are just more complex and delicious. Just a little farther down I’ll have a video on how to make these for you as well!
These bagels are soft and chewy on the inside and have that bit of crunch on the outside. Don’t worry I will give step by step instructions from mixing the dough, letting it rise, shaping and boiling. It might sound complicated, but I promise you it’s not. Let’s get started!
Sourdough Bagel Video
Sourdough Bagel Ingredients
For this sourdough bagel recipe you will need a few key ingredients.
Sourdough starter: You can use active or discard for this recipe. I have used both with great success.
Flour: I use Khorasan flour as it’s a light, fluffy ancient flour but you can use white flour or a different flour as well.
Water: I use filtered water.
Sugar: You can use honey or raw sugar. I have used both and it works great and taste great with either option. We are only using a little.
Salt: I love sea salt for all the good minerals.
Baking Soda: I add this into the boiling water it helps give the bagels their chewiness and makes them shiny like a pretzel.
Tools You Might Need!
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- Large Pot for boiling bagels
- Parchment paper or Silicone mats. I love silicone mats as you can reuse them over and over again!
- Fork or dough whisk! I love my dough whisk
- Knife or dough scraper! Also love the dough scraper check out this set comes with everything you’d ever want for an amazing price!
How to make sourdough bagels
- With a fork or a dough whisk (I Absolutely love my wooden dough mixer!) mix together the sourdough starter, water, sweetener and salt together. Add the flour 2 cups first and mix.
- Then add the rest of the flour, once you can’t mix it anymore with the whisk mix it with your hands until it forms a nice smooth ball.
2. Oil the bowl and leave your dough ball to rise in the bowl in a warm spot. Make sure it’s covered so the outside of the ball doesn’t go hard. Depending on how warm it is it can take as little as 4 hours to double up to about 12 hours.
3. After it has double in size divide the pieces into 8 equal parts. I use my dough scraper to cut the pieces, but a knife will work just fine!
4. Roll each piece into a ball and then poke a hole in the middle. Cover with a wet tea towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for about another 2 hours.
5. Preheat your oven to 220c/425F. Get a large pot of water boiling. I think it’s faster to boil the 6 cups of water in my kettle and pour into the pot. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of baking soda and give it a quick stir.
6. Gently place your bagels into the pot. I fit 2-3 at a time. Let the cook for about one minute on each side. Use a large spoon to help turn them gently and then remove from the heat onto a plate.
7. Add desired toppings if you choose to do so. My children are a bit picky so we don’t actually add anything on top of ours.
8. Place the bagels on parchment paper or silicone mat and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden.
9. Once they are done remove from oven and let them cool on a cooling rack for about another hour. They will continue cooking inside. Cut them in half and enjoy!
10. You can store these on the counter in a bread bag for a couple days, the fridge in a plastic bag or bread bag for a solid week or you can pre cut them and store in the freezer for months!
Sourdough Bagel Topping Ideas
sesame seeds
poppy seeds
shredded cheese
everything bagel seasoning
How To Store Bagels
for this sourdough bagel recipe, I store my bagels in zip loc freezer bags once they have completely cooled. They will last several days on the counter away from direct light in zip loc bags.
You can store them in the fridge. I tend to toast them if they have been stored in the fridge and they taste so lovely with a bit of melted butter and whatever other toppings you like. They have lasted up to 10 days for me in the fridge.
You can also precut them and store them in the freezer in zip loc freezer bags. They will lasts months this way! Just take them out and let them defrost on the counter or in the fridge and enjoy!
What To Eat With Sourdough Bagels
There are so many ways to use your sourdough bagels! Here are a few ideas!
- Enjoy them with cream cheese and a bit of honey on top.
- Enjoy them like you would a sandwich! Place your favourite toppings inside and eat up!
- Cook up some eggs, bacon and cheese and put them into your bagels!
- Add your favourite spread on top and enjoy as a light snack or lunch option!
- Place smoked salmon top with a bit of rocket and cream cheese!
The flavour combinations are endless so have fun and enjoy!
Sourdough Bagel Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter can be discard or active
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 tbsp honey or raw sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 1/2 cups flour I use Khorasan but any should do
- 6 cups boiling water
- 1 tbsp sugar for water
- 1 tbsp baking soda for water
Instructions
- With a fork or a dough whisk, mix together the sourdough starter, water, sweetener and salt together. Add the flour 2 cups first and mix. Then add the rest of the flour, once you can't mix it anymore with the whisk mix it with your hands until it forms a nice smooth ball.
- Oil the bowl and leave your dough ball to rise in the bowl in a warm spot. Make sure it's covered so the outside of the ball doesn't go hard. Depending on how warm it is it can take as little as 4 hours to double up to about 12 hours.
- After it has double in size divide the pieces into 8 equal parts. I use my dough scraper to cut the pieces, but a knife will work just fine!
- Roll each piece into a ball and then poke a hole in the middle. Cover with a wet tea towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for about another 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 220c/425F. Get a large pot of water boiling. I think it's faster to boil the 6 cups of water in my kettle and pour into the pot. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of baking soda and give it a quick stir.
- Gently place your bagels into the pot. I fit 2-3 at a time. Let the cook for about one minute on each side. Use a large spoon to help turn them gently and then remove from the heat onto a plate.
- Add desired toppings if you choose to do so. My children are a bit picky so we don't actually add anything on top of ours.
- Place the bagels on parchment paper or silicone mat and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden.
- Once they are done remove from oven and let them cool on a cooling rack for about another hour. They will continue cooking inside. Cut them in half and enjoy!
- storing instructions are written in blog post.
Questions And Answers
Why Do You Boil Bagels?
Bagels are boiled so they don’t continue to expand in the oven and it also gives them that shiny lovely crust we think of when we buy a bagel.
Why do you add sugar and baking soda to the water?
Adding sugar and baking soda to bagel water gives you a chewier bagel and also helps with the shininess of the crust.
Are Sourdough Bagels Healthy?
Sourdough bagels are healthier than normal bagels as they are fermented. This allows the gluten to break down in them and makes it easier to digest.
Depending on the flour and toppings you use will determine how healthy of a breakfast or snack option this becomes!
Why Aren’t My Sourdough Bagels Chewy?
If your mixture is too dense and hard your bagels will be dense and hard. Make sure your dough feels light and airy. It shouldn’t be a super tough dough.
For this sourdough bagel recipe, I do not need to knead my dough. If you find your dough is super hard it might need to be kneaded either by hand or in a mixer.
Why Aren’t My Sourdough Bagels Rising?
If your bagels are under proofed, they won’t rise as much. You want to make sure they double in size during the first fermentation and let them rise a bit more during the second fermentation. They should feel light and fluffy when handling them.
These look yummy! Can’t wait to make them!
I can never seem to get sourdough bagels quite right. I’ll have to try your recipe. They look delicious!
I hope it works for you! Let me know if you give it a go!
Can’t wait to try this!
Looks very do-able, will have to try them!
The recipe says it makes 8, however you say to cut into 4 equal parts and roll and make a hole. Shouldn’t it be 8 parts?
Hi, Thank you for bringing that up! I fixed it and wrote divide into 8 equal parts. I originally intended on writing divide into 4 parts and then halve each one, but it made more sense to just write divide into 8 equal parts! I hope you went ahead and made 8 as you would have ended up with 4 very large bagels!