This easy sourdough bagel recipe can be made using discard and will have you wondering why you haven’t made them before! Trust me, you’ll never buy them from the store again – especially if you make a double batch and stash a batch in the freezer. Get your sourdough starter ready … because you are going to want to make these immediately!
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Why You’ll Love This Reipce!
- Chewy Texture – These sourdough bagels have a complex sourdough flavor and deeply golden, chewy texture thanks to sourdough fermentation.
- Add Your Own Toppings – You can bake these as plain sourdough bagels, or add toppings like poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds. You can adjust this recipe to suit any topping preference.
- Easy Breakfast Idea – Just like sourdough English muffins, these sourdough bagels are an easy breakfast idea that can be made ahead and frozen for added convenience.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter – I prefer to use active sourdough starter, but I’ve added notes for using discard further down.
- Bread Flour
- Water
- Sugar
- Salt
- Honey – This is just for boiling the bagels in before you bake them. You can also use baking soda if you prefer.
How To Make Sourdough Bagels
Making sourdough bagels is incredibly easy! It’s a lower hydration dough which is really easy to work with. While you can knead this sourdough bagel recipe by hand, I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Add your active sourdough starter, water, flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and bring together to form a shaggy dough using the dough hook attachment. Allow the dough to rest for around 15 minutes.
Knead the dough, either in your stand mixer or by hand, for around 10 minutes until it is smooth and supple. If you’re using a stand mixer, make sure you leave the mixer on a low speed. You’ll know the dough is ready to move to bulk fermentation when it’s slapping the sides of the bowl. This is a stiff dough (much like sandwich bread dough) so it won’t be super elastic, however it should be smooth and not sticky.
Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, you’ll need to allow it to rise or ferment at room temperature. You want the dough to double and be puffy and soft.
Once the dough has risen, you’ll need to shape the bagels. It’s quite simple, you just need a little patience. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (75 grams each). Shape each piece of dough into a small ball.
Take each ball and poke a hole in the middle.
Gently stretch the hole out and then place each bagel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Kate’s Pro Tip
The Bagel Boiling Trick That Saves Their Shape
To avoid disturbing your proofed bagels, place each one on a small square of parchment paper before proofing. When it’s time to boil them, lower the bagels into the water with the paper still attached, paper side up. The water will loosen the parchment so you can gently peel it away without stretching the dough or ruining the shape.
Cover the shaped bagels with a flour sack towel and allow them to proof until they become lovely and puffy. Don’t use plastic wrap here as it will stick to the bagels and can be really hard to remove without breaking the outer skin of the bagels.
While they are puffing up, bring a pot of water with 40 grams of honey added to the boil and preheat your oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
When the water is boiling, carefully place 3-4 bagels into the boiling water at a time. You want to boil them for around 30 seconds each.
They should float to the surface and that’s when you know to take them out. If you prefer really chewy bagels, boil them for up to 2 minutes each. Carefully remove the bagels from the boiling water using a slotted spoon.
If you want to add seeds or seasonings, dip the wet bagel into the seeds/seasonings before placing on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. You can leave them plain if you wish.
Bake the bagels for around 20 – 25 minutes at 200ºC (400ºF), until they are a deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven when they are golden brown. Allow them to cool before you enjoy them!
Using Sourdough Discard
You can make these sourdough bagels using discard or fed starter. I love making them with fed, bubbly starter and leaving the to bulk ferment on the counter overnight. It gives them such a lovely, distinct sourdough flavor. If you would like to use discard, I recommend adding just a pinch of yeast, particularly if you’re still in the establishment stage of your sourdough starter. This means you can still leave them on the counter overnight if you want to.
Adding more than a pinch of commercial yeast will make them rise much faster – and this is good if you need them in a hurry (tell me it’s not just me that wakes up craving bagels for breakfast?).
So there’s a few options I’ve given – and I’ve put them in a little table to make it easier to understand:
| Starter | Yeast | Bulk Ferment |
| Fed, Active Sourdough Starter | No | Overnight (or until the dough has doubled). |
| Sourdough Discard | Pinch | Overnight (or until the dough has doubled). |
| Sourdough Discard | Up to 7g | Around 1-2 hours (or until the dough has doubled). |
This is a great resource if you’re confused about the difference between sourdough starter and sourdough discard.
Notes on Shaping Bagels
Over the past few years, I’ve tested many different methods of shaping sourdough bagels. From poking a hole in the middle of a ball of dough, to making ropes and twisting them to even more complicated methods!
And do you know what, I have come to the conclusion that the easiest shaping method is my original “poking holes” in a ball of dough. It might not be the most glamorous of methods, but it’s easy for beginners and works every time! Plus, when you boil the bagels, you don’t risk the ends of the bagels coming apart, which can sometimes happen if you’re using the rope method to shape them.
Alternative Bagel Shaping Method
If you prefer the traditional rope method, start by gently flattening one piece of dough into a rough rectangle. Roll it up tightly from one long edge, pinching the seam closed as you go. Roll the dough into a rope around 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) long, leaving the center slightly thinner than the ends.
Wrap the rope around your fingers, overlapping the two ends by about 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Press the ends together firmly, then roll the seam gently against your work surface to seal it. Place the shaped bagel seam side down on your prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
Kate’s Pro Tip
How To Keep the Hole in Your Bagels
To make sure your bagels keep their signature hole, stretch the dough a little more than you think you need to after poking the hole. You can place your index finger inside and gently spin the dough to smooth and widen the center. As the bagels proof, the dough will relax and the hole will shrink slightly, so starting with a larger hole helps it stay open through boiling and baking.
Why Do You Boil Sourdough Bagels?
Sourdough bagels are different from other types of rolls because they are boiled in water before being baked in the oven. They can be boiled in plain water or water with baking soda, lye, malt syrup or honey added. I find they taste best when boiled in honey water. The honey gives them the most lovely golden crust once baked.
The boiling of the bagels sets the crust and gives them their signature chewiness. The longer you boil them, the chewier the crust will be. They will look a little lumpy and bumpy after boiling. This is normal and they will still bake as per normal. Once they are boiled, you can dip them in any seeds you’d like to top them with. The boiled bagels will be wet and a little sticky so the seeds will stick to them.
Timeline for Sourdough Bagels
It’s really good to have a timeline worked out for baking sourdough bagels – so that you can have them baked fresh for breakfast.
It can be overwhelming to schedule sourdough, so here’s the timetable I work to when making these for breakfast. Remember this is an example only!
DAY 1
Lunchtime – feed sourdough starter.
7 pm – mix the bagel dough and set aside to ferment overnight.
DAY 2
6 am – shape sourdough bagels and set aside to get puffy.
7.30 am – preheat oven and put on pot of boiling water.
7.45 am – boil bagels and then into the oven by 8am
Using this timetable, you could be eating warm bagels by 8.30 am! If you are using discard with a little yeast, this timetable will still work – just make sure it’s literally just a pinch or they will over ferment overnight. You might also enjoy this guide to creating sourdough baking timetables.
Serving Suggestions
Bagels can be enjoyed with both sweet and savory toppings. You can pretty much put anything you like on a bagel. Traditionally they are eaten with cream cheese or lox – but these days, pretty much anything goes!
Some of the most delicious toppings for your bagels include:
- Cream cheese, deli ham and sliced tomato with lashings of black pepper.
- Smoked salmon, cucumber and cream cheese topped with some fresh dill.
- Seeded bagels are delicious with this whipped garlic and herb butter.
- Plain bagels work well with this cream cheese fig spread (seriously yummy) or this cultured butter.
You can personalise these easy sourdough bagels by topping them with your favorite seeds and seasonings or you might like to try these sourdough pumpkin bagels, jalapeño cheddar sourdough bagels, sourdough rye bagels, cinnamon raisin sourdough bagels or these sourdough egg bagels! And if you love things bite sized don’t miss these sourdough discard bagel bites with honey cream cheese dip!
How To Store + Freeze
Sourdough bagels are best eaten fresh. Allow them to cool a little and then slice them open. They should be consumed within 12 hours of baking for the best crust and crumb experience.
They do freeze well. I use a large resealable plastic bag and place the bagels in. You can then remove them as you need. Allow them to defrost completely before toasting or warming slightly in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flat sourdough bagels are generally a result of under fermentation or under proofing. This means you haven’t allowed the sourdough starter or yeast to fully rise the dough which means they won’t puffy up properly when you bake them. They will dense and much more chewy than they should be. The solution for this is to allow the bagels plenty of time to rise, particularly after shaping.
Bagels are often boiled in honey, sugar or even malt syrup. All of these ingredients are high in sugar. Bagels are then placed onto a baking tray where the bottom is in contact with the tray. As they are quite small, bagels don’t take long to bake and the extra sugar sitting on the crust can cause premature browning. Just keep an eye on your bagels while baking to ensure you can turn the temperature down if necessary.
No you can’t over knead bagel dough, particularly because bagel dough is generally very low in hydration which means you really do need to work the dough hard to ensure it’s fully combined and the gluten network develops sufficiently.
I highly recommend using a stand mixer. It’s quite low hydration and is a stiffer dough than a regular sourdough bread. If you are using a regular stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, 5 to 10 minutes at speed 2 will get the dough mixed. Just remember to give the machine a break every 2 minutes to protect the motor.
You can knead this dough by hand but it will take lots of muscles to get the dough worked through. But it’s definitely doable! Whatever you do – do not add extra water to the dough as this can make the dough too soft and you will not be able to shape the bagels correctly.
I do always add diastatic malt powder to my dough when making sourdough bagels as it improves the color and flavor of the crust. If you have some on hand, I recommend adding it, particularly if your bread flour doesn’t already have it added.
Sourdough Discard Bagels Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer recommended
- Baking Trays
- Stock Pot for boiling bagels
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 100 g Sourdough Starter, can be discard or fed and bubbly
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 250 g Water, warm
- 30 g Sugar
- 10 g Salt
For Boiling
- 2 Litres Water
- 40 g Honey
Instructions
- I recommend using a stand mixer for this recipe as it is a stiff dough and can easily be kneaded in a stand mixer.Add sourdough starter (discard), water, flour, sugar, yeast (if using) and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer and bring together to form a shaggy dough (you can use the paddle for this part). Allow the dough to rest for around 15 minutes.
- Knead the dough (you'll need to use a dough hook for stand mixers) for around 10 minutes until it is smooth and supple. This is a stiff dough (much like sandwich bread dough) so it won't be super elastic, however it should be smooth and not sticky. Remember to give the stand mixer a break every few minutes.
- Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, you'll need to allow it to rise or ferment. You want the dough to double and be puffy and soft.
- Once the dough has risen, you'll need to shape the bagels. It's quite simple, you just need a little patience. Divide the dough into 12 pieces weighing 75 grams each. Shape each piece of dough into a small ball.
- Take each ball and poke a hole in the middle. Gently stretch the hole out and then place each bagel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the bagels with a flour sack towel and allow them become lovely and puffy.
- While they are puffing up, bring a pot of water with 40 grams of honey added to the boil and preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
- When the water is boiling, carefully place 3-4 bagels into the boiling water at a time. You want to boil them for around 30 seconds each. They should float to the surface and that's when you know to take them out.If you prefer really chewy bagels, boil them for up to 2 minutes each.
- Carefully remove the bagels from the boiling water using a slotted spoon.If you want to add seeds or seasonings, dip the wet bagel into the seeds/seasonings before placing on a baking tray.You can leave them plain if you wish. I like to do a mix of seeded and plain.
- Bake the bagels for around 20 – 25 minutes at 200ºC/400ºF. Remove them from the oven when they are golden brown.
- Allow them to cool before you enjoy them!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Help! I think this is 100% user error here. I have made these 3 times now with discard and yeast, extremely active starter and yeast with active starter. The first rise always goes great but after shaping I get them to rise slightly but once I touch them to boil they fall completely flat. I’m not sure what I sm doing wrong but I am determined to make them work lol. Please help me 😭
Mine are always very mishapen when I boil them, but they always puff up when they hit the hot oven. A little tip that can help is to proof the bagels on small pieces of parchment paper and then when you add them to the boiling water, you just put the bagel in with the paper attached and it will soak off while they are boiling. That way you don’t deflate them. Try this and see how they go 🙂
I was skeptical about a pinch of yeast using discard. but I was wrong. the recipe worked well. I was very happy to discover this overnight thing for breakfast… thank you. it’s definitely far better than most bagels I’ve had. it’s a bit tough to chew within after an hour of making. fresh from oven was loveliest. but then on heating it was better again.