Homemade sourdough bagels are surprisingly easy to make when you’ve already got an active starter going. Imagine having your own bagel shop experience right at home! You can flavor your bagels however you like and serve them with your favorite smear and toppings.

Materials Needed

• Baking sheets
• Large mixing bowl
• Slotted spoon
• Kitchen towels
• Rubber spatula
• Large pot
• Timer

Ingredients

Yields ~12-13 bagels

Sourdough Bagels

• 300 g active starter
• 295-350 g warm water
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 382 g bread flour
• 382 g wheat or all-purpose flour
• For boiling (before baking): 1 Tbs baking soda

Directions

The Dough

1. Mix the starter with water, oil, and salt. Mix together with a rubber spatula.
2. Then add the flour and combine.
3. Cover the dough mix with a damp towel and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, knead the dough by hand for about 14 minutes or with a heavy-duty mixer with a kneading attachment for 7 minutes.

Proofing

1. Then, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow it to rest for four hours at room temperature.
2. Once the dough has proofed, uncover and split the dough into approx. 12-13 equal-sized balls, roll them with your hands, and form holes. Gently stretch the dough to shape them into bagels.
3. Place the shaped bagels onto lightly floured baking sheets. Cover again with a damp towel and allow to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours. You’ll know the bagels are ready for baking if you lightly press them with your finger and the dough bounces back into shape.

Baking

1. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add the baking soda. With a slotted spoon, transfer a bagel to the boiling baking soda water and boil for 20 seconds. Flip and to the other side and boil for 20 seconds and quickly transfer the bagel back to the baking sheet.
3. Repeat that step for each bagel. Re-apply flour, cornmeal or semolina to the baking trays to ensure the bagels don’t stick while baking.
4. Afterward, you may brush the tops of the bagels with milk (or dairy-free milk) and sprinkle on toppings such as sesame seeds or a mix of salt, garlic, and black pepper. In the video above our bagels are plain but this would be the stage in which you add toppings.
5. Then, place the trays in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the trays and bake for another 5-7 minutes, bagels should be golden brown on top.

More Deliciousness

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