Sourdough Bagel Recipe
Complex with a pleasant sour undertone, these sourdough bagels are dense, chewy, and perfect for your breakfast table. Topped with seeds and spices, they have a rich and vibrant flavor. While they're easy to make, these bagels need advanced prep, but it's so worth it.
Servings: 6 bagels
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl with Lid
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Stone
Ingredients
Levain
- 50 grams sourdough starter (proofed and bubbly)
- 70 grams water
- 100 grams unbleached bread flour
Bagel Dough
- 200 grams water
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
- 350 grams unbleached bread flour
For Boiling
- water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Toppings
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
- 2 tablespoons garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon real kosher salt
Instructions
Mix the levain.
- Whisk the starter and 70 grams warm water together in a medium mixing bowl until the starter completely dissolves into the water. Next, stir in 100 grams flour into the liquid ingredients to form a loose, shaggy dough.
- Cover the mixing bowl with a tight-fitting lid or with plastic wrap, and allow it to ferment overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature.
Make the bagel dough.
- In a small bowl, whisk the 200 grams water with salt and barley malt syrup until the syrup fully dissolves into the water.
- Add the levain, 350 grams flour, and the liquid ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle. Mix the ingredients together until just combined, and then remove the paddle and equip the mixer with a dough hook.
- Allow the machine to work the dough at medium speed about 5 minutes, or until smooth and pliable. Remove from the machine and continue kneading by hand about 5 minutes further.
First rise.
- Form the dough into a ball, and then transfer it to a medium mixing bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with a lid or with plastic wrap, and then let the dough rise for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Shaping and second rise.
- Divide the dough into even pieces. Press each piece into a flat disk, and then pull its edges toward the center. Turn the dough over so that the seam is on the bottom, and form the dough into round balls. Set them on your working surface, cover them with a tea towel, and let them rest about 20 minutes.
- Uncover the dough, and then press the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of each ball. Work the dough to form a hole about 1 inch in diameter. Cover the dough with a tea towel about 2 to 3 hours, or until puffy.
Heat the oven.
- Place a baking stone in the oven, and heat the oven to 500 F.
Boiling.
- Fill a large pot ⅔ way full with water, and stir in the baking soda. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
- While the water comes to a boil, mix the topping ingredients together in a medium bowl, and set it aside.
- Working with two bagels at a time, carefully drop them into the boiling water using kitchen tongs. Let them boil for 1 minute, and then turn and allow them to boil 1 minute further.
- Using kitchen tongs, invert the bagels into the toppings, and then set them on a cooling rack.
Baking.
- Transfer the boiled and topped bagels to the preheated baking stone. Bake at 500 F for 8 minutes, and then turn down the heat to 450 F. Continue baking a further 8 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a bakin rack and allow them to cool completely before serving.
