Sourdough bagels are savory, chewy, crusty, and deliciously tangy. These are an amazing way to start your morning or to enjoy for a yummy brunch.
Sourdough may be one of my favorite ways to start the morning, whether it be breakfast strata, pancakes, English muffins, crepes, or these delicious bagels.
It’s a delicious, easy, and filling way to start our busy days, fueled up.
Bagels may seem intimidating, but I promise that they really aren’t that difficult. It’s much like making any baked sourdough recipe, with the added step of cooking it in boiling water for a few minutes before baking.
These sourdough bagels have a yummy and tangy flavor, pairing really well with sweet or savory dishes. They’re a wonderful comfort food.
I love slathering cream cheese or homemade butter all over them.
Below, I share a few different variations and a bunch of bagel sandwich ideas.
Sourdough Bagel FAQ
Are all bagels sourdough?
No. They are typically leavened with either sourdough or commercial yeast. Unless they are specifically labeled as sourdough, you can expect bagels to be made with commercial yeast.
Why is there a hole in a bagel?
There is a hole for more even cooking throughout. This also helps with crust development.
Are bagels bad for you?
While they tend to be higher in calories, these simple sourdough bagels are made with wholesome ingredients and healthy fermented grains.
What do you eat bagels with?
There are so many ways to eat bagels. Most commonly, they are served with cream cheese. See below for sandwich recommendations.
Why are bagels boiled at first?
You boil bagels first to set the crust, which allows them to hold their shape in the oven. The longer you boil them, the thicker the crust. Boiling for 60 seconds on each side yields the perfect result. Although this step may seem silly, don’t skip it – it is one of the most important.
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Tips:
- Use a slotted spoon or ‘spider’ strainer to flip and pull the bagels out of the boiling water.
- If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can check out this post, where I show you exactly how to make a starter from scratch.
- Cook 2-4 bagels in the baking soda water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
- You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
Tools you may need:
Measuring cups and spoons
Large pot or dutch oven
Parchment paper
Topping ideas
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sesame seeds
- Dried onion/dried garlic flakes
- Poppy seeds
- Everything But The Bagel seasoning
- Cinnamon sugar topping
Additional Bagel Add-Ins:
Mix in these extras into the dough right before forming into bagels:
Blueberries – add fresh blueberries
Cinnamon and raisins
Chocolate chips
How To Make Sourdough Bagels From Scratch
Add sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and two cups of flour to a stand mixer.
Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be really stiff and difficult to incorporate.
Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until it is smooth and pliable. You could also knead by hand, but the stand mixer makes this process much easier.
Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap; allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours. Don’t just cover with a dry towel, because it will create a hard skin on the top of your dough, which you don’t want.
After the dough has fermented, divide into 8 equal pieces.
Roll the dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for two hours or until puffy. The time will depend on how warm your house is. It could take 1 to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional).
Place boiled bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Sourdough Bagel Sandwich Ideas
Truly, a sourdough bagel is a vessel for the yummy toppings you want to add.
- Breakfast sandwich – add a fried egg, bacon or sausage, cheese, and some lettuce for a yummy way to start your morning.
- Cream cheese and veggie. Spread cream cheese on bagel, add slices of tomato, cucumber, avocado (optional). Sprinkle with salt and enjoy.
- Avocado… bagel. Rather than toast. Add sliced avocado and sprinkle with salt.
- Locks – cream cheese and smoked salmon (locks) make a really delicious sandwich any time of day.
- Turkey club. Really any of your favorite lunch meat will do; top with slices of cheese, tomato, avocado, and an egg.
- Ham and cheese. Top with ham and a slice of Swiss or cheddar cheese. Bake it in the oven until the cheese starts to melt. Honey mustard takes this up a notch.
- Add chicken salad
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Bagels
Chewy and tangy, these are - hands down - the best sourdough bagels.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda + 1 tablespoon sugar for boiling
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and two cups flour to a stand mixer.
- Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be really stiff and difficult to incorporate.
- Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until it is smooth and pliable.
- Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours.
- After fermentation, divide into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll the dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
- Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1-4 hours or until puffy.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
- Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional).
- Place boiled bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Notes
Use a slotted spoon or ‘spider’ strainer to flip and to pull the bagels out of the boiling water.
Cook 2-4 bagels in the baking soda water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
You can knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer. A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 283Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1004mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 7g
Hope says
These look sooo yummy, especially with all the toppings! I love TJ’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning. Bagels always intimidate me, I guess because of the boiling step, but going to have to try.
Emma says
I just made these for the first time and the boiling was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be! They turned out great!
Lisa says
Wonderful to hear!
Elizabeth says
I can’t wait to make these! I fed my starter so I can get these going this evening!
Brianna says
During the long fermentation does the dough double?
B Young says
Boy does it ever
Tiffany says
Mine didn’t. I’ve made em twice. The bagels still turn out great, and the proper size. 🤷🏻♀️
Andre says
They’re in the oven! I’m so excited! My boiling process was a bit messy, cause I didn’t have the right spider tool so I had to improvise.. They’re smelling good… Thanks so much
Julie M Langston says
Really excited to try these! Thanks for the tutorial.
Carolyn says
Have you ever tried bagels with fresh ground flour? I have hard red, hard white and soft white. Which would you use? Possibly autolyse the flour and water for a hour before hand?
Thanks so much
Lauren says
I am wondering the same thing about fresh ground flour. I have loved and been so thankful for many of your recipes and how you use fresh ground flour. Curious if you have tried this recipe with fresh ground flour or not?
Kayla says
I have found that when it calls for the unbleached white flour a combination of hard and soft white wheat works really well! Thats what I do for her recipes and so far they have all turned out great, even the no knead sourdough bread!
Christine Ross says
Just half and half?
Val Colvin says
I’m learning about the lowered carbs in long fermented sourdough and tried to understand how many carbs are in each bagel. 1004 mg Carbohydrates equals just a tad over 1 gram?! If I’m right, this is a great bread for keto, or Trim Healthy Mama diets!
I know a blog takes a lot of work and I really have been praying for you! When I listened to your podcast where you talked about curbing your cell phone usage I praised the Lord! These years will fly by(people told me that a lot but with 13 children it didn’t feel like it to me till lately when we have only 2 teenagers at home) and the phone, others expectations for your family/business can rob you and your family of everything important. Be on guard for things that drain you. We had a family run farm with 300 CSA members that taught us this lesson. Keep your focus sweetheart!
Thanks for your recipes and helping me stay in touch with young moms! Sometimes I wish we were neighbors so I could come over and share what the Lord has taught me… Well I guess you can. I have a(not for profit) blog where I do just that.
Val Colvin
Susie Edwards says
For thm they would recommend a whole wheat or spelt flour…. but even with white flour I would use it occasionally because it’s fermented!
Mel says
It’s 61G carbs, sorry. Wouldn’t 1G be lovely though? 🙂
The 1004MG was for sodium.
Elizabeth says
I haven’t used my starter in a while, but these sound amazing! Definitely want to give them a try.
Ning says
Great idea, thanks! Is the sourdough starter used in this recipe discard or “young”? Thank you.
Lisa says
I use the starter when it as it’s peak, usually about 5 hours after feeding.
Rany says
I am excited to try this recipe! Do you recommend feeding the starter before using in this recipe?
Lisa says
I use the starter when it as it’s peak, usually about 5 hours after feeding.
Hannah says
Hi, if I would like to freeze some is it better to do so after boiling or after they vome out of the oven?
Thank youfor the great recipe!
Lucy says
Can’t wait to try these! But I’d like to use white whole wheat, do you know if that will work? Thank you!
Abbey says
These were incredibly good and so easy to make. I’ve been intimidated by bagels before, but they were as easy as making a loaf of sourdough. Thank you for this amazing recipe! My kids also have these bagels a 10/10.
Abbey says
Gave* not have.
lea says
can i make these with spelt or einkorn flour?
Lisa says
Yes! I just did 100% einkorn yesterday and they were so good. I haven’t tried spelt yet!
Lori says
Did you have to use less water or change anything when using Eincorn Flour? I was going to ask this question!
Rhoda says
Just inherited kitchen aid mixer. Made Bagels —Delicious!! Thank u so very much🤗. I’ve made ur English muffins and pancakes too. Come out amazing. Thx for sharing👏❤️
Amy says
Just made these and they are so delicious and the recipe was easy to follow. I have a decent amount of baking knowledge but never tried bagels and I’m so glad I did. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Everyone do yourself a favor and add cinnamon brown sugar to the top of a few. They were outstanding! 😊
Emily says
Mine are still warm out of the oven and are SO good! We made lunch sandwiches:)
Gabriela says
Hi Lisa! I made the recipe today and I love it, last night by hand I prepared the dough, left for 8 hours to ferment and this morning I baked. I have made it before normal bagel recipes and require more work in my experience and the final result it’s ok, sometimes good. Your recipe for me was easy and the result was great, chewy, good flavor, good shape, definitely the recipe I will use every time :). Thank you !
Manzie says
Hello I was wondering why the sodium content is so high with barely any salt added? I just received a sourdough starter a week ago and have no idea what I’m doing. But that number seems high to me
Lisa says
Yes it does. The recipe card I use automatically calculate it. Each teaspoon of salt has 2300 mg of sodium so times 2 for 2 tsp and divided by 8 for 8 bagels, it should be more like 575 mg.
Ali says
Does the 8-12 hour “long ferment” take place on the counter or in the fridge? I’d like to make these but wasn’t sure where to leave them.
Lydia says
On the counter 🙂
Michelle L Bird says
Hey! Just a note, the print button just redirects back to the top of the page. It would be really nice if I could print a clean copy to add to my binder.
Thank you!
Jessica says
The dough was wet after the first two cups of flour, then when adding the 2nd 2 cups it was SOO DRY! Like my dough hook on the kitchen aide was like having a very hard time turning the dough. This happened twice. The first time I trashed the dough… the second time I added a half cup more water and still super tough. Is the dough supposed to be insanely dry and tough? (My friend had a similar issue)
Lisa says
Yes! It is supposed to be extremely dry, almost to the point that it is hard to incorporate all the flour. It works because of the boiling stage later.
Manzie says
So wait do we add more water because mine didn’t want to incorporate at all for about 30 minutes. I finally added water.
Lisa says
I think adding a touch if it really needs it isn’t going to hurt anything! Sometimes you have to play with it a bit.
EmilyC says
Thank you for asking this question because mine has turned out the same way.. so incredible dry and I almost gave up on it but found your question! What a relief because I followed the directions to the tee. I can’t wait to see the end result.
FRances Gibbs says
Me too! I came here to read and see if it was just me, I’ll continue on…..
Colleen says
These are amazing and so easy to make! Made some yesterday and making a fresh batch now to share with friends 😊
Nicole says
The “print” button is not working for me. 🙁
Lisa says
I just tried it on my end and it works. I’m not sure why that is. I had someone else say this too, so I’m going to try to figure that out!
Brenda says
Made these yesterday absolutely delicious. Thank you for much for sharing your fabulous recipe. My husbands favourite is some old cheddar grated on top so much better than the cheese buns he usually buys. Have enjoyed making so many of your recipes. My sourdough starter Freda is a year old now and I have shared bits of her with many friends. Thank you again.
Kaitlyn says
THESE ARE SO DELICIOUS! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Lisa! I’m going to need to upgrade to a larger recipe binder pretty soon, thanks to you! 😉
Tabitha says
I love these bagels! If I wanted to try making cinnamon raisin bagels, would I just add those ingredients into the dough while it’s mixing?
Lisa says
I add them in after the bulk ferment, so in the morning right before shaping!
Cheryl says
These came out incredible! So easy to make. Everyone was so impressed. We’re in New Jersey where getting a good bagel is a big deal. My son said these were better than our top local bagel shop’s. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Jessica says
I don’t know if anyone can help me, but my daughter tried making this recipe and used discard instead of fed starter. Is there anyway to save the dough? I would hate to dump it. Thank you
Lisa says
What day are you on? Is it an established starter?
Michele says
Does the fermentation process take lace on the counter or in the fridge? It’s not noted in the recipe.
Jordan says
Any tips for bagels that fall flat in the oven? Mine looked amazing while rising, after boiling, pulled them out of the oven and they were flat. They taste amazing. Just wish they didn’t fall.
Anonymous says
I’ve had that happen with regular bagels and a baker friend of mine said it was because the dough was over proofed. Hope that helps.
Teena Wharton says
My bagels didn’t float. Wondering why?
Carrie Carboni says
Mine didn’t either!!! Wond ring what went wrong.
Megan says
Mine didn’t either!!! I’m now doubting the quality of my starter…
Brittany says
To make these with jovial all purpose einkorn, will I need to adjust the liquid any…or just follow recipe as is? Thank you!
Sunny says
Hi! Should a dough hook be used the entire time when mixing, or just when adding the final 2 cups of flour? I used a dough hook the entire time, and it never came together. It has been mixing for 30-45 minutes! Help!
AC says
These are so good!! Made them yesterday and just had one for breakfast!! I was wondering though, did your parchment paper burn in the oven?? I’m not sure why mine did but it burnt pretty bad!
Yolanda says
This is a fabulous recipe! I’ve made it many times and it never fails to impress. Love the new website! Much easier to navigate.
Serena says
Everything went great except my bagels stuck to the parchment paper?? So I lost the bottoms.
Sofiabonita says
This happened to me too I have no idea why. I ended up with some wonky looking bagels but the imperfection proves their homemade right?! Right?!?!
Brittany says
Can the second rise be done in the fridge overnight? I want to be able to bake these first thing in the morning and last time when I let the shaped bagels rise for 2 hours it didn’t seem to be enough.
natalie says
I made these this morning and they were so delicious – thank you.
Quick question. I ran into an issue with the dough sticking to the cookie sheet after I left them to puff up, so I ended up with less than round bagels after trying to reshape them without patting them down too much.
What type of surface do you put yours on before boiling?
Thanks!
Sharon V says
I’ve made these a few times. As I am getting accustomed to baking with sour dough, they are improving. Thank you for your clear step by step instructions. They are easy to follow and make the procedure less intimidating.
Sally Purkey says
Love this recipe! My family and friends love this recipe! I have shared with many.
I can hardly wait to eat one when the come out of the oven.
I have made these with my grandchildren, which I hope is a life time memory.
Recipe is easy to follow.
Meri says
Just made these yesterday, ate one for breakfast this morning and nearly shed a tear! No joke it was THAT good,I’m so thankful I found this recipe! When I’ve tried sourdough bagels in the past, there were so many confusing steps and they ended up wrinkly and dense – not these! Perfect chewy bagel texture, tangy and sweet flavor, just perfect!
I added chocolate chips to half and cinnamon raisins to the other half, then dipped the bottoms in cornmeal after boiling for that bakery authenticity 😉
natalie says
Hi Lisa! Do you weigh or just measure your ingredients by the cup?
Sally says
I love these bagels
I make them almost every Sunday.
Easy delicious and so much fun.
Elaine says
New to Sourdough and loving it. Made these bagels last week. What a treat. Thanks for your step by step instructions
Mary Ann Haller says
Lisa, after many tries, my sourdough starter finally doubled and I was thrilled. I will definitely try your bagels, they look so good.
sarah Baumeister says
I have made these several times and they are Easy to follow and tasty. Just fed my starter! This time I’m going to try blueberry.
Anna says
Can you use sugar instead of honey?
Kate says
Is this recipe easy to double? Large family over here that loves bagels. Due with another baby in October and wanting to make a bunch for the freezer ❤️
Lisa says
Yep! I always double it.
Hannah says
If I want to put them in the freezer to bake at a later time when would I do that? Before I boil them? Or after?
HollyG says
These are so easy and we’re delicious. Ours just came out of the oven – Yum and Thank you for the recipe.
Laura says
Hi Lisa – I’m fairly new to sourdough. I keep my jar of starter in the fridge. For the bagel recipe, should I pull my starter out and feed it and leave on the counter for 4 hours before pulling out the 1/2 cup starter for the bagel recipe? Or can I use it straight from my jar without feeding first?
Lisa says
Ideally yes! I prefer to use fed starter for these.
Nicole says
I used my discard and left it to ferment longer. It worked great.
Kaylee Steinbrueck says
Hi Iisa,
Very new to sourdough here, have been working my way through your recipes (used your starter recipe too). Just made these today and ran into some issues. They never really poofed up during the rise once shaped, my house is consistent 73 so can’t imagine it was too cold! They taste AMAZING but are pretty heavy and dense. Also some of them never really floated to the top of the water but kind of rolled around in the middle… wondering there I went wrong.. maybe I should have added a bit more water? Trying to troubleshoot here in the newness of sourdough! My start it very bubbly too, so I believe it’s active?! Thanks for this wonderful blog!
Megan says
This is happening for me as well!
Clydia Kissinger says
I can’t believe it! I put the tablespoon of baking soda in the mixer with the dough. Will that ruin my bagels? I should have read it completely.
Olivia says
Hi! so excited to make these. Does the 8-12 hour fermentation process happen in the fridge or on the counter?
Danielle says
Do you knead the dough for ten min or mix the dough for ten then knead?
Nicole says
I made these for the first time yesterday and they were a huge hit! I now have a second batch in their final proof almost ready to boil and bake. The first batch was just plain with everything bagel seasoning on top. This batch I added Epicure 3 onion dip mix to the dough. I’m anxious to see how this is going to turn out.
Lizabeth says
I am in the process of making your bagels for 1st time as we speak! They are in fermenting process. I loved your video on sourdough starter it really helped me a lot. Can you tell me if you can freeze the bagels before you bake them and then take them out to bake as needed? Thanks for your content really enjoy it!
Allyson says
You must be reading my mind! I checked your discard recipes this very morning looking for a bagel recipe! I will try this one ASAP! BTW if folks haven’t tried your English Muffin recipe they are the BEST!
I am wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!
Carolyn says
Have you ever made them with home milled flour? If so what kind did you use? And what changed did you make in the recipe.
Thanks
Cl
Kristina says
Hi! I made your bagels with a blend of whole wheat and all purpose four and they’re great. I was afraid to make completely whole wheat cuz I wasn’t sure if the water content would be enough. I also made the bagels with the all purpose flour and they were delicious. The whole wheat mix was delicious too. Have you made the bagels completely whole wheat, did you make any adjustments to how much water you used? I can experiment but I wanted to ask you about your experience,
Thank you
Katie M Pace says
Hi Lisa, I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. I have only made the cinnamon raisin bagels from Smitten Kitchen, for years. However, since I am making as many recipes with sourdough as I can now,I am really happy you gave this one to us. One thing I found to really help in lifting out the bagels from the pot of water is a case knife inserted into the hole of the bagels. Works so well to drip off excess water and to just lift out the bagels. Just thought I would pass that on. Thanks so much for all your videos!
Katie M Pace says
Hi again Lisa, Just to clarify my previous comment, I am talking about a regular knife we buy in dinner silverware. I am so used to my husband calling them case knives ,that I said that . I mean the kind we make sandwiches with,you know, an everyday not so sharp knife that comes in a set of silverware. Sorry. LOL
Raynita says
Lisa, I made these this morning. My husband and daughter loved having them warm from the oven before heading to work this chilly morning. I’ve had a sourdough starter for over ten years but these were my first bagels. The dough is easy to work with and I let them ferment after forming them in the oven overnight. They were so pretty. We love bagels but my husband said they were the best he’s had. Wow! And they can only get better now that I know what I’m doing. 😊 Thank you for sharing your recipe. It is a keeper!
Chelsea says
First time making bagels and these are so good! I had very low expectations just because of the dense dough (it rose very, very little). However, they turned out great! I dipped the bottom in cornmeal and half in Everything seasoning, half in brown sugar/cinnamon. Thanks for another great sourdough recipe!
Dyann Ross says
Can I slow down fermentation in fridge for a longer period? Any idea how long? Thanks!
natalie says
i am wondering the same!
Susan says
Does the starter need to be fed and bubbly? Mine has been residing in the fridge for the past 2 weeks? I know you said some things you make it doesn’t matter if it’s fed or right out of the fridge.
Natalie Hiemstra says
wondering if anyone has made these with an extended ferment in the fridge? i’ve done this with my sourdough bread to really reduce the gluten content. thinking to do a 24 hour fridge slow ferment. i will let you know how it turns out as i have my dough in the fridge now!
Moriah says
Just made these this morning and WOW! So tasty!! I put brown sugar, cinnamon, and regular sugar topping. Big hit with my 5 littles. Highly recommend 🤤🙌🏻
rachel winterbottom says
Can you let them longer ferment/rise? Longer than the first 12 hour? Like what if I made them in the afternoon and they rose for closer to 16hours? Would that harm anything?
Lisa says
That will be fine!
MamabyFaith says
Even though I know I have messed up – twice, these bagels are still very good. I have high expectations for your recipes because all that I’ve tried have turned out great – English Muffins, French Bread and soups. Are you or someone able to help me?
The first time, I read the recipe wrong and added 2 cups or flour to the ferment for 12 hours and another 2 cups afterward – the dough didn’t rise. Then, I shaped them and left to rise, but didn’t use a “wet” tea towel. They hardened and didn’t rise. I still boiled, seasoned the tops, and baked them and they tasted really good. When cut, the crumb inside was normal for a bagel.
The second try, I doubled the recipe since I thought I knew what I did wrong and were good even so. This time, I added the appropriate amount of flour to the ferment for 12 hours (no rise), shaped and used a wet tea towel to cover, but they still didn’t rise – maybe a little, but not like the photos!! Again they were flat, but still tasty. Does anyone know what I did wrong?? Thank you so much!! 🙂
BTW – I thought that maybe my house was too cold, so I even warmed up the oven before fermenting, the second time. Both times, I warmed up my oven to about 200 degrees before proofing the bagels.
Molly McIntyre says
Hey Lisa,
Im wondering what Im doing wrong, the bagels rise and look so pretty but when I take them off the pan to boil them, they deflate and are stuck to the pan…help!
Rebecca Montanti says
My toppings burned and ruined the top of them so I will
Not add toppings before cooking next time.
Sarah says
Mine started getting really dark brown so I turned the temp down. I’m also only go do the baking soda boil for 30 seconds each side and see if that helps.
The Farmhouse Mom says
I’ve made bagels before but they’ve never turned out as picture perfect as this recipe. I even let the second rise go for 12 hours because I didn’t have time to make them before I went to bed, so I made them in the morning. I added everything but the bagel seasoning, they were gone by lunchtime!
Michelle Johnson says
Did you let them rise in the fridge overnight?
Michelle Johnson says
since the bagels need to rise 1-4 hrs before cooking, can you let them rise over night in the fridge or will they over proof? just trying to figure out how to be able to have them for brunch:)
Crystal says
I made these today for the first time and we added blueberries! They were amazing!
Y Bex says
How many blueberries did you use? I am also wondering about a quantity for cinnamon and raisins as my husband wants that type. Any info would be great.
Melissa says
Hello, I just made these and they turned out lovely! I am wondering the best way to store them, as well as how long they last? Thank you!
Danielle says
Truly the best! Sourdough bagels can’t be matched! And way easier to make than you might think.
Rebecca Seib says
I’ve made this recipe 3 times and really like the taste but my bagels stick to my parchment paper a little and even those that don’t seem to begin to fall in the process of putting them into the water. They’re not smooth and attractive like I’d like them to be . What should I do differently?
Sofia Carvalho says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I really have to try it.
Judi says
So every time I make these I have NEVER been able to add all the flour. Why?? Making a double batch and a whole 2 cups short! But they turn out !? What am I doing wrong?
Or is it “ just add flour till it’s the right consistency “ kind of recipe
Brooke Smith says
Do you let your dough sit on the counter for 8-12 hours, or do you refrigeratorate it? Thanks!
Lisa says
I let it sit out on the counter!
Deborah says
These bagels turned out fantastic!!!!
I made 4 with the everything bagel spices and the other 4 with cinnamon sugar crunch topping. For the cinnamon sugar I used a combination of white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled on top of the bagel when it came out of the oven.
I am pinching myself trying to believe i actually made these!
*I do not own a stand mixer as of yet, so I kneaded them by hand for 10 minutes. I may or may not have felt that in my body the next day lol
Thank you so much Lisa for sharing this with us and for all you are and do!
Deborah
Fran says
Can I make this bagel receipt with gluten free flour?
Evelyn DeMartini says
I love this recipe. I made bagels once, years ago, they came out like rocks. I have now made this recipe twice and both times have come out great with wonderful flavor. You are the best . . Thanks to your recipes I now make perfect sour dough bread and can’t wait to try more recipes.
Thank you,
Evelyn
Chelsea says
I’m making this recipe a second time in 24 hours determined to figure it out but I had the same issue as yesterday – my dough finally “came together” after 10 minutes the second time but once I added the remaining flour it was game over again and it didn’t mix in at all until I had to add more water. Then I got worried it was over-kneaded. Any tips?
Laura says
I’m going to try these this weekend! I bought a plastic bowl to use for my sourdough. This might be a silly question but is it ok to use a metal bowl with my stand mixer? I feel like whenever I have read about sourdough it says to not use metal utensils or bowls 😬
Lisa says
Yes, totally fine! I do it all the time. I even let things rise overnight in it sometimes!
Laura says
I just made a half batch of these and they’re amazing! So much better than store bought. I would love some extra directions in the recipe for beginners like me, maybe photos of what the dough should look like and what to put the bagels on once they’re shaped and need to rest again. I just used parchment and they stuck really badly which made it hard to transfer them to boil without deflating then. I’m hoping to make them again next week and learn from my mistakes!
Irina says
I did the same thing, let them rest on parchment and they were stuck! The second time I made these I let them rest just on the floured counter covered with a tea towel and don’t overproof them, it worked out well.
Nick says
1 cup water to 4 cups flour sounds off; all the sour dough I’ve made so far is almost a 1:1 ratio of water to flour.
I’ve gotten to the part of this recipe where I added the fourth cup of flour and my mixer is absolutely struggling to mix it, it’s that thick and clumpy. Is this correct?
Lisa says
Yes, this is correct! It is very dry at this stage, but it becomes much more workable after sitting. I usually mix it a little, allow it to sit and then come back after a while to give thew mixer a break and allow the dough to hydrate.
Amanda says
These are so good! I may have over proofed them and forgot to set a timer and they cooked a littttle to long but still came out great and can’t wait to make again!
Kelsey says
I have tried and failed at least 3 times with this recipe. I can never get my dough smooth and pliable. It always turns out so stiff and crumbles apart in my mixer. I followed the recipe to a T each time but can never get the dough the right consistency. What could be going wrong?
Katie Huntley says
I didn’t quite add all the flour and ended up kneading it by hand the last 10 minutes. It was still a very stiff dough.
Chelsea says
My dough did not rise at all during the fermentation and it’s very tough. I followed your recipe and steps. Not sure what happened!
Irina says
I was surprised how easy it was to make bagels! These were delicious! Thank you Lisa, you inspire me!
Hannah Victoria says
what time would you suggest starting these if i wanted them for breakfast?
Lisa says
I start them before bed, and then shape, rise and bake in the morning! If I get them shaped around 7 am, we have big fluffy bagels at 9 am.
Lindsey says
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I don’t have a mixer, so I knead everything by hand. How do I know when the dough is ready when using that method?
Krystal says
Any reason as to why my dough isn’t rising when I let it ferment 8-12 hours?
Selwa says
My guess is that it’s too dry… this recipe makes no sense. I really hope I change my mind in the morning but in general if dough is too dry it won’t rise. It limits the activity of the yeast. All the comments and the original post say it’s supposed to be stiff and dry – to the point of the flour not fully incorporating but I am struggling to understand how these are going to rise at all. Also does this work with fresh milled flour? I’m using a combination of hard white wheat and spelt berries and milled it myself. I’m a little worried about how this is gonna turn out. Again, hope I change my mind in the morning. All the other recipes from this blog have been great but my mixer won’t even move the dough around with this one because there’s just too much flour. I had to add more water just to incorporate the last little bit of flour i milled.
Lisa says
I actually just sat down to my laptop after making some bagel dough myself. I find that if you put in the 7 cups, then walk away and allow the dough to autolyse for a bit (and give your mixer motor a break) you can come back to it and allow it to mix the rest of the way. If you can’t get all 8 in, just do 7.5. If your starter is less hydrated, you may not be able to incorporate it all in, but that is totally ok. You do want a very dry dough though. It does actually rise. I have made these dozens of times. Also, if you are doing 100% freshly milled whole grain wheat you may use less. Just add that last cup in slowly.
Christine Ross says
Help me Lisa! I just got a nutrimill (so exciting!) so I’m trying to get the benefits of good grains. I’ve made a lot of your recipes with unbleached flour and they are great, I tried the hamburger buns yesterday with spelt and hard red winter and it tasted good but was dense. What’s the best freshly milled grain for these that usually taste best with all purpose? Or at least as close as I can get? I don’t mind the taste of wheat flour just looking for the healthiest lighter fluffy option! Help!
Kimberly says
Try Prairie Gold from Wheat Montana! It is a Hard White Spring variety… the best ever for bread making!
Faith says
Can I use my sourdough discard or does it need to be fed starter?
Stephanie says
WOW thank you so much for this recipe!!!! These are the best bagels I’ve ever had. Better than any bakery!! I used discard. For the second rest I left them overnight so more like 8 hours instead of 4, no idea if that makes any difference.
Katie Huntley says
Just a couple of questions. I love every recipe of yours that I’ve tried. I also have 7 children. What are your tips for doubling recipes? Are there any recipes you avoid making a double batch of? I honestly didn’t know what else to do except double the entire recipe for the bagels. Not a very experienced baker. They turned out yummy, but a bit salty and maybe a bit heavy. Any suggestions. I tried to use my starter right about the 5hr mark. I’m sure this will give a good laugh to those more experienced.
Lisa says
I actually only ever make this recipe doubled! I have it memorized that way.
Liz says
I’ve never made bagels before and loved this recipe.
Unfortunately I did not have any AP flour available but substituted bread flour instead. I added a smidge more water to the dough since bread flour as a replacement can leave dough dryer.
Followed everything else to a T and they turned out amazing.
My partner and toddler are already requesting more bagels and in more flavors.
Donna Jones says
My mixer broke this week.=(
Can you make these without?
Jennifer says
What am I doing wrong? I’ve made these 3 times and all 3 times the dough didn’t rise or even come close to doubling. I have a mature starter and have never had a problem with your other recipes. They still taste good but they’re not as fluffy as they should be.
Lisa says
I’m sorry you are having this issue. I know you said your starter is mature, so I’m going to guess that it is nice and bubbly before you start the recipe. You could try to do the float test (take a little bit of starter and place it in a glass of water. If it floats it is ready). Also, are you letting it rise somewhere warmer? Does it not double during the bulk rise? If it were to rise too much and over-ferment during that first rise, then it may not rise well during the second rising before boiling. Those are my current thoughts. Hopefully we can figure out how to get you some tasty and fluffy bagels.
Marie says
Will definitely try these soon. Love watching you actually making your sourdough recipes. I am relatively new to this and have had my struggles keeping a healthy starter. Pretty sure the issue is with my kitchen being rather cool most of the time. I’ve had much better luck when I put the freshly fed starter in my oven with the light on, then turn it off after an hour or so. You are so refreshingly honest about making mistakes and then recovering from the mistakes…gives me lots of encouragement!
Lisa says
Thank you! Hope you love the recipe.
Stephanie says
I’m still somewhat new to sourdough and after a year I’m finally daring to branch out and try some new things. I made these bagels for breakfast this morning with cinnamon sugar on top and they were A-MAZ-ING!!! Thank you for the clear instructions and delicious recipe. I didn’t know if my kids would like them, but next time I’m going to double the recipe!
Lisa says
So glad your family enjoyed them.
Sarah says
I just made bagels for the first time with this recipe and they’re delish! Thank you so much for your recipes. The way you present them makes them much less intimidating to me. 🙂
Wendy says
Made these today, cam out amazing. My husband said they were better than bakery.
Laurie says
I made these yesterday and they are over the top amazing. Thank you and I will surely be making these again very soon.
Lisa says
Wonderful to hear!
Melinda Bergman says
I made these today for the first time. They are delicious. Though, a rowdy lot. Not too uniform. Practice, practice. Thanks so much for this great recipe. Ingenious with soda and sugar in the boiling water. I can never find malt!
Lisa says
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed them.
Laura says
Do these need to have active starter or can I use starter that was fed the day before/discard?
Lisa says
It has to be active starter so they rise well.
lucy says
Hi Lisa, sending much love and blessings from England. I love all your recipies and I’m looking forward to making this one. Just wondered if I can freeze these and if so at what stage is best?
Carolyn says
Can I replace the all purpose flour with home ground hard white? Would I need to make adjustments?
Lauren says
Hi! Can you freeze these? Would love to make a big batch and then have them for a longer time. If so, how long will they last?
Lisa says
Yes you can. Bread products freeze wonderfully. I would use them within 3 months.
S. Smith says
Bagels turned out great – super chewy and real bagel flavour. I used Canadian all purpose flour and could only get 3 1/2 c worked in even with hand kneading and giving it a rest. The dough looked like yours in the video so I figured it was ok. I used a tablespoon of molasses in the boiling water instead of white sugar and in my gas convection oven they only needed 15 minutes to bake (on parchment paper). I checked the internal temp and it was 199 F so knew they were done and they were golden on the top and bottom. Thanks for sharing your method and recipe as this is the best one yet!
Lisa says
Love how you made it work for you! Glad you enjoyed them!
Therese Cornelius says
Had no idea I could make bagels so easily! They taste great, I used cinnamon and sugar and the TJ’s Everything but the bagel seasoning. My kitchen aid did have to work harder, but once the dough sat, it puffed up.
I just have to get the shaping down better.
Lisa says
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed them.
Paige says
I tried making these following your recipe and after adding the last 2 cups of flour the dough did not turn out smooth and pliable. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe less flour?
I let it ferment to see if it would change the consistency and nothing happened either.
Really want to make these!
Lisa says
Maybe less flour, maybe more kneading. The hard thing with sourdough (and baking in general), is there can be many factors. Between humidity in the air, to the type of flour, to hydration of the starter, etc. Sorry they didn’t turn out.
Paige B says
When adding an add in like chocolate chips or blueberries, at what step should I add these?
Lisa says
I would add them after the fermentation before the shaping.
Lindsey Baird says
Once again, Lisa knows what she’s doing! These are the best bagels I’ve ever made.
Lisa says
Such a compliment. Thank you!
Tabitha Sherman says
Hello! You inspire me constantly! Thank you, thank you! I have a question about your yummy bagels. Do you know if they can be frozen in the stage where they are formed, “holed”, and raised? Then on another day thaw, boil, and bake?
Lisa says
I have not tried it, but another commenter said they froze them after boiling and it worked great.
Sarah says
These bagels bake well from frozen! I learned this out of necessity when my oven broke after boiling the bagels.
Lisa says
Wonderful to hear. Sorry about your oven though.
Sarah says
So am I supposed to mix in my stand mixer for 10 minutes BEFORE adding the extra flour? Or am I supposed to knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes? I’ve made these several times and normally they turn out well but sometimes they don’t really rise and I think it’s because I’m a bit confused. My dough is never difficult to incorporate until after I add more flour to the first two cups… what am I looking for to be sure they’re done kneading in my mixer? Thanks! Always love your recipes so much! You’ve encouraged me to really have confidence in my kitchen!!
Mary says
I made your sourdough bagel recipe. I wasn’t able to mix all of the flour in as you said might be the case, but they seemed dry when baked. Although the starter was active they didn’t seem to rise much. Do you have any suggestions?
Debbie says
Do you have any tips on kneading by hand to ensure they are kneaded enough and not over kneaded? I don’t have a stand mixer.
Thanks,
Debbie