Sourdough bagels are a delicious and nutritious alternative to store-bought bagels. Making your own bagels at home offers a host of benefits, from cost savings and quality control to the ability to customize the recipe to your taste preferences. Let’s explore the benefits of making sourdough bagels at home and provide a recipe for you, along with some suggested modifications.

Why Make Sourdough Bagels?

Making your own bagels at home has a number of benefits. Here are just a few:

• Nutritional Benefits: Homemade bagels are typically healthier than store-bought bagels, which often contain preservatives, artificial flavors, and high levels of sodium. With homemade bagels, you can control the ingredients and create a healthier version. Sourdough bagels give the additional health boost of fermented grains.
• Cost Savings: Store-bought bagels can be expensive, especially if you want to purchase high-quality bagels. Making your own bagels at home is much more affordable, especially if you already have a sourdough starter.
• Quality Control: When you make your own bagels at home, you have complete control over the ingredients and the cooking process. You can adjust the recipe to your taste preferences and ensure that your bagels are cooked to perfection.
• Customization: You have the ability to adjust the recipe to your personal taste and preferences.

The Process

You will begin to make the dough the day before you want to bake the bagels. I suggest using a stand mixer if you have one because the dough is fairly tough but it can be done by hand. Start by mixing together your wet ingredients, the starter, honey, and water. Next, you will add in your flour and salt. Let the dough autolyze for 15 minutes. This simply lets the flour fully hydrate before kneading.

After autolyzing, knead the dough on low for 5-7 minutes. The dough should have come together by this point and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or a piece of plastic. Let the dough ferment on the counter at room temperature overnight (8-12 hours).

In the morning, divide the dough into 6-8 equal pieces depending on how big you want the bagels to be. In my family, we prefer to make 6 larger bagels. Roll the dough pieces into balls and use your thumb to poke a hole in the middle. Gently stretch the hole out while trying to maintain an even ring. Rest your bagels on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1 hour.

Next, you will boil the bagels before baking. Bring a large pot of water with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to a roaring boil. Working in batches to not crowd the pot, boil the bagels for 2 minutes on each side. Then return to the parchment paper. While still hot and damp from boiling, add any additional toppings you’d like to the bagels.

Finally, it is time to bake! Bake the bagels at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. The bagels are done when they are golden brown on top. After removing from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack to prevent the bottoms from browning further. Then, enjoy!

Customizations

There are many ways to modify this sourdough bagel recipe to suit your taste preferences. Here are a few ideas:

• Add flavorings: You can add different flavorings to the dough to give your bagels a unique taste. Try adding cinnamon, raisins, or garlic to the dough. Garlic is a must-have addition in my house.
• Use different toppings: You can use different toppings on your bagels, such as everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds.
• Change the shape: Instead of the traditional bagel shape, you can shape the dough into pretzels or twists. Your cooking time may vary slightly, so just watch for a golden brown crust.

As with all of my sourdough recipes, I measure in grams for accuracy and consistency. If you do not have a scale, see my Metric Conversion Chart to determine cups and Tbls. I have been using this kitchen scale almost daily for years and it still works great!