Coffee shop bagels just don't stack up next to homemade. With a few ingredients, you can easily make these sourdough discard bagels at home. Enjoy a classic bagel breakfast from scratch with this simple step-by-step recipe.
If there's one thing I'm willing to splurge on, it's a frothy coffee drink with a freshly toasted bagel, coated in that irresistible everything bagel seasoning. That first chewy-soft bite with a thick layer of cream cheese is hard to beat.
Or at least I thought so until I started making sourdough bagels from scratch at home.
Nothing beats homemade bagels hot out of the oven, and they're a lot easier to make than you'd think.
If you're a sucker for café-style treats, like myself, you'll want to give my double chocolate sourdough muffins a try, too! Or try my favorite sourdough cinnamon swirl bread.
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Ingredients
These chewy bagels are made with discard, so we'll use dry yeast to make the dough rise. If you've got a lot of extra discard you want to use up you can find plenty more sourdough discard recipes on my blog.
- Sourdough Discard - Adds a tangy flavor and makes use of leftover sourdough starter.
- Warm Water - Activates the yeast, starting the fermentation process.
- Instant or Active Dry Yeast - Causes the dough to rise, creating fluffy bagels.
- Bread Flour - Gives structure to the bagels, ensuring they're chewy.
- All-Purpose Flour - Balances the chewiness with a tender crumb.
- Sugar - Feeds the yeast, aiding in fermentation and browning.
- Salt - Enhances flavor.
- Nonstick Spray or Olive Oil - Prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl.
- Water (for boiling) - Pre-cooks the bagels, setting their crust before baking.
- Honey (for boiling) - Adds a subtle sweetness and helps create a shiny crust.
- Egg Yolk (for egg wash) - Provides a rich, golden finish to the bagels.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Bagels
Let's walk through this bagel recipe step-by-step. Say goodbye to the bagel shop, you won't need to visit it anymore!
Step 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the warm water and yeast with a dough hook attachment. Let the mixture sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl using a spoon. Add in the sourdough discard and mix again.
Step 2. Add in the bread flour and all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky at this point.
Step 3. Continue kneading the dough in the stand mixer for up to 20 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth, shiny, and elastic. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour.
Step 4. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid to rise. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it doubles in size. This can take around 60 to 90 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Step 5. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, and shape them into round bagel-shaped discs. Use your thumb or finger to poke a hole into the center of each bagel. Allow the shaped bagels to rise a second time, about 10 to 30 minutes, or up to an hour in cooler temps.
Step 6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and get the oven preheated to 425 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the honey.
Step 7. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to transfer bagels to the boiling water. Boil two bagels at a time allowing them to cook about 1 minute on each side.
Step 8. Remove bagels from the boiling water to a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with egg wash. (This is a good time to add toppings like everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds).
Step 9. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer bagels to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice, toast, and enjoy!
Hint: If you want your bagels to be perfectly equal sizes. Start by weighing the entire amount of dough on a kitchen scale. Make sure to use the tare feature to zero out your scale before adding the dough. Then divide the total weight by four. This will give you the number each portion of dough should weigh.
Variations & Substitutions
You can use 100% all-purpose flour in this recipe if you don't have any bread flour on hand.
You can also use instant yeast instead of active yeast. If you do, you can skip the activation step in step 1 and simply mix all the dough ingredients.
Toppings:
- The best way to get the sprinkled-type toppings to stick to the tops of your bagels is to sprinkle them on after doing the egg wash. I like to add Everything Bagel Seasoning.
- If you opt for plain bagels you can add toppings to the sliced bagles.
- Some of my favorites are cream cheese (of course), bacon and cheese, egg and avocado, and peanut butter and banana slices.
- For a delicious sweet cinnamon variation. Melt a few tablespoons of butter and brush it over the bagels, then coat them by dipping each side in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Add a little vanilla and maple syrup to your cream cheese filling for a sweet spread.
Tools You'll Need
- Baking sheets: I recommend lining your sheets with parchment paper as bagels are prone to sticking.
- Mixing bowls: If you're mixing the dough up by hand you'll need a large mixing bowl.
- Measuring cups, spoons, and a kitchen scale: For the most accurate measurements I like to spoon and level the flour, and weigh out the dough for equally-sized bagels.
- Pastry brush: The egg wash really makes these bagels shine. Use a pastry brush for easy application.
💭Crucial Success Tips
Sometimes the holes in the bagels will fill back in after the second rise as the dough puffs up. You can fix this by poking your fingers back into the holes after they come out of the boiling water.
Be super careful though because they will be very hot and can burn your fingers. You can let them cool down a little, try poking larger holes, then proceed with the egg wash, and bake.
FAQ
Yes, sourdough bagels can be made without bread flour. 100% all-purpose will work great, or try a combination of 50% all-purpose and 50% whole wheat flour.
A freshly brewed cup of coffee is all I need alongside my homemade bagels, but a side of fresh fruit, a fried egg, or a dish of yogurt pair well, too.
For overnight sourdough bagels mix up the dough, cover it, and allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight before proceeding with shaping, the second rise, boiling, and baking.
Sourdough Discard Recipes
📖Printable Recipe
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard Bagels with Yeast
Jump to VideoIngredients
- 130 grams warm water 100-110°F or 38-43°C
- 110 grams bread flour
- 110 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams sourdough starter discard
- 6 grams sugar
- 4 grams instant or active dry yeast
- 5 grams salt
- nonstick spray or oil for greasing bowl
For boiling bagels
- 2 L water (2 quarts)
- 60 grams honey
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the warm water and yeast with a dough hook attachment. Let the mixture sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl using a spoon. Add in the sourdough discard and mix again.
- Add in the bread flour and all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky at this point.
- Continue kneading the dough in the stand mixer for up to 20 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth, shiny, and elastic. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour.
- Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid to rise. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it doubles in size. This can take around 60 to 90 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, and shape them into round bagel-shaped discs. Use your thumb or finger to poke a hole into the center of each bagel. Allow the shaped bagels to rise a second time, about 10 to 30 minutes, or up to an hour in cooler temps.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and get the oven preheated to 425 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the honey.
- Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to transfer bagels to the boiling water. Boil two bagels at a time allowing them to cook about 1 minute on each side.
- Remove bagels from the boiling water to a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with egg wash. (This is a good time to add toppings like everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer bagels to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice, toast, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Baking Schedule
If you'd like to make the dough up ahead of time you can do an overnight rise in the refrigerator. Here's an example of a baking schedule you could try.
7:30 PM: Mix up the bagel dough following steps 1-4, but instead of rising on the counter, cover the dough and set it in the refrigerator to rise overnight.
7:30 AM: Continue with steps 5-9, dividing the dough, shaping, boiling, and baking.
How to Store
I love how well these bagels store simply tossed in an airtight container and left on the counter at room temp. They will keep this way for up to 1 week. This makes breakfast time a breeze!
You can also store them in plastic bags and freeze them for up to 3 months. When you're ready to use them, place the bag in the refrigerator overnight and then slice and toast them in the morning.
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