Sourdough Bagels at Home

Sourdough bagels are dense, chewy, deeply flavored, and easier to make than they look. Here's the technique.

Recipe — eight bagels

• 500g bread flour (high protein, 13–14%)
• 250g water (50%)
• 100g active starter (20%)
• 10g salt (2%)
• 20g honey or barley malt syrup (4%)

Plus, for boiling: 2 quarts water, 2 tablespoons honey or barley malt.

Plus, toppings: everything seasoning, sesame, poppy, sea salt.

Method

Mix

Combine water, starter, and honey. Add flour and salt.

This dough is stiff. Mix it with hands or a stand mixer until cohesive — 8–10 minutes by hand, or 5 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Bagels are the rare sourdough that benefits from a mixer.

Bulk

Bulk ferment 4–5 hours at 75°F. The dough won't rise as dramatically as a country loaf — it's stiff. Look for 30–50% increase.

Divide and shape

Divide into 8 equal pieces (about 110g each).

Roll each piece into a tight ball. Then poke a hole through the center with your thumb and stretch the hole to about 2 inches in diameter.

The hole must be larger than you think — it shrinks during proof and bake.

Cold proof

Place bagels on a parchment-lined sheet pan, dust with semolina or cornmeal underneath, cover with plastic, refrigerate 12–24 hours.

Boil

The next morning, bring 2 quarts of water + 2 tablespoons honey to a boil in a wide pot.

Drop bagels in 2–3 at a time. Boil 30 seconds per side.

Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain briefly on a clean towel.

If using toppings: place the wet bagel face-down in a plate of seasoning while still moist.

Bake

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Place bagels on a parchment-lined sheet pan or pizza stone.

Bake 5 minutes at 500°F, then drop to 450°F and bake another 12–15 minutes.

Bagels should be deep golden, with crisp shells. Internal temperature 195–200°F.

Cool

Cool 30 minutes minimum on a wire rack. Bagels firm up dramatically as they cool.

What good bagels are

• Dense and chewy, not airy
• Crisp shell from boiling
• Deep golden color
• Distinct hole, not closed up
• Real chew when you bite

Why boil

Boiling cooks the surface starch, creating that signature shell. Without boiling, you have round bread, not bagels.

The honey or barley malt in the boiling water adds shine and slight sweetness to the crust.

Common mistakes

• Soft, fluffy bagels — over-fermented, or too high hydration. Use a stiff dough.
• No chew — not enough kneading. Bagels need real gluten development.
• Closed-up hole — you didn't make the hole big enough. Make it 2–3x bigger than you think.
• Pale crust — under-baked or oven not hot enough. Bake to deep golden.
• Soggy bottom — boiled too long, or didn't dry between boiling and baking.

Variations

• Everything — toss with everything seasoning after boiling
• Cinnamon raisin — laminate raisins and a teaspoon of cinnamon during shaping
• Asiago — top with grated cheese in the last 5 minutes of baking
• Sesame — heavy sesame coat after boiling
• Pumpernickel — 30% rye flour in the dough

Storage

Best the day they're baked. Slice and freeze any extras. Toast from frozen.

A bagel that's gone slightly stale is excellent split, toasted heavily, and topped with cream cheese — the way most New York delis serve them, actually.