Homemade Sourdough Bagels

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Combining sourdough tanginess with bagel chewiness, these sourdough bagels are a step above the norm and a great way to use sourdough starter discard!

What to do with sourdough starter discard

I hadn’t used my sourdough starter discard for two weeks, and I didn’t feel like making pizza dough or focaccia…you know, my go-to recipes. But it was a bitter cold day and I wanted to bake something (my oven is a very effective heater in our small apartment).

Then I came across Sally’s Baking Addiction's recipe for homemade bagels, and the wheels started turning.

How about I substitute in my unfed sourdough starter for some of the flour and water and make Sourdough Bagels?

Challenge accepted!

Thinking up creative ways to use sourdough starter discard can be fun, like Sourdough Pretzels or Sourdough Gingerbread, and when inspiration hits, experimentation follows.

However, there’s some work to be done. (Wait, there's math?)

How to adapt a recipe to use unfed sourdough starter

No worries, grasshopper! The trick for adapting a recipe to sourdough is to weigh the amount of sourdough starter discard you have using a kitchen scale, then divide it by half. The result is the amount by weight of flour and water you need to remove from the recipe.

(Side Note: this calculation is based on a sourdough starter that's 50/50 flour and water. If your sourdough starter has a different makeup, use your ratio to figure out how much flour and water you'll be replacing.)

For example, for Sourdough Bagels the original bagel recipe called for 4 cups of flour and 1-1/2 cups of water (that’s 17 oz of flour and 12 fluid oz, respectively). Since I had 2 weeks’ worth of sourdough starter discard (14 oz), I needed to remove 7 oz each of flour and water from the recipe.

I appreciate it when a recipe writer provides the ingredient amounts in weight measurements, not just volume. If not, I do the conversions for myself (and for you, of course).

Does your brain hurt? I’m sorry. Here, have a sourdough bagel.

How to make Sourdough Bagels at home

After making the necessary ingredient substitutions, the rest, as they say, is history.

Ok, that's not what they say...just follow the directions in the recipe.

Make a variety of bagel flavors

You don't just have to make plain Sourdough Bagels. Here are some ideas for different bagel flavors to get you started:

• Everything Bagels: Use a pre-made Everything bagel topping or Mix 2 Tbsp poppy seeds, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp dried minced onion, 1 Tbsp dried garlic flakes, 1 Tbsp coarse salt all in a bowl (from Homemade Everything Bagels)
• Sesame Seed Bagels: Use 1/3 cup sesame seeds. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. Use more as needed
• Poppy Seed Bagels: Use 1/3 cup poppy seeds. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. Use more as needed
• Salt Bagels: Use 1/3 cup coarse salt. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, top with or dunk each bagel into topping. These are pretty salty, so feel free to go lighter on the salt
• Cheese Bagels (Asiago, Cheddar, etc): Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the dough when you add the flour. After brushing with egg wash in step 9, sprinkle with extra cheese

These Sourdough Bagels had a wonderful sourdough tang from the sourdough starter discard, yet still retained that bagel chewiness. Also, my apartment smelled like a bagel shop…that alone was worth it!

Toasted with a shmear of cream cheese (my way) or warmed and eaten whole (my husband's way)…however you enjoy your bagels, try making them yourself. After all, it’s another way of using that unfed sourdough starter in the fridge!

📖 Recipe

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4.65 from 17 votes

Sourdough Bagels

Combining sourdough tanginess with bagel chewiness, these sourdough bagels are a step above the norm and a great way to use sourdough starter discard!

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Prep Time2 hrs 10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Resting Time1 hr 20 mins

Total Time4 hrs

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Jewish

Keyword: Bagels, Bread, Sourdough, Sourdough Starter, Sourdough Starter Discard, Yeast Bread

Servings: 8 bagels

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Tammy Spencer, Scotch & Scones

Special Equipment

• kitchen scale
• stand mixer with dough hook attachment
• 4- to 8-quart stock pot

Ingredients

For the Dough

• ¾ to 1 cup water, warmed between 100-110°F, see Recipe Notes (6 to 8 oz, 170 to 227g)
• 2¾ tsp yeast, instant or active dry, see Recipe Notes (1/3 oz, 10g)
• 3 cups bread flour, or more as needed, see Recipe Notes (13 oz, 370g)
• 1 cup sourdough starter discard, unfed, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes (8 oz, 227g)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed, either light or dark (¾ oz, 20g)
• 2 tsp kosher salt, (⅓ oz, 16g)
• 1 large egg white, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Everything bagel topping, or other toppings as desired (optional)

For the Water Bath

• 2 qts water
• ¼ cup honey, (3 oz, 85g)

Procedure

• Prepare the Dough: Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
• Add the flour, sourdough starter discard, brown sugar, and salt. For the most accurate measurements, use a kitchen scale. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes, then knead for 4-5 minutes. Add in additional flour or water in one tablespoon increments to get the dough to the right texture.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel.  Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size (inside the cool oven with the light on works well).
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Shape the Bagels: Punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, then shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with a kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Prepare the Water Bath: Fill a 4 to 8 qt stock pot with 2 quarts of water and whisk in the honey. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop the bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side (2 mins per side if you want a chewier bagel). Remove from pot and drain slightly. When cool enough to handle, gently reshape into bagel shape if needed.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. Dip in toppings, if desired. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet.
• Bake the Bagels: Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Video

Recipe Notes

Using fed sourdough starter can give you a better rise (depending on how vigorous your starter is), but using unfed sourdough starter discard works just fine. If you do use fed starter (and it's active and bubbly), you can omit the yeast, but the rising times can be longer.

The amount of flour or water in your dough will depend on the humidity of your kitchen and the hydration of your starter. As you mix your dough, you might need to add more flour or water in one tablespoon increments to get the dough to the right consistency.

The water temperature should be warm to the touch. Too warm, and you kill the yeast. 

Overnight Preparation: Prepare the dough through step 3, allowing the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator. The slow rise gives the bagels wonderful flavor! In the morning, continue with step 4. I don't recommend shaping the bagels the night before as they may puff up too much overnight.

Freezing: Freeze baked bagels for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm to your liking. You can also freeze the bagel dough. After punching down the dough in step 5, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then punch the dough down again to release any air bubbles. Continue with the rest of step 5.

Bread Flour: Bagels require a high protein flour, so use bread flour if you can. You can make whole wheat bagels by replacing half of the bread flour with whole wheat flour.

Bagel Varieties: The toppings are added after the egg wash in step 8. Dip the bagels into your desired toppings, then shake off excess.

The ingredient amounts are for using 1 week's worth (1 cup or 8 oz) of Sourdough Starter Discard. If you're going to use more or less starter, adjust the flour and water measurements accordingly (generally, starter is equal parts flour and water by weight). Either way, you might need to add more flour to get right dough consistency (flour is well hydrated).

Don't skip the water bath and egg wash -- both provide an extra chewy and golden brown crust.

Nutrition Facts

Sourdough Bagels

Amount Per Serving (1 bagel)

Calories 200

* Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 cal per day diet.

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