Sourdough Jerusalem Bagels (No Boil Bagels)

Jerusalem bagels (ka'ak Al-Quds in Arabic) are a Middle-Eastern staple - a long ring-shaped bread usually coated with sesame seeds. As the name implies, they're often found outside the gates of the Old City sold from pushcart vendors (that's where we discovered them on a long ago trip to Israel). As long as your arm, these oval, sesame-covered bagels are nothing like the traditional chewy bagels we're used to.

With my enduring search for sourdough discard uses, I decided to not only replicate those delicious Jerusalem bagels, but to adapt them to use my weekly unfed sourdough starter.

Sourdough Jerusalem Bagels are now a thing, and they're well worth making!

What are Jerusalem Bagels?

Jerusalem bagels are very similar to traditional bagels except in one important way - the dough isn't boiled before baking.

When you boil bagel dough, the gluten firms up on the outside of the dough. Baking those boiled bagels tightens the outside even further, and that's how you get that distinctive bagel chewiness. It's the same with pretzels.

Since Jerusalem bagels aren't boiled before baking, the outside stays soft, more like a roll than a bagel. And it simplifies the whole process considerably.

What you need

The ingredients for a Jerusalem bagel recipe are more similar to challah than a classic bagel recipe: besides the flour, water, yeast, and salt, the recipe includes sugar and olive oil. The addition of milk powder softens the dough.

Also, the outside of Jerusalem bagels are coated with an egg wash and topped with sesame seeds, just like challah.

Adding sourdough starter discard to my recipe for Jerusalem bagels adds an additional flavor dimension. Now you have a slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and slightly nutty Sourdough Jerusalem Bagel to snack on. Yummm...

How to make Sourdough Jerusalem Bagels

Step 1: Make the dough

Stir together the flour, dry milk powder, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the sourdough starter discard, ½ cup warm water, and the olive oil (photo 1). Mix on Low speed for about a minute, then turn up the speed to Medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.

You can also mix and knead the dough in a bread machine (set to manual) or by hand.

Adjust the consistency of the dough as needed by adding more flour or water in 1 tablespoon increments. The amounts will be based on the humidity of the day. The dough is low in hydration, so it will be a little stiff.

Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover and set the bowl in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled in size (photo 2). The oven with just the light turned on works well.

You can also retard dough in the refrigerator overnight (and up to 2 days), both to let the dough develop more sourdough flavor, and if you’d rather have fresh bagels in the morning for breakfast. If you choose to chill the dough, let it come to room temperature on the counter for about an hour before continuing to shape the bagels.

Step 2: Shape the dough

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and press gently to deflate. Divide the dough into 6 equal-sized pieces, forming each one into a ball. Let the dough rest, covered with a towel, for a few minutes.

Here's another point where traditional bagels and Jerusalem bagels diverge: instead of just making the bagel round, you shape them into a long oval. This can be done in one of two ways:

• Shaping Method 1: Form each dough portion into a ball. Press a finger through the middle of the ball of dough then slowly stretch the dough to make the hole larger (like when making regular bagels), until you get an oval about 8-inches in diameter (photo 3).
• Shaping Method 2: Make a rope about 18-inches long (like when braiding challah), then join the ends and press them together. Hook a forefinger into the bottom of the hole that you just made, and gently stretch the dough to make a long hole.

Set the shaped bagels onto two half sheet baking pans lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper. Lightly brush each of the bagels with the egg wash using a pastry brush, then sprinkle liberally with the sesame seeds (photo 4).

Lightly cover and let rise for about 30 minutes until puffy to the touch (they won’t quite double in size but they will increase in volume).

Step 3: Bake the bagels

Like I mentioned earlier, this type of bagel does't require boiling, so you can skip directly to baking.

Bake at 375˚F for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown (photo 5). Rotate the trays back to front and exchanging top to bottom racks halfway through the baking time.

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions you might have...