Homestead on Lakeside

Water sourdough bagels are so easy to make,  that sometimes, if I’m feeling pressed for time to make a loaf a bread, I make sourdough bagels instead. They are great for breakfast and lunch and can be made in many flavors. Follow along with me as we make bagels from scratch.

When I first started making sourdough bagels, I struggled to find a recipe for long fermented bagels. Long fermented means that you’re not just using the sourdough starter as a discard with other flour and cooking the bagels immediately,  but that you are using the sourdough as a tool for fermentation, flavor, and yeast. When I make a sourdough recipe, I like to at least have the dough fermented for 4 hours, but overnight is best for digestibility and the breakdown of gluten.

I start this dough right before I go to bed. This dough is flexible in its fermentation time. There have been many instances where I have let the dough go until noon before baking, and the bagels came out great, but I usually will make them before breakfast. That means they will have fermented for about 9 to 10 hours.

For best results, make sure your starter is close to room temperature and active. But I have also made this dough with a cold starter, and it will work took. It is just harder to mix together.  Active starter means that it is bubbly and usually about the consistency of pancake batter. I store my starter in the refrigerator so that I don’t have to feed it often and take it out a few hours before I’m ready to use it so that it comes to room temperature.  If I’m in a bug hurry,  I will put my sourdough in a warm spot like the back of the stove. If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can make one! Here is my post about how to make a sourdough starter.

These bagels are some of the best I’ve eaten. They are boiled in water and then baked for the perfect texture. You will find a lot of bagel recipes call for boiling in a baking soda water bath. These are baked in a honey water bath, making the flavor that much better. Plus, your whole house will smell like a bagel shop, which is an added bonus.

Water Sourdough Bagel Ingredients:

4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of warm water

1 cup of sourdough starter

Salt, 1 tsp

Honey, 1 tbsp (for boiling, not the dough)

Optional toppings: everything bagel seasoning mix, poppy seeds, cinnamon sugar, salt, etc.

Water Sourdough Bagel Recipe:

Start the dough the night before. In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix together the flour, sourdough starter, salt, and warm water.  I love to use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook and glass bowl. The glass bowl comes with a lid that seals for easy overnight covering.

This dough is a firm dough. That’s why it’s so much easier to combine the ingredients in the mixer. Let the dough mix for several minutes.  If the dough seems too dry and is struggling to come together, add a half teaspoon of water at a time while mixing until the dough comes together in a ball.

Cover and let the dough sit overnight.

Shaping the Bagels

The next day, remove your dough from the mixing bowl onto a clean surface. Gently make the dough into a ball shape and start by cutting dough in half. Then, make each half into a ball shape and cut in half again. Do this again until you have 11 to 12 bagels. I use a kitchen scale to make sure that my bagels are similar in size.  I usually aim for between 0:3.4 lb,oz and 0:3 lb. Depending on the size you make your bagel, your dough will either yield 11 or 12 bagels.

Shape your dough pieces into balls. Shape them by flattening the dough with your hand into a 3-inch diameter circle. Then gather the edges of the circle and bring them together on the bottom of  the dough ball so that the top of the ball is smooth.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Place the dough balls on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and let sit for 10 to 20 minutes covered in a warm spot to relax the gluten.

Then, poke a hole in the middle of the dough ball and stretch out the circle to make the shape of a bagel.

After shaping each bagel, cover and let sit for another twenty minutes to rise.  While the bagels are rising,  start boiling a large pot of water and add 1 tbsp of honey to the pot. 

Honey Water Bath

Once the shaped dough has finished rising and the water is boiling.  Place 4 to 5 bagels in the boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip over in the water and cook for another 60 seconds. Remove the boiled bagels and place them back on the parchment paper for baking. Continue until all of the bagels have been boiled.  Once the bagels have been boiled and are slightly warm, you can add your bagel seasoning if desired.

You can bake them plain without any seasoning. Or you can add poppy seeds, salt, sugar cinnamon,  everything seasoning to a plate, and dip the top of your bagel in the seasoning on the plate. Then, place the seasoned bagel back on the parchment lined baking sheet. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these water sourdough bagels as much as we do! Follow along @homesteadonlakeside for more homemade family inspiration and recipes. 

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