Water Sourdough Bagels
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.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey for the water bath
- seasoning for the top of bagel as desired cinnamon sugar, salt, everything seasoning
Instructions
- Start the dough the night before. In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix together the flour, sourdough starter, salt, and warm water. 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.
- 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.
- 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!