One of my favorite things to make with my sourdough recently, are these amazing bagels. They are soft and fluffy and with the addition of a little yeast they are fast and no fail even when you use discard. The addition of the yeast means, they go much faster than your normal sourdough recipes and you do not have to use the starter when it is fed and bubbly (you can but you can also use the discard which is unfed). They only take about 3 hours from start to finish and most of that is rising time, which is so great.
Lovely dough after the first rise. Ready to be shaped into bagels. YUM! Once you shape them, you let them rise covered again. I love to use these lids for my cookie sheets. They are the prefect way to cover the bagels while they raise. I forgot to take a picture but this is what they look like. I got mine on Amazon.
Also–use a nonstick silicone liner for the cookie sheets. It makes it so much easier to pick up the dough bagels to drop in the boiling water.
You can add baking soda to the water, but I prefer honey to create the nice color and chewy texture. I put in about 3 Tablespoons of honey for 2 liters or 8 1/2 cups of water. I use a slotted spoon like this one to get them out of the boiling water and onto the baking sheet. Having the right tools really help with this recipe. Making amazing homemade bagels so easy!
Once you remove them from the boiling water bath you can add toppings if you want to. We like cinnamon sugar, sesame seeds or asiago cheese on top.
Fresh out of the oven. I LOVE making a turkey or veggie sandwich on a fresh sesame or cheese bagel. So mouthwateringly delicious!!
But my boys will always go for the cinnamon sugar ones! They really are so good with a smear of whipped cream cheese or toasted with butter. These bagels freeze beautifully and since they are best fresh we put bagels not eaten on the first day into the freezer.
I hope you enjoy these easy Sourdough discard bagels as much as we do! I you want to use fed sourdough starter and not add yeast, please see the little chart below in the notes of the recipe. Anyway you make them, they are fantastic!
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Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 8–12 1x
Description
These easy sourdough discard bagels are seriously fantastic. They are New York style with a wonderful chewy crust and a pillowy soft interior. These are so good that I ALWAYS double this recipe!
Ingredients
100 grams Sourdough Starter (can be discard or fed and bubbly)
500 grams Bread Flour
250 grams Warm Water
2 teaspoon Instant Yeast (if using discard–see notes)
30 grams of Sugar
10 grams of Salt
For Boiling:
8 1/2 cups of Water
3 Tablespoons Honey
Instructions
This dough is very stiff, so a stand mixer works best for mixing and kneading. I use my Bosch but a kitchen aid fitted with the dough paddle would work too. Also I almost always double this recipe. Works great!
- Add sourdough starter (discard), warm water, flour, sugar, instant yeast (if using) and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer and bring together to form a shaggy dough. Don’t be alarmed, it will be thick! I use a Bosch and let it mix for about 30 seconds.
- Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
- Knead the dough for around 5-10 minutes depending on the strength of your stand mixer. The dough should be smooth and supple. It is thick stiff dough so it won’t be super elastic, but it should look smooth and not sticky when done kneading. I knead for about 5 minutes with my Bosch mixer.
- Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, you will need to allow it to rise or ferment. You want the dough to double in size and be puffy and soft. For me this is about an hour to an hour and half when I have included yeast in the recipe.
- Once the dough has risen, it is time to shape it into bagels. I always use my digital kitchen scale to get the size right but of course you can just eyeball it too! We prefer larger bagels but I have directions for smaller ones too!
For small bagels: Divide the dough into 12 pieces each weighing about 80 grams each.
For larger bagels: Divide the dough into 8 pieces each weighing about 110 grams each. - Shape each piece into a ball and then go back to the first ball made and poke a hole in the center. Gently stretch the hole out and then place each bagel on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone liner (so they don’t stick) to rise.
- Cover the formed bagels with a dish cloth or cookie sheet cover (linked above in the post). Let the bagels rise until soft and puffy. For me this is about an hour to an hour and half when I have included yeast.
- Before the bagels are done rising, bring a pot of water boil with about 8 1/2 cups of water and 3 Tablespoons of honey stirred in.
- Preheat oven to 390
- When the water is boiling, carefully place 3-4 bagels into the boiling water at a time. You want to boil them for around 30 seconds each side. If you prefer really chewy bagels you can let them boil for up to 2 minutes.
- Carefully remove bagels from the boiling water onto the prepared cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat) If you want to add toppings like sesame seeds, cinnamon sugar or grated asiago or parmesan cheese add them now. You can also leave them plain.
- Bake the bagels in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven when they are golden brown.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!!
Notes
See this chart for rising time with or without yeast and if the starter is discard or fed and bubbly.
| Starter | Yeast | Bulk Ferment |
| Fed, Active Sourdough Starter | No | Overnight (or until the dough has doubled). |
| Sourdough Discard | Pinch or approx 1/2 tsp | Overnight (or until the dough has doubled). |
| Sourdough Discard | approx 2 tsp or 7 g | Around 1-2 hours (or until the dough has doubled). |
- Prep Time: 30
- Ferment or Rise time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30
Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Pantry Mama
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