Best Sourdough Bagels (soft, easy, small batch recipe)
My sourdough bagels recipe makes soft and fluffy bagels with easy steps that anyone can follow. You don’t have to be a pro baker to make bagels at home from scratch. One bite of a sourdough bagel will have you swearing off the premade selections at the grocery store. They really are that good!
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If you want to make these bagels but don’t have a sourdough starter, no worries! Grab my free guide so you can make your own starter at home.
If you’re new to sourdough baking and feel hesitant, or you have questions, I’ve got something for you! I broke down the basics of what you need to know about sourdough baking in my free sourdough baking guide for beginners. I highly recommend grabbing a copy!
Sourdough Bagel Recipe Inspiration
I love eating bagels for breakfast, especially with a warm cup of coffee paired with them. So I decided to develop my own sourdough bagel recipe from scratch, using wholesome ingredients and simple steps. I used avocado oil as my secret ingredient to help the bagels come out soft and fluffy. My husband and I can’t get enough of this recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Sourdough Bagels
- This is a super easy recipe that has simple steps.
- These bagels are made with wholesome ingredients and no seed oils.
- The bagels turn out so soft and fluffy.
- This recipe makes a small bath of 6 bagels.
Why You Should Make Sourdough Bagels
When you start making sourdough bagels at home you’ll see what I’m talking about! Not only will they save you money but they are much better for you to eat!
Saves Money
By making bagels at home with your sourdough starter, you save so much money. This recipe costs around $1 to whip up, if not less. When you buy a bag of six bagels at the store, they cost around $4–$5, depending on what brand you get. Not to mention the $10-$12 bagels made of sourdough at the farmer’s market.
Healthier than Store Bought
These bagels are so much better for you than the premade ones at the grocery store. You’re eliminating harmful ingredients. These bagels are made with simple, wholesome items that are good for you. Not to mention all of the gut benefits from the sourdough starter.
Simple & Easy
This recipe for sourdough bagels is super simple and easy. I created it so anyone could whip them up. You don’t have to be a professional baker to make these bagels!
Tips & Tricks for Making Sourdough Bagels
- Make sure your starter is active! Before you get started with this recipe, you need to feed your starter a 2:1 ratio of flour to water 4–12 hours before you start. Your sourdough starter needs to be very active and bubbly to begin.
- Let the dough bulk ferment for 12 hours. It is important to let your dough bulk ferment for the full 12 hours. It should double in size and have air bubbles in it.
- Place the dough in a warm spot to rise. For both the bulk ferment and the second rise after shaping, your dough needs to be at room temperature in a non-drafty place. If your dough doesn’t look like it’s doing anything halfway through the rises, you need to place it in a slightly warmer area. This can be in a turned-off oven with the light on and oven door open, or you can slightly warm the oven to about 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit, then turn it off and place your dough inside with the door shut. Never leave the oven on, even on the keep warm setting, with fermenting dough inside. Your dough, for both rises, needs to double.
- Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to get the bagels out of their water bath.
- Use avocado oil; it makes a huge difference in the texture.
- Don’t skip over the kneading process or shorten it.
- Make sure you add both honey and baking soda to the water bath. Don’t skip this step. It’s what makes the bagel a bagel.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Bagels
- Fed sourdough starter
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Water
- Sea salt
- Avocado oil (or melted butter)
- Raw honey
For the Water Bath
- Baking soda
- Raw honey
Equipment You’ll Need to Make Sourdough Bagels
How to Make Sourdough Bagels (with fed starter not discard)
Feed your starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. I recommend feeding it a 2:1 ratio of flour to water. It needs to be active and bubbly to begin this recipe
Step #1 – Make Bagel Dough
Place dough back into a mixing bowl. Cover loosely with a damp tea towel, lid, or plastic wrap.
In a mixing bowl, add sourdough starter, water, avocado oil, honey, and salt. Stir until combined.
Add in flour. Mix until combined. Depending on your starter hydration, it may be shaggy, so use your hands to finish combining it into a dough ball until all the flour is incorporated.
Knead the dough for 3 minutes (by hand or with a stand mixer with a kneading hook attachment). Add flour to your workspace if needed.
Step #2 – Bulk Rise
Let the dough bulk ferment on the counter at room temperature for 12 hours. The dough should double in size during this time and have visible bubbles.
Step #3 – Shape Bagels
Punch down the dough to deflate air bubbles.
Once you’re done, turn the dough out on the counter (no flour needed) and cut into six even pieces.
Shape each piece into a ball, push your thumb through the middle to create the bagel shape whole, and finally use your hands to flatten it out into a bagel shape.
Repeat this step until all six bagels are shaped.
Step #4 – Second Rise
At this point, you can either proceed with the recipe or place the covered sheet pan in the fridge for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to continue the recipe.
Place bagels on a parchment-lined sheet pan, about 2 inches apart. Loosely cover them with a dry kitchen towel, a second sheet pan, or plastic wrap.
Let bagels rise for 3-4 hours until they are puffy and doubled in size.
Step #5 – Water Bath
Repeat until all bagels go through the water bath. Make sure the bagels aren’t touching on the baking sheet pan.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill a large pot halfway with water and add baking soda and honey. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat to medium and drop in 1 bagel at a time to boil for 30 seconds, then flip and let boil for another 30 seconds. (If the bagels were in the fridge, they may not float right away; just nudge them after the first 30 seconds before flipping.)
Remove the bagels from the water bath with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, allowing excess water to drip off.
Place the bagel back onto the parchment-lined sheet pan. You can use the end of the spatula to gently remake the hole in the center of the bagel if it’s caved in a little.
Step #6 – Bake Bagels
Preheat the oven to 425. Bake bagels for 20–25 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Sourdough Bagels
Store sourdough bagels in an airtight glass container for the best quality and lasting freshness. They’ll last up to 3 days at room temperature and 5–6 days when stored in the fridge. I like to keep ours out for 3 days, then place them in the fridge for 2–3 more days so they last longer.
How to Freeze Sourdough Bagels
Freeze bagels in a glass freezer-safe container for best results for up to 3 months. You can also store them in a freezer-safe baggie.
Thawing Sourdough Bagels
Thawing sourdough bagels is super easy. Just take them from the freezer and place them in the fridge overnight. They’ll be ready to eat by morning.
Best Things to Serve with Sourdough Bagels
You can serve these bagels with just about any type of food for any meal. Here are a few ideas:
Savory Parings
- bacon
- sausage
- eggs
- breakfast meat on the bagel to make a sandwich
- an avocado smeared on
Sweet Parings
- sliced banana
- nut butters smeared on
- jam or fruit preserves
- cinnamon sugar cream cheese smeared on
Toppings for sourdough bagels
Just like the add-ins, you can top these bagels with almost anything! If you’re looking for a sweet topping, add cinnamon and sugar. If you’re looking for a savory topping, top them with asiago cheese.
FAQs
Sourdough bagels are a healthy option! They’re made from scratch with wholesome ingredients, no seed oils, and no additives. The fermentation process adds gut benefits to the dough as well!
Bagels are supposed to be a bit chewy, but if they are overly chewy, it comes from a problem in the fermentation process. If the dough wasn’t able to ferment for the full 10–12 hours, it could make it dense and chewy. Also, if you over ferment the dough for more than 12 hours, it creates a chewy texture.
Yes, you can overproof bagel dough, especially if it’s left to bulk ferment for more than 12 hours at room temperature. Your dough will not have elasticity, the bagels will fall flat in the oven, and they won’t brown up.
You could but I recommend using fed starter for these bagels as that’s how I developed the recipe. It’ll give your bagels more of a rise.
You can add so many different things to these bagels. You can add in chocolate chips to the batter, blueberries, jalapeños, and even shredded cheddar cheese. There are so many options; let your imagination run wild! These bagels are so versatile.
I don’t calculate the nutritional information for recipes here on the blog, but you can simply find out by using this website: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
If your bagels are dense, this could be for a couple of reasons:
1. The first issue could be that your starter wasn’t active and bubbly before using it for this recipe. Fix this by feeding your starter a 2:1 ratio of flour to water 4–12 hours before making this recipe. Let it sit out on the counter during this time. It should double in size and be bubbly.
2. The second issue could be that your dough didn’t double in size during the bulk ferment and/or the second rise. This could be from your starter being weak or the dough being too cold during the rising times.
Fix this by placing your dough in a turned-off oven with the oven light on and the door open or the oven slightly warmed to 75-80 degrees, then turning it off and keeping the door shut during both the bulk ferment and second rise.
More Sourdough Breakfast Recipes To Try
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (with cream cheese frosting)
- Strawberry Sourdough Sweet Rolls From Scratch
- Ham and Cheese Sourdough Breakfast Casserole (not eggy)
- Sourdough Pancakes Recipe From Scratch
Recipe
Best Sourdough Bagels (soft, easy, small batch recipe)
Ingredients
For the Bagels
- 1/2 cup fed sourdough starter (fed 4-12 hours before using)
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or 4 Tbsp melted butter)
- 2 tsp raw honey
For the Water Bath
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp raw honey
Instructions
Before You Begin Prepare Your Starter
- Feed your starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. I recommend feeding it a 2:1 ratio of flour to water. It needs to be active and bubbly to begin this recipe.
Step #1 – Make Bagel Dough
- In a mixing bowl, add sourdough starter, water, avocado oil, honey, and salt. Stir until combined.
- Add in flour. Mix until combined. Depending on your starter hydration, it may be shaggy, so use your hands to finish combining it into a dough ball until all the flour is incorporated.
- Knead the dough for 3 minutes (by hand or with a stand mixer with a kneading hook attachment). Add flour to your workspace if needed.
- Place dough back into a mixing bowl. Cover loosely with a damp tea towel, lid, or plastic wrap.
Step #2 – Bulk Rise
- Let the dough bulk ferment on the counter at room temperature for 12 hours. The dough should double in size during this time and have visible bubbles.
Step #3 – Shape Bagels
- Punch down the dough to deflate air bubbles.
- Turn the dough out on the counter (no flour needed) and cut into six even pieces.
- Shape each piece into a ball, push your thumb through the middle to create the bagel shape whole, and finally use your hands to flatten it out into a bagel shape.
- Repeat this step until all six bagels are shaped.
Step #4 – Second Rise
- Place bagels on a parchment-lined sheet pan, about 2 inches apart. Loosely cover them with a dry kitchen towel, a second sheet pan, or plastic wrap.
- Let bagels rise for 3-4 hours until they are puffy and doubled in size.
- At this point, you can either proceed with the recipe or place the covered sheet pan in the fridge for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to continue the recipe.
Step #5 – Water Bath
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fill a large pot halfway with water and add baking soda and honey. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
- Turn down the heat to medium and drop in 1 bagel at a time to boil for 30 seconds, then flip and let boil for another 30 seconds. (If the bagels were in the fridge, they may not float right away; just nudge them after the first 30 seconds before flipping.)
- Remove the bagels from the water bath with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, allowing excess water to drip off.
- Place the bagel back onto the parchment-lined sheet pan. You can use the end of the spatula to gently remake the hole in the center of the bagel if it's caved in a little.
- Repeat until all bagels go through the water bath. Make sure the bagels aren’t touching on the baking sheet pan.
Step #5 – Bake Bagels
- Bake bagels for 20–25 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
Notes
How to Store Sourdough Bagels
Store sourdough bagels in an airtight glass container for the best quality and lasting freshness. They’ll last up to 3 days at room temperature and 5–6 days when stored in the fridge. I like to keep ours out for 3 days, then place them in the fridge for 2–3 more days so they last longer.How to Freeze Sourdough Bagels
Freeze bagels in a glass freezer-safe container for best results for up to 3 months. You can also store them in a freezer-safe baggie.Thawing Sourdough Bagels
Thawing sourdough bagels is super easy. Just take them from the freezer and place them in the fridge overnight. They’ll be ready to eat by morning.Did you make this recipe?
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