Bagel Time!

Hi! Been lurking and commenting here and there but this is my first post in this group. I love looking at all the lovely bread photos!

I’ve baked all my life but only started making sourdough bread in 2020 so I consider my self a beginner bread maker. I still learn so much everyday.

A few weeks ago I ventured out of my normal bread making and decided to make sourdough bagels. I have to say I will no longer need to buy bakery bagels again. 😃These were so easy to make and tasted just as good. Today marked the third time I’ve made these, each time adjusting the recipe slightly and playing around with my oven temp and timing. My oven has hot spots so I’m constantly adjusting recipe temps.

I adapted this recipe from the Clever Carrot Blog. This is a 57.5% hydration dough, which is perfect for bagels. Play around. I think the hydration should be around 55 to 60%

Here we go:

For the Levain – 1:3:3 ratio
25 g Starter
75 g water
67 g bread flour
8 g whole wheat flour

For the Dough:
150 g active levain
250 g room temp water – my house is always around 64• so I warm the water to around 74•
24 g honey
500 g King Arthur bread flour
10 g fine sea salt

For the water bath:
Large pot
Water
25 g (1 tbsp) honey

Toppings:
Onion, garlic, sesame, everything bagel, poppy

Soak your dried onion and garlic in warm water for 30 minutes to soften them up otherwise they will burn when you bake them. I learned the hard way!

This was my timeline for the bagels:

1:45 pm – pull starter out of fridge and make levain in a separate jar. Feed your starter and put her/him back in the fridge. Loosely cover your levain with a tea towel and set on counter to ferment. Mine takes about 6 hours to peak so depending on your starter, you may need to make your levain earlier or later. Adjust to your needs.

8:00 pm – mix dough, knead for five to eight minutes, cover with very damp tea towel, let rest for 1 hour.

9:00 pm – knead for 30 seconds to form a smooth ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it prove overnight on the countertop – my house is roughly 63-64• year round so I put mine in the microwave (above stove) and turn my stovetop light on which warms up the inside of microwave.

9:00 am – cut dough into 8 equal parts, roll each one into a ball, set on lined cookie sheet and cover, let it rise a 2nd time for 20 minutes

9:25 am – push a hole through center of dough balls, stretch and form Bagel or do a barrel roll to create hole. Cover with damp cloth and let it prove one last time for 20 min.

10:00 am – drop 2-3 bagels into a pot of simmering water with honey for 30 seconds, flip and boil for another 30 seconds. Take out and put on cookie sheet –

10:05 am – while still wet, add toppings, and bake in a preheated oven at 415 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and bake another minute or so to crisp the bottoms if needed. Temp your bagels to 200-205 degrees.

10:25ish am – place bagel on cooling rack for 30 minutes or so.

Slice open, toast and smear with butter and cream cheese or your favorite toppings!

Here are some notes I’ve taken:

Boil Times for Bagels:
• 20–30 seconds per side – thin, softer crust, lighter and less chewy
• 45–60 seconds per side – balanced crust, chewy but not too thick (classic style)
• 90–120 seconds per side – very chewy, thick crust, dense interior

Other factors:
• Adding malt syrup, honey, or baking soda to the water deepens color and flavor.
• Lower hydration dough makes a firmer crust.
• Hotter oven (450–475°F) = crispier crust, cooler oven (400–425°F) = softer crust.

I’ve also adjusted the recipe to make honey wheat bagels. Those are my daughter’s favorite.

I hope you enjoy these.