I try not to talk about bagels with friends. Talking about them always starts innocently, a little witty banter about the crust, crumb, and color traits and past eating experiences: “that bagel I had in New York that one time,” or “there was this one bagel shop down the street…” This jovial chat slowly evolves into a friendly argument about more-sweet versus more-savory and crunchy versus soft; maybe one even mentions steaming the bagel instead of baking it (😱).
Finally, the once innocuous chatter results in the participants either forming a stronger friendship over common bagel zealotry or the unfortunate end to the friendship altogether. It’s like the old axiom: never play Risk with a friend you want to keep. Exaggeration? Perhaps. But bagels do seem to rouse an enthusiasm rarely seen with other food (I’d argue pizza might be a solid contender, though). They carry a different meaning depending on where you’ve grown up, what local shops were in the area, and ultimately, where your preferences lie. But these sourdough bagels seem to transcend almost every bagel I’ve had, especially the mass-produced ones—oh yes, definitely those.
While these bagels are more along the New York Bagel style, I’m also a fan of the newer wave bagels with a super thin, glossy, and crispy crust. In fact, I have a recipe for those glossy bagels, too, if that’s more your thing.
I recall occasionally eating those bagels from the bag at the market: that ultra-chewy (from end to end) vehicle was mostly there to convey cream cheese, or schmear, from package to mouth. Rest assured, these sourdough bagels are not that in the slightest. They have a very thin and crisp exterior, not tough or hard, but rather, a little crunch that gives the chewy bagel a textural counterpoint. You see, the interior is as chewy as you’d expect a bagel, but if the entire thing is chewy, you end up with just a big chewy thing. But if you have a contrasting texture, it seems to amplify the chewy thing, much like adding an acid elaborates other flavors.
And overall, these bagels are pretty darn easygoing. Unlike bread dough, there’s no need to be overly critical of each motion when shaping, and in the end, the bagel rings puff up uniformly, boil beautifully, and bake easily. Speaking of the boil, perhaps one of the things that keep many from making them, but it’s such a simple thing. And while I often draw parallels between this dough and my sourdough pretzel—mostly in that they each have a stiff dough and a pre-bake step—there’s far less prep before baking bagels than pretzel—not that those sourdough pretzels aren’t worth the effort, because they certainly are.
First, let’s look at some tools I use when making these sourdough bagels.
Tools and Ingredients
First, a few of the tools and ingredients I use for this recipe
- Barley malt syrup – this is the classic sweetener added to a bagel dough and it has a very unique flavor and aroma. I like the Eden brand, but any should work well.
- Diastatic malt powder – see the post on diastatic vs. nondiastatic malt and why it’s used in baking.
- Everything bagel topping – I love this mix of seeds and dried spices for topping bagels.
- Cornmeal – traditionally used to keep the bagels from sticking to the baking sheet during proofing (and they add extra starch to the boiling water).
- Half baking sheet – I use this to proof all 12 dough pieces to save space in a home refrigerator.
- Full baking sheet – perfect for baking all 12 bagels, with room in between, on a single baking sheet for even baking.
Flour Selection
Many bagel recipes, mine included, call for high-protein white flour to get that characteristic chew and structure.
I’ve tried this with Tony Gemignani’s Pizza Flour (15% protein), and while there was a bit more chew, I wouldn’t say it was necessary to order some for making sourdough bagels. I like to use Central Milling High Mountain, King Arthur Bread Flour, or Bob’s Red Mill Bread Flour.
Baking Schedule
These sourdough bagels take three days to make: from creating the levain at night on day one to boiling and baking them in the morning on day three. I know—three days!?—but the good news is, most of the time you’re not actively handling the dough, it’s fermenting in one stage or another.
All-in-all, this is a straightforward schedule. It’s also quite flexible by a few hours here and there once the dough is chilled and in the fridge: if you can’t boil and bake first thing on day three, it’ll hold a few more hours (or perhaps longer).
Sourdough Bagel Formula
For tips on how to calculate baker’s percentages or how to modify this formula, see my post on baker’s percentages (baker’s math).
| Total Dough Weight | 1,600 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 12.00% |
| Yield | 12 x 125g bagels |
Total Formula
Desired dough temperature: 78°F (25°C). See my post on the importance of dough temperature for more information on dough temperatures.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 964g | High-protein white flour (~13% protein, Central Milling High Mountain, King Arthur Flour Bread flour, or Bob’s Red Mill Bread Flour) | 100.00% |
| 530g | Water | 55.00% |
| 29g | Sugar, caster | 3.00% |
| 29g | Barley malt syrup | 3.00% |
| 18g | Salt | 1.90% |
| 7g | Diastatic malt | 0.75% |
| 23g | Sourdough starter (100% hydration; 40% rye, 60% white flour) | 2.40% |
Sourdough Bagel Method
1. Prepare Levain – Night before mixing, 9:30 p.m. (Day one)
Mix the following ingredients together in a container and leave covered to ripen for 12 hours overnight. It mixes up to a stiff consistency so I like to mix and knead the dough in a mixing bowl, then I transfer to a narrow and tall jar.
Try to hit a final dough temperature of 78°F (25°C) for this levain.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 116g | High protein flour | 100.00% |
| 58g | Water | 50.00% |
| 23g | Ripe sourdough starter | 20.00% |
23.18% Levain In Final Dough Mix.
2. Mix – 9:30 a.m. (Day two)
A note on mechanical mixing: This dough is low hydration and comprised of high protein flour—it’s a firm dough! I used my Haussler Alpha mixer to mix this for 5 minutes on speed one. You could use a KitchenAid stand mixer to mix this dough for a few minutes in the beginning, but I wouldn’t push it too far and risk damaging the mixer—ultimately you make the call. After mixing in the KitchenAid, you could then turn the dough out to the counter to finish kneading like pasta dough, as described below.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 848g | High protein flour |
| 472g | Water |
| 29g | Sugar, caster |
| 29g | Barley malt syrup |
| 18g | Salt |
| 7g | Diastatic malt |
| 197g | Levain (see Prepare Levain, above) |
Make the malt syrup slurry: This will help the sticky, viscous barley malt syrup incorporate more easily into the dough. To a small mixing bowl, add a bit of the mixing water, barley malt syrup, sugar, diastatic malt powder, and salt. Stir until everything dissolves.
To your mixing bowl, add the malt syrup slurry, flour, water, and ripe levain. If using a mechanical mixer (see the note, above), mix on low speed for approximately 5 minutes until the dough strengthens and begins to smooth. This dough is so firm it doesn’t need much.
If you do choose to use a mechanical mixer, you might need to cool the mixing water to ensure you hit the FDT of 78°F (25°C). I used cold water straight from my fridge.
If mixing by hand, mix everything in the bowl until well incorporated. Turn the dough out to a clean work surface and knead the dough like pasta: fold half over onto itself and push the mass away from you with the palm of your hand. Continue folding over and pushing away for 8-10 minutes until the dough firms up, and it becomes hard to knead any further.
Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover.
3. Bulk Fermentation – 9:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Give this dough a single fold after 1 hour and 30 minutes into bulk fermentation. For the fold, turn the dough out to a clean work surface and do your best to fold it into thirds. Place the dough back into the bulk fermentation container with its seam side down, and cover. Let the dough rest, covered, for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
4. Divide and Shape – 12:45 p.m.
Use a half baking sheet (so it fits into your refrigerator) to hold the 12 pieces of shaped dough. Later, after boiling the dough, I upsize to a full baking sheet to help the dough evenly bake. Spread a thin layer of cornmeal on the half sheet to prevent the bagel dough from sticking during proofing.
Divide the dough into twelve 125g pieces.
First, degas the piece by tamping down a bit with your hand. Then, do your best to form the piece into a rough rectangle and cinch down from the top, so the dough ends up in a little tube. This cinching doesn’t have to be forceful, and it helps to get the dough into a tube shape.
Next, roll your hand in the center a few times to create a bulb at each end. Then, switch to two hands and roll outward to about 12 inches and a tube that’s mostly the same thickness all the way through. If you prefer a bagel with a large hole, roll out the tube, so it’s longer.
Once rolled out to a long tube, wrap it around the backside of your hand between your knuckles and wrist. Overlap the two ends of the dough in the palm of your hand, and gently press the two ends together. Next, press your palm down on the work surface, and in a repetitive motion, roll the dough on the work surface repeatedly to seal.
Here’s a video on my YouTube channel of me shaping one of the pieces
After shaping a piece, transfer it to the cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining pieces, and you will end up with four rows of three.
5. Proof – 1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. (2 hours room temperature, then retard overnight)
Cover the baking sheet with a large, reusable plastic bag and seal shut. Let the dough proof at room temperature, around 72-74°F (22-23°C), for 2 hours. The dough should puff up slightly after this time but not excessively. If the dough still feels very dense to the touch, give it another 15-30 minutes and check again.
After 2 hours, place the covered baking sheet into the fridge overnight at around 39°F (4°C).
6. Boil and Top – 9:30 a.m. (Day three)
Oven prep: Before you begin boiling your bagel dough, preheat your oven to 475°F (245°C) with convection or 500°F (260°C) without convection. Place one rack at the bottom third of the oven. Place a baking stone or baking steel on the rack to preheat. I steam my oven as described on my oven steaming method post, so place a roasting pan on the bottom filled with lava rocks to prepare to steam. I also fill a cup of ice and place it next to my oven (I will pour this over the lava rocks to steam the oven).
Bagels are unique because you boil the dough before baking. This boiling gelatinizes the starches in the flour and gives them a little more chew and helps them achieve a shiny crust. This gelatinization is very similar to how you make a tangzhong or roux. But for a bagel, the longer you boil them, the thicker the crust and chewier they will become. There is a limit to the boil duration, though, as they will degrade in the water after a while. I have found boiling the dough 40 seconds on each side, for a total of 1 minute and 20 seconds, to be just right.
Many places like to add barley malt syrup or honey to the boiling water, but in side-by-side testing I didn’t find the added syrup to give them any more shine. The cornmeal brought into the boiling water might also add starches, much like when making pasta.
Boiling equipment prep: Fill a wide pot with enough water so the bagel dough can float without touching the bottom (in my 7qt Staub Dutch oven, this was about 1.5 gallons). Bring to a low boil. Next to your stovetop, place a half baking sheet with a cooling rack inside, this will hold the wet bagels for a minute and allow them to drain. Next, line a full baking sheet with parchment paper — this will hold the dough as it bakes. Finally, grab any toppings you’d like (poppy, oat, everything bagel mix, sesame, etc.) and place them in bowls on your work surface.
Boil: Once the water is at a low boil, boil the proofed sourdough bagel dough straight from the fridge, about 40 seconds per side. Using a spider strainer, transfer each piece to the cooling rack inside the baking sheet to drain while you boil the rest of the dough.
Once the pieces are all boiled, move quickly to top them, if desired, and get them onto the final baking sheet.
This dough should float immediately when dropped into the boiling water. If the dough sinks and doesn’t pop up within a few seconds, it’s likely under proofed. Give it more time to proof at warm temperature and try again.
Once the bagels have drained for a minute on the baking rack, transfer them to the full baking sheet lined with parchment paper for baking. Top them with whatever toppings you’d like at this time.
7. Bake – 9:45 a.m.
Slide the full baking sheet with boiled dough into the preheated oven directly onto the baking stone or baking steel. Pour the cup of ice onto the pan with lava rocks and quickly close the oven.
Bake at 475°F (245°C) convection (500°F (260°C) without convection) for 10 minutes with steam. After 10 minutes, vent the oven and remove the steaming pan, rotate the baking sheet 180°, and bake for 5 minutes longer. After this 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 450°F (235°C) and bake for 5 minutes longer for a total of 20 minutes. Remove the sheet when the bagels are nicely colored.
Let cool 15-20 minutes on a wire rack. These are fantastic the first day they’re baked and hold well for a few days after that in a bread box. I also like to wait till they are room temperature, slice in half, and then freeze in a freezer bag. They can be reheated in the toaster, as described in my post on how to store bread.
Conclusion
When you take a bite of these bagels, you’ll first discover a fleeting crispness that gives in to chewiness, a textural dance that eventually leads to a subtle, onset of sourness. This mellow tang creeps in and propels you to keep going with it, to keep taking bite after bite until you’ve finished the entire bagel without the thought of stopping.
The entire eating experience is scary in how it takes over, and it’s exactly what I want in a bagel.
The whole eating experience is scary in how it takes over, and it’s exactly what I want in a bagel. That pop of flavor at the end of the bite is not something you find in mass-produced bagels, and I just love it. And while there are sugar and barley malt syrup added to the dough, it does not carry through to make these bagels sweet. There’s a beautiful balance in the eating experience of these sourdough bagels.
After making these bagels the first time, you’ll get the hang of the process. Subsequent batches become easier and more natural, and it’s no stretch to think these could become a weekly staple—and they freeze incredibly well (I slice them in half and place them in a freezer bag) if, by chance, there’s any left.
Print
Sourdough Bagel
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours
- Yield: 12 bagels
Description
My recipe for flavorful and chewy sourdough bagels with a thin and slightly crispy crust. Delicious topped with an everything bagel mix, coarse sea salt, oats, seeds, or anything else you can dream up!
Ingredients
Levain
- 116g high protein flour
- 58g water
- 23g sourdough starter, ripe
Main Dough
- 848g high protein flour
- 472g water
- 29g sugar, caster
- 29g barley malt syrup
- 18g salt
- 7g diastatic malt
- 197g levain
Instructions
- Levain (the night before mixing, 9:30 p.m.)
Mix all the Levain ingredients in a container and leave it at a warm temperature for 12 hours. - Mix (9:30 a.m.)
Add a splash of the mixing water, sugar, barley malt syrup, diastatic malt powder, and salt to a small bowl and mix together. To your stand mixer’s mixing bowl, add the malt syrup slurry, flour, water, and ripe levain. Mix on low speed for approximately 5 minutes until the dough strengthens and begins to smooth. Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (9:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)
Give this dough a single fold after 1 hour and 30 minutes into bulk fermentation. - Divide and Shape (12:45 p.m.)
Use a half baking sheet (so it fits into your refrigerator) to hold the 12 pieces of shaped dough. Spread a thin layer of cornmeal on the half sheet to prevent sticking. Divide the dough into twelve 125g pieces. First, degas the piece by tamping down a bit with your hand. Then, form the piece into a rough rectangle and cinch down from the top, so the dough ends up in a little tube. Roll the tube out to a 12″ long tube. Wrap the dough around the backside of your hand and pinch it together in the front. Roll a few times on the counter to seal. Transfer to the cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Repeat for remaining dough pieces. - Proof (1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Cover the baking sheet with a large, reusable plastic bag and seal shut. Let the dough proof at room temperature, around 72-74°F (22-23°C), for 2 hours. The dough should puff up slightly after this time but not excessively. If the dough still feels very dense to the touch, give it another 15-30 minutes and check again. After 2 hours, place the covered baking sheet into the fridge overnight at around 39°F (4°C). - Boil and Top (9:30 a.m., Day Three)
Oven prep: Before you begin boiling your bagel dough, preheat your oven to 475°F (245°C) with convection or 500°F (260°C) without convection. Place one rack at the bottom third of the oven. Place a baking stone or baking steel on the rack to preheat. Place a roasting pan on the bottom filled with lava rocks to prepare to steam. I also fill a cup of ice and place it next to my oven (I will pour this over the lava rocks to steam the oven).
Boiling equipment prep: Fill a wide pot with water and bring to a low boil. Next to your stovetop, place a half baking sheet with a cooling rack inside, this will hold the wet bagels for a minute and allow them to drain. Next, line a full baking sheet with parchment paper — this will hold the dough as it bakes. Finally, grab any toppings you’d like (poppy, oat, everything bagel mix, sesame, etc.) and place them in bowls on your work surface.
Boil: Once the water is at a low boil, boil the proofed sourdough bagel dough straight from the fridge, about 40 seconds per side. Using a spider strainer, transfer each piece to the cooling rack inside the baking sheet to drain while you boil the rest of the dough. Then, transfer the boiled bagels to the full baking sheet and top, if desired. - Bake (9:45 a.m.)
Slide the pan with all the bagel dough into the oven and pour the cup of ice over the roasting pan with lava rocks. Quickly close the oven.
Bake at 475°F (245°C) convection (500°F (260°C) without convection) for 10 minutes with steam. After 10 minutes, vent the oven and remove the steaming pan, rotate the baking sheet 180°, and bake for 5 minutes longer. After this 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 450°F (235°C) and bake for 5 minutes longer for a total of 20 minutes. Remove the sheet when the bagels are nicely colored. Let cool 15-20 minutes on a wire rack.
Notes
- These are wonderful topped with an Everything Bagel mix, rolled oats, sesame seed mixture, or any other topping you’d like.
If you use this sourdough bagel recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram and use the hashtag #theperfectloaf so I can take a look!
What’s Next?
Regardless of your bagel preferences, I’m confident these sourdough bagels will rank up there with the best you’ve had—and what could be better than making your own with your sourdough starter? And who knows, perhaps they’ll mend that friendship severed by staunch bagel ideals—these could be the olive branch; a crisp and seductively chewy one.
Next up, how about a simple bake like sourdough starter discard sugar cookies?
Buon appetito! 🥯
721 Comments
Thanks for the great recipe Maurizio. I really liked the texture and chew. Your recipes always work as I also am baking in Burque. I did a longer proof as yesterday was so cold here, but otherwise followed your directions. The four year old (toughest critic) and the baby (will eat anything with butter) also approved. Wishing you and yours well.
So glad to hear that! Yes, it’s been incredibly cold here and always catches me a bit off guard… Gotta keep that dough warm! My 5 yr old is my toughest critic, and he absolutely loves these bagels as well 🙂 So glad to hear you are enjoying them and stay warm!
The best bagels ever! I’ve made these 3 times now and love them.
I do have 2 questions:
1. My husband isn’t crazy about the bits of cornmeal that get stuck to the bottom of the bagel. Has anyone tried anything else to prevent sticking during proofing? Maybe rice flour?
2. My bagels always get a little too dark on the bottom despite being on the middle rack (and I’ve even tried without the baking stone). Any tips for preventing the bottoms from burning? Maybe I should reduce the oven temp?
Thanks!
Happy to hear that, Sasha! Thanks for the additional comments to Erica, below. A few answers:
1. You can use white flour instead of the cornmeal or lightly oil the baking sheet.
2. Yes, I’d likely reduce the oven temp by 15-25° and see if that helps. I was going to suggest removing the baking stone/steel, but you’re already on it!
I just use two baking sheets to mitigate burnt bottoms. It might increase baking time by ~3-5 minutes. Hope this helps!
Best bagels ever! After 10 weeks, follow recipe faithfully, my Bagels no longer float. They sink and then rise in about 30 seconds. I cannot figure out why this is now happening. Advice need,please!
Hey again, Neil! Typically I see this when the dough needed a little longer room temperature fermentation before placing it in to the refrigerator for the overnight proof.
Thanks, will try longer proof this week.Appreciate all you do for us.
Any advice on alternatives for malt syrup and the diastatic malt powder? Could i sub honey or maple syrup for the malt syrup?
I sub in honey for malt syrup and omit malt powder and they turn out great
You can use honey for the malt syrup as @sashaswerdloff:disqus mentioned below. For the diastatic malt, I highly recommend using it but you can omit if you don’t have any on hand.
Maurizio- I have baked this recipe 9x. All excellent!.. In the recipe you call for the dough to be 78 degrees after mixing, I mix by hand and achieve 75 degrees.
Should I knead longer? How do I achieve a higher temperature?
Just bump up the temperature of the water a few degrees!
Glad to hear that, Neil! As David said below, you could warm the mixing water a little more to bring up that final dough temperature (as I mention in my guide to the importance of temperature in baking). Hope that helps and happy baking!
Thank you for the recipe Maurizio! We adore your bagels.
I have made three batches of this bagel recipe so far and it is absolutely amazing. The softness of the crumb, combined with the a crispy crust and chewiness on the inside are wonderful. The only problem I’ve had is I am getting very large blisters on the crust, and they get dark brown during baking. I haven’t been able to get even blisters and a golden color. The bagel is still amazing, but not quite as what we are used to see them, even in regular bagels made with commercial yeast. I just can’t figure out what my problem is? I hope someone can point me in the right direction.
Thank you!!!
Super happy to hear that, Mayte! Those blisters are usually due to cold proofing dough in the refrigerator, I sometimes get them on my bread dough as well. If you’re steaming your oven, you could try backing off the on the steam a bit. The bagels will be damp from the bath anyway, that should be enough.
Any suggestions about how to make onion bagels without burning the topping? I tried dehydrated minced onion from the spice aisle and it was very very dark 20 minutes later. Would some other kind of preserved onion work better for this?
(Great recipe, by the way. Turned out wonderfully besides the somewhat burnt topping)
Sorry for the delay and so glad to hear that! I’ve been working on that as well. I’ve been soaking them in water and it seems to help some, but they still get a little too toasted. I think the key is to somehow provide more bottom heat than top…
I never baked prepandemic but took on sourdough a few months ago, guided by your website, and I am obsessed.
I finished making a half-batch of bagels yesterday, and it turned out amazing! Incredible! It rivals the best bagels I’ve had, made at the local bagel shop by my parents’ home in New Jersey. It closed down a few years ago, and my dad and I still on the hunt for a suitable replacement. (I will overnight-mail some bagels to him, and some other friends, in my next batch.)
What modifications would I make to:
– substitute some of the bread flour with whole wheat (or another whole grain) flour?
– add in jalapeno to the dough?
– add in blueberries to the dough? (I hate blueberry bagels, but my kids love them)
(I am brand new to baking, so none of this is intuitive to me … yet)
Any tips on storing bagels for the mail? I thought I could wrap them individually in parchment paper and then put them in a plastic grocery bag …..
Happy to hear these turned out well for you, Sheela! If you want to add some whole grain flour to this recipe expect to need to adjust the hydration (up) to compensate. It’s hard to say exactly how much, you’d have to test. To add mix-ins, I’d add them at the very end of mixing this dough, and just mix lightly to incorporate them. This is a stiff dough, so you might need to add a splash of water to help them incorporate. I’ve never tried blueberries, those might be tricky to get them into the dough without completely smashing them to pieces. Gently incorporate them by hand, I’d say!
For shipping, I’d probably do exactly as you said, but seal them in a ziplock back or something similar. This way, they’ll keep their moisture during shipping. Hope that helps and have fun!
Thank you!
Hi Maurizio,
My reticent dad said, after he tried my over-nighted day-old bagels, that it tasted better than 90% of bagels he has eaten in my life. He is a moderate guy and considers half a bagel to be a serving, but he ate a whole one.
Every time I make this recipe, I measure out the levain ingredients precisely, but for some reason the total weight the next day is about 10-15 grams less than what I need to put in the recipe. I wonder why? In my latest batch, I increased the percentages of levain ingredients by 10% and that did the trick. (I ended up with about 5 grams extra.)
I’ve been experimenting with mix-ins, and have found it challenging.
Blueberries and chocolate chips — I tried making a few blueberry bagels, incorporating them as you suggested. They were so big, though, that they kind of made air pockets in the bagel. I also made a chocolate chip bagel, but it ended up being incorporated inconsistently, leaving some areas very chocolatey and others without any chips. My kids were lukewarm on these bagels so I won’t try them again, but if I did, I’d smush the blueberries (so the juices are also incorporated) and try mini-chocolate chips.
Jalapenos — My ideal bagel is jalapeno with everything. The first time I tried jalapeno, I put in too little. In my latest batch, I tried putting in a lot more — but the dough was really hard to roll and shape, so I had to remove some of them. It still tastes good (still not jalapeno-y enough!) but doesn’t look perfect. Next time I may lightly food-process the jalapenos to better incorporate it into the dough.
That’s huge praise, Sheela! Glad to hear your dad likes them. That’s ok about the levain, it’s typical to come in a little under and really shouldn’t cause an issue. I haven’t tried mix-ins with this dough but it’s definitely something I’m going to play with soon. So many delicious options there! I have never had a jalapeño bagel but that sounds amazing—dreaming about one of those toasted with some cheese on top!
I’ve looked everywhere but no one seems to have mentioned that a full sheet will not fit in most domestic ovens. Yet you say to use one for the bake. Can I split the bake in 2 parts and use half sheet? I tried using 2 halves on 2 shelves and it did not go well at all.
A full sheet does fit in my oven! It’s nothing special, perhaps wider than others? Splitting up will work, but depending on your oven it might not get hot enough and have sufficient air flow. Another option, you can leave half in the fridge and process half first, then do the next.
Mahalo Maurizio. Yes I have checked and i guess most regular 30″ ovens have an average width of 25″. No worries I’ll bake in 2 batches.
Maurizio’s “full sheet pan” is not really that. A typical sheet pan is a half sheet pan and a full is twice that size; but that is for commercial ovens. What I think he is referring to is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064OM53G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is Nordic Ware’s “big sheet pan” which is 21″ x 15″. Half sheet pans are only 18″ x 13″. A full size commercial sheet pan is 18″ by 26″. I proofed my bagels on a half sheet pan, which was just enough room and fit in the fridge. The boiled bagels would not have fit and would have stuck to each other on a half sheet pan when baked. The extra 3″ on the big sheet pan gave me the space I needed. Hope this helps.
YES!!!!!! It worked and they are amazing. Until now my bagels have always come out flat but this time I reduced the hydration a lot. 47%! What an amazing difference. Now they are almost ball like. Full rise. Color is great. Nice blistering. And a chew that is as good as I’ve ever had. I was also going to reduce my pre fridge proof time by 30 minutes but forgot and am glad I did. Mahalo Maurizio!
Excellent, Ray! Super happy they turned out well for ya. Enjoy 🙂
I have barley malt syrup (Eden) but no powder. Can I leave out the powder and, if so, any other adjustments I’d need to make?
I’d say omit the diastatic malt powder—they’ll still come out great. No other mods necessary.
Just made my first batch of these and I have one piece of feedback on the directions: it’s not super clear if it is recommended to use the full steaming method in your Baking With Steam post or a slightly reduced version with just the lava rocks + water/ice. I ended up throwing a small bowl of water w/ a single towel to pre-saturate the oven while preheating, then pouring ice/water over the preheated lava rocks upon adding the bagels. The result seemed good!
The bagels had great texture, crust, fermentation, and sourness but I think were a bit undersalted. I’ve used a recipe from Sourdough Home which has a touch more salt (and barley syrup). I’ll try to bump the number of one or both of these a fraction next time.
Sorry about that, Alex (I’ll update the post). I didn’t do my full method, just a spritz in the oven when I loaded them. They are damp going into the oven, so not too much steam necessary. But using the full steaming method will also work well! Hope the next ones turn out great as well!
I made these recently, fabulous. My nephew (a chef) said they were the best bagels he has ever eaten. Now, we do live in Sonoma county, not known for delis. Whatever, I’ll take it. Since I grew a ton of Habaneros, I’m planning an Asiago/habanero bagel.
I’ll take that, too! Big complement 🙂
Hi Maurizio, would placing a pan of hot water poured over dish towels suffice if we don’t have lava rocks? Along with spraying the bagels with cold water right before baking?
Yes, that will absolutely work! These don’t require a ton of steam anyway, just a little. They’re already quite wet from the bath.
Maurizio, these were so tasty and the crumb turned out just like yours! However after letting it sit out for 7 hrs or so, the bagels became pretty tough. Do you think this is due to potential overbaking (oven heat is too high)? I also subbed a quarter of the bread flour for KA Whole Wheat flour – if we want bagels to be more fluffy, do you think hydration needs to increase? Since bagel dough needs to be stiff, I wasn’t sure what “correct” hydration would be.
That’s very possible. I’ve been considering trying to add a bit of oil to this recipe to help them retain their softness after baking. Careful with modifying the hydration drastically, if the dough is too wet you’ll have a hard time shaping them and you’ll actually find they will rise less. However, you could play with small incremental changes to see if you’re heading in the right direction by increasing—every flour is different!
Yes, that will absolutely work! These don’t require a ton of steam anyway, just a little. They’re already quite wet from the bath.
Truly can’t believe how great these are. Couldn’t find barley malt syrup anywhere so subbed a little molasses. This was my first time making bagels and was a little intimidated but would happily do this again. The texture on mine was a little more open than in the pictures here, likely because they just got a little over-proofed? but they were still so good. Thanks for this great recipe!
Happy to hear you like them, Julia! If they expanded significantly it might have been from under proofed dough or shaping that was a little too light—I’m very aggressive in shaping the dough, as you can see in the video 🙂 Keep at it, I find every time I make these (and I’ve made them a lot), they get even better—the process takes practice but is so worth it. Happy baking!
I have made these multiple times, and they’ve improved each time. Amazing bagels. If we are using a flour with barley malt already included, can we exclude the additional malt powder? I noticed you’re using an un-malted bread flour, so adding it in this circumstance makes sense.
That’s just great to hear, Zane! I think you could get away with not using it, but even if I use flour with malt (King Arthur Baking Bread Flour), I’ve been adding in the diastatic malt. I find that added malt gives the bagels more color and perhaps just a bit more chew.
Hi Maurizio– I tried this recipe last week and they turned out wonderfully. Question though– how different would the bagels be without the time in the fridge after the counter proof? When I rolled them up, they were looking so plump and ready for the pot. When I took them out of the refrigerator the next day, they were flatter, and while they did plump up again after being boiled, I couldn’t help but wonder how different they’d be had I not refrigerated overnight.
Super happy to hear that, Dan! I’ve actually never boiled them right after that first proof period. Why? Because I fear they might not hold up as well during the bath! They’d be super warm and loose, and that cold retard really helps firm up the dough. The cold retard also lends more flavor to the dough as they continue to ferment, albeit at a reduced rate. Great question and maybe it is worth an experiment!
Hi! I’m really interested in making these, but wondering if the bagels would still work with AP flour instead of bread flour? I have 50 lb of AP, 25 lb sifted wheat, and a small bag of rye. Just looking to not add to my little apartment’s flour collection if I can avoid it!
It could work! You’d definitely have to adjust the hydration, perhaps down by 2-5% or so, but that would require testing.
I’ve tried these a couple of times, first with King Arthur bread flour, then Central Milling High Mountain. Good texture and form, but I’ve had trouble getting the bagels to color well on the upper surface. They come out a matt brown, little gloss, even pushing the bake as far as I dare (the bases are dark and brown, though not unacceptably. I think the proofing was fine, maybe a touch overproofed but from the interiors not significantly. I’m wondering if this is a sign I should have kneaded the dough more (I gave it ten minutes of countertop kneading)? Or possibly too much steam? I used the method with towels and lava for steam, which I use for all my bread; the recipe is a little unclear as to whether it’s just lava, or wet towels and lava. I use both for all my breads and I’ve never had oversteaming as an issue. Any suggestions appreciated.
Hey, Edward! Coloring can be tricky, and I’ve found the oven plays a huge role there. My convection oven gets super hot, and I think this helps. Also, steaming should only help you get more color/caramelization, so I would do exactly as you did.
A few things you could try:
– Dial back the proof—this might help get a little more color by ensuring ample residual sugars in the dough
– Try spritzing the dough a bit with a handheld sprayer right when you load the dough, before usual steaming
Let me know if those ideas help!
Thanks! I’ll try these again soon and report back.
This recipe really improved my bagel technique and results, I’ve made it five or six times now and the bagels are delicious! One thing I can’t seem to figure out, though, is how to get them so shiny and blistered. The surface of the finished product is dull and slightly bubbly but not blistered. They are chewy and have a good crumb.. I’m wondering if this is a proofing issue, or a steaming issue? The bagels seem properly proofed from my limited experience… and I use a preheated cast iron with ice for the steam, but it never seems to “coat” the oven. I’ve seen other recipes use an egg wash, but based on your photos, I don’t think that is necessary for a shiny crust. Any insight is appreciated!! Thank you!
I just made these for the second time, both were delicious! I’ve tried other sourdough bagel recipes and I’m guessing the about of levain was too little. Now that I’m more practiced in shaping the shape holds better during the long proof. I even traded in 100 grams of whole wheat for flavor, I may experiment with a higher whole wheat percentage next time, maybe as high as twenty five percent.
after night in the fridge, bagels are flat and thin.
Mine too! Did u ever figure out why? Overproofed maybe?
As I mentioned to Seth, above, they might have over proofed! Try cutting back the time they’re left out before putting them into the fridge.
Likely over proofed, reduce the time they’re left out before the fridge!
I don’t have barley malt syrup, but do have non-Diastatic malt syrup. Can I use that as a sub and adjust hydration?
Yes, I’d say that would work well as a substitute.
Maurizio… I am obsessed with your website and I just love your approach to baking all things sourdough! I can’t say thank you enough!
Do you have any advice on how to modify this recipe to make cinnamon raisin bagels?
Thanks Andrew, I really appreciate that. I’ve been playing around with cinn. raisin bagels but don’t have anything concrete developed yet. When I do, I’ll either make a new post or add to this one! Cinnamon can cause issues with fermentation in high percentage, so I’ve been keeping the percentage pretty low, around 1%.
Thanks Maurizio !!! Multiple people have told me I’ve ruined all other bagels for them. This is by far the best thing I have ever baked.
Huge praise, glad to hear that Anthony!
Like every other recipe from this site my bagels came out better than anything else I have ever bought. (Including the infamous, but now closed, H&H in N.Y.). My wife said the same thing. Thank you for all of the inspiration.
That’s just awesome to hear, Mikey! I’ve never had H&H but I know how important bagels are in NY, that says a lot! Have fun and enjoy 🙂
I’ve made these bagels several times with great results – this time I tried putting sunflower seeds & used wheat flour for half of the flour allotment (for a heartier bagel) and they can out Wonderfully.
I’d like to make a pumpernickel bagel – they’re my favorite. I’ve looked at the KAF recipe & see a ratio (roughly) of 3:1 for flour to pumpernickel flour…but that’s a yeast recipe. Any thoughts on how to adapt this excellent recipe for this kind of bagel?
And – importantly – thank you for your great work here. I e gone from a novice baker to turning out enviable loaves in a few months by following your recipes. I & my family are very thankful!
That’s great, Todd! I havent tried sunflower seeds but have been playing with other flour types and cinnamon+raisin bagels.
I’d say for pumpernickel maybe start at a lower percentage and work you way up, adjusting things as necessary. You might find adding in rye flour will require additional water in the dough and the dough will likely ferment at a faster pace. Cut bulk short if necessary and if fermentation starts to get out of control, you might have to adjust the pre-fermented flour percentage (down )as well.
I’ve made these three times now and this recent batch has been the best so far. The recipe says you don’t need to add anything to the bagel boiling water, and to just rely on the starch, but I disagree.
My first batch I did just that and had a hard time achieving the proper color. The second time, I used barley malt syrup, slightly better, but still not what I was looking for. This time, I used MORE barley malt syrup (a generous 3T) and 1.5T baking soda to about one gallon of water. WOW! The results were absolutely stunning. Deep caramel color, no use of egg wash. For seeded bagels, I like to roll the entire thing in the topping of choice. That way you get crunchies on top and bottom — the entire experience is elevated.
I love this recipe, and still can’t believe I’ve made these bakery quality bagels.
That’s wonderful! Glad you’re liking the outcome, these are without a doubt my favorite bagels as well. Regarding the baking soda, that will add more color to the exterior as it will act in a similar way to lye in pretzel. It might add a slight flavor change as well, I’d expect a little of that “pretzel flavor” to come through but I’d have to test to see myself. It’s definitely fun to experiment and I like how you’ve gone your own way with these! Happy baking 🙂
So I have baking steel but I don’t have a large enough pan. Should I use parchment directly on the baking steel? Or do you think they would get too dark on the bottom?
I have a feeling they would, but I can’t say for sure without testing. If you take that route, I would preheat for less time (and maybe a lower temperature) to reduce the heat of the Baking Steel, if you find the right combination of preheat time & temp there it would work!
could I just use my starter right out of the fridge and let the levin sit a little longer
2) When shaping bagels I usually roll in a ball and just poke A hole in the centre with my thumb and spin between my two thumbs to stretch? What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks, I’m excited to try this recipe. FYI For your readers from Toronto you can buy all the ingredients for these bagels at Bulk Barn including diastic malt and barley syrup:-)
I wouldn’t recommend using your starter straight from the fridge, it’ll not be in a suitable condition for maximal fermentation activity. I find it’s best to give it one or two refreshments after taking it from the fridge and before using it to bake with.
That’s a perfectly fine way to shape bagels!
Let me know how you like this, would be great to hear from someone up north!
These turned out perfect – what a great recipe 🙂 I followed your advice and made my levin with my well fed active starter (I call her Bubbly Betty 🙂 I did not have room in my fridge for 2 half sheet pans so I let rise x ~2hr at 79 degrees then cold proofed in my fridge overnight (without shaping). In the morning I removed from fridge, proofed x 2.5 hours in the oven with light on Shaped, boiled and baked. Fantastic!!!!! I did add some barley syrup to the water to give these a more ‘Montreal’ style. LOVED LOVED LOVED THanks for the great recipe.
Ah fantastic! Love the modifications to suit your schedule and setup, too. Thanks for reporting back!
Thanks to SIP, I’m having trouble finding Malt Syrup, can you use the Diastic Malt powder to make a syrup? Any idea of the water to powder ratio to make an equivalent syrup?
That I’m not sure, I’ve not tried! I would say instead of BSM, go with honey.
I got my malt syrup and powder at a beer brewing supply company. Of course, now I need to bring him some bagels.
Fair trade 🙂
Hi, Maurizio. I just followed this exactly, using 13% protein flour. My most successful bagels to date, and my first that weren’t saucers. I did cut the proofing time by about 20%, as everything tends to overproof in my kitchen.
While this was more successful than my yeast-based attempts, I did get a sourdough flavor that I would have preferred to avoid. I used my least sour starter, but still….
Any suggestions on countering that? Perhaps a bit of honey or more malt syrup?
Thanks for all you do!
Hey, as strange as it may sound, try increasing the amount of starter and reducing the proof time, especially in the fridge. By increasing the starter, you should be able to proof more quickly, and by proofing more quickly, you reduce the time spent developing the sour flavor.
That’s a great suggestion, and less counter-intuitive than you may think. Thanks.
Really glad to hear that, thanks for the feedback! You could add more BMS to offset the sour flavor, but I’d also say be sure to use your starter when it’s ripe, but not overly acidic to make the levain. And similarly with the levain, use it when it’s just ripe and not overly loose, broken down, or super sour smelling. If you’re really set on reducing sourness, you could take 15g of the sugar from the recipe and add it to the levain build overnight. This will reduce bacterial activity in the levain, and should give you a less sour result. Let me know how it goes and happy baking!
Thanks for the advice, Maurizio. I wouldn’t have thought about adding sugar to the levain. I thought that would just be more food for the yeast, producing even more sourness. As always, thanks for all you’re doing.
Hi Maurizio! Long-time reader/baker of your formulas, first-time commenter. I usually use a variation on Reinhart’s standard bagels that uses about half sourdough, half dry yeast, and tend to get a pretty good finish. (Sometimes the oven spring is too aggressive and I end up with a split running around the bottom of the bagels, but texture and finish are typically pretty good.) Your formula just came out of the oven, and the flavor was perfect. (I used your formula and timing, but did the standard baking soda + malt syrup poaching liquid and Reinhart’s heat-at-500-bake-at-450-for-8-minutes-a-side bake.)
Some issues I’m trying to troubleshoot: I used my usual 100% WW starter and then a boring but readily available high-gluten flour (Shepherd’s Grain; I usually add some Bob’s spelt to make my bagels more interesting, but didn’t this time around). I stuck to your measurements exactly, though the initial mix was very, very sticky. I had to knead by hand for a good 20 minutes (it usually takes me about 30 to get to windowpane level with this flour), and even then some dough was sticking to my hand. I floured the surface slightly and kept kneading to about the 30-minute mark, when the dough finally got satiny but not nearly as tough as bagel dough usually is. I stuck to your rise-shape-proof-retard sequence. The proof was a mixed bag, some of the bagels spreading rather than rising—none completely flat, but none nice and round, either, all looking pretty slack but with nice surface bubbles. I shaped them all at once, using the same technique, and let rest at room temp for 1:45 before retarding. (I’ve tried the shaped retard before, always ending up with bagels that fail the float test when they come out of the fridge and then are overproofed by the time they’re ready to poach. Have had the most success with doing a bulk retardation to let flavor develop, then shaping, rising briefly, and baking off the next morning.)
The bagels came out with a slight edge where they’d rested on the pan and didn’t have a great rise. There was some puffing up in the poaching and then a little more in the oven; after cooling, they lost their surface tautness. Plenty of bubbles, but the crust looks a little wrinkly now, which I’ve also had happen with the sourdough version of the Reinhart formula. Any thoughts on what’s going wrong? I’m not sure if what’s needed is less hydration or more kneading or both, or if the flour isn’t up to scratch and maybe needs some organic bread flour mixed in. (I’ve tried the Reinhart with AP, bread, whole wheat, and high gluten flour, and the only thing that comes anywhere near the lightness of crumb, chew of texture, and crispness of crust of a good New York bagel is the high gluten.) Sorry this is so long, and thanks again for all your wonderful formulas! (Can post pics to instagram if that would help with diagnosis?)
Hey, Lucia! Thanks for all the details. My initial guess here would be over hydration. I’m not sure if you did 55% hydration or the 50% I recommend for KAF, but I would try dropping it by 2-5% regardless, this will bring more strength to the dough overall and I think it’ll solve a few of the issues you’ve run into. By the end of mixing/kneading, the dough should definitely be very stiff and strong, not very sticky. I’ve found Central Milling High Mountain to work really well, and it’s around 13% protein, but KAF Bread Flour works well also (at a reduced hydration, for me). That high protein flour does help with the signature chew as well, but at a low enough hydration I’d think even with AP you could get some pretty decent bagels! I’d search out a higher protein flour if you can find one, but first test would be lower hydration.
Hope this helps, let me know how the next attempt goes! I’m making these again soon with KAF and a reduced hydration, looking forward to another batch.
After 4 batches, each better than the last, I think I’ve got the hang of these. I had the flying saucer issue the first time and I’ve found that though they do tend to get a bit of an edge where they meet the baking tray after proofing overnight, I can sort of coax that out with my hands before I place them in the boiling water. I’m starting to make these a weekend tradition.
Glad to hear about the improvements, Kirsten! I’ve yet to see the “saucer” issue here after many, many batches. Perhaps I’ll get to the bottom of it! Enjoy 🙂
I have had mixed results with these bagels. The first time, pretty amazing. The second time, I had such an amazing rise, that they puffed up in the fridge and stuck together. Anyone else had this issue? I destroyed them getting them into the boil and ended up with flat bagels. I don’t think I’d have space to put two half sheets w/ the bagels further spread apart unfortunately. Tight squeeze as it is.
Thanks for any advice!
Hey, Geoffrey! Was your final dough temp higher that second attempt? I wonder if they moved a bit fast during that warm bulk.
It was incredibly hot in my apartment! So that must be the issue. I’ll retry now w ac going and will have better results.
Mine also rise until they touch in the fridge. Should I shorten the time that they rise on the pan at room temperature, Mauricio?
Yes, I would give that a try. But do know that at many bakeries they have this touching, and they like the look it gives the bagels! That edge will be a little less baked and a little more chewy. But if you want to keep them apart, you could proof a little less or use a larger baking sheet (or two sheets).
Thanks! I don’t actually mind them touching. The issue is that they tend to deflate when I separate them before boiling from the pulling.
Ok, yes definitely reduce that warm proof time before the fridge! I’d cut back 30 minutes even, see how that impacts the dough the next morning.
I am referring to the sour dough bagel recipe!