Best Whole Grain Sourdough Bagels Recipes

EASY HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH BAGELS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the starter, water, and sugar together with a fork. Add the flour and salt. Combine to form a rough dough, then finish mixing by hand until no lumps of our remain. The dough will be very stiff and dry. Note: it's important to use a large mixing bowl- this dough is strong and rises quite high. As a mixing alternative, use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook; run on low speed for 5 to 6 minutes to combine and knead.
• Cover the dough with a very damp towel and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour. After the dough has rested, work the mass into a semi-smooth ball, about 15 to 20 seconds.
• Cover the bowl with a lightly coated plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 10-12 hrs when the temperature is 68 F (20 C); 8 to 10 hours @ 70°F (21°C). Note: in the summer, rise the dough during the day. Once the dough is almost double in size, cover and chill the whole bowl overnight (it will continue to rise slightly in the fridge). Proceed using the cold dough the following day.
• Line a sheet pan with a nonstick silicone mat or parchment paper. If using parchment, lightly coat with cooking spray or oil to prevent sticking.
• Remove the dough onto a non- floured work surface. Flatten the dough into a rectangle and divide into 8 equal pieces, about 115 g (4 oz) each. Gather the ends, flip the dough over, and roll each piece into a ball. Let the dough rest on your lined sheet pan for 10 to 15 minutes to relax the gluten.
• Working with one ball of dough at a time, poke a hole straight through the center. Move your finger around in a circular motion to gently stretch the dough until the hole is about the size of a walnut. You can also lift up the dough, insert both index fingers through the center hole, and barrel roll to gently stretch the opening. When finished, place the dough back onto the sheet pan. It's okay if the hole shrinks slightly. Repeat shaping the remaining dough.
• Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough will puff up only slightly at this stage.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the honey and whisk well to dissolve. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Add the seeds to a rimmed tray or shallow bowl.
• Add 2 to 3 bagels into the pot and simmer for 30 seconds on each side for a thin crust. Note: if using cold dough from the fridge, the bagels might not float to the surface right away. Give them a nudge after 30 seconds or so and be patient. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bagels back the sheet pan you used earlier, placing them rounded side up.
• Once slightly cool but still wet, dip the rounded side of the bagels into the seeds to coat. Place back onto the sheet pan and finish boiling the rest of the bagels.
• Place your sheet pan on the center rack. Bake the bagels for about 20 to 25 minutes. Flip them over to briefly cook the bottom side, about 1 to 2 minutes or less. When ready, your bagels will be puffed up, light golden brown, and feel light to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, but indulge yourself and eat one (or two) warm.

WHOLE GRAIN SOURDOUGH BAGELS

Steps:

• Early Morning Day 1: Starter Prep
• Feed 40g sourdough starter with 80g whole grain flour and 80g water. Let it ripen in a warm spot until at least doubled. This should take 4-6 hours. If you don't have a warm spot, do a 70:70:70 feed; and if you prefer to prep the starter the night before, use cool water and a higher feeding ratio, for example 20:90:90.
• Midday Day 1: Mixing and Fermenting
• Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix for about 5 minutes at low speed. The dough should be stiffer than pizza dough but not as dry as pasta dough. If you don't have a stand mixer, after combining the ingredients, knead the dough by hand for about 5 minutes.
• Lightly oil your bowl or bucket, place the dough inside, cover and let it rise until it has expanded by 75-100% (see the photo below). My dough took 5 hours in a warm lit-oven, but at cooler kitchen temps, your dough may need 8-10 hours. In the case of a cold environment, prepping the starter the night before and mixing in the morning may work best.
• Evening Day 1: Shaping (see the video above)
• Prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper and a dusting of flour.
• Scrape your dough out of its bowl or bucket onto a lightly oiled work surface. Fold the dough into a thick tube and roll it to about 24 inches in length.
• Cut the dough tube into 12 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a ball, and then roll all the balls into tubes, de-gassing the dough as much as possible.
• Wrap each tube around your palm and roll the seams on your work surface to seal and even out the bagel diameter.
• Lay the bagels on your baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
• Day 1 into Day 2 Overnight: Final Proof
• Unlike yeast-leavened dough, some room temperature proofing is needed before refrigerating the this sourdough bagel dough. Let the shaped bagels rise at room temperature for about 1 hour and then refrigerate the baking sheet overnight. In a warm kitchen, 40 minutes at room temperature before retarding might be sufficient. If you prefer to boil and bake the bagels on Day 1, plan for a room temperature final proof of 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Day 2: Stove and Oven Prep
• Preheat your oven to 500F with a baking stone or steel on the middle shelf for at least 30 minutes.
• Set 3 to 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.
• Soak your bagel boards for at least 10 minutes by laying them inside a rimmed baking sheet and filling it with water.
• Prepare dishes with seeds or any other bagel toppings you'd like to use.
• When the water is boiling and the preheat is complete, add the barley malt syrup to the water and stir.
• Remove the bagel dough from the refrigerator and remove the bagel boards from the water. Place the boards near your topping dishes, burlap-side up.
• Place a bowl of ice water near your toppings to quickly dunk the bagels in between the boiling and the topping. You can skip this step if your hands are relatively impervious to high temperatures and you adequately drain water off each bagel.
• Day 2: Boiling and Baking
• Transfer three bagels to the boiling water and boil for 1 minute on each side, using your bagel scoop to flip them.
• Remove the bagels from the boiling water and place them in the ice water.
• Lay a drained bagel on the topping of your choice, and then carefully transfer it to a bagel board, topping side down.
• Repeat this until you have six prepped bagels divided between two bagel boards.
• Load the bagel boards into your oven and bake for 4 minutes.
• Carefully turn the bagels over by lifting and flipping the boards so the bagels are now topping side up and baking directly onto the hot stone.
• Continue baking for 14 minutes more.
• Re-soak the boards and begin boiling and topping the next six bagels during this time so that when you remove the first batch from the oven, the next batch is ready to load.
• Cooling and Storage
• Let the bagels cool on a rack about 30 minutes before serving.
• The bagels can be stored in beeswax, paper, or plastic bags.
• After a couple of days, it's best to freeze the bagels. I like to pre-cut them in half and defrost directly in the toaster.