Chewy New York Style Bagels are even better when made with a sourdough starter. The sourdough discard adds depth of flavor and keeps the bagels fresh longer!
The idea of making homemade bagels may seem a bit intimidating, but bagel dough is denser (more flour) and easier to work with than normal bread dough.
To make it even easier I made a full video tutorial that you can find in the recipe card below. If you have any questions I would love to help!
These bagels use yeast and sourdough starter. They are mild and delicious in flavor and done in about 2 hours. Although they are not purely sourdough they still have a beautiful soft and chewy inside!
These easy sourdough bagels are my most requested gift to give to friends. I have even been asked to make several dozen for brunches!
They are naturally vegan! No crazy ingredients to substitute! Top with vegan cream cheese or butter.
Have you tried a New York style everything bagel with cream cheese, lox (smoked salmon) and a slice of tomato? They are divine!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The bagel are chewy on the outside and soft and on the inside!
- The dough is not sticky at all and so easy to work with!
- These will miles better than the store bought bagels.
- You can customize them with your favorite toppings!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make New York Style Sourdough Discard Bagels.
Flour: Bread flour or a flour with higher wheat protein will yield chewier bagels. King Arthur bread flour or King Arthur all purpose flour are great.
Water
Sourdough Discard: These will take your mediocre homemade bagels and make them magnificent. The discard adds flavor and longevity to the bagels!
Sugar: Helps feed the yeast.
Yeast: Hands down my favorite yeast is SAF Instant Yeast. I use it in all my bread!
Salt: Brings out the flavor.
Optional Toppings: everything seasoning, dried onion flakes, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coarse salt.
How to Make Bagels
Here are some quick instructions. The full recipe with ingredient measurements is below! Also, check out the full tutorial video in the recipe card!
Add the water, flour, yeast, salt and sugar to the mixer. Knead for at least 10 minutes.
Take the dough out of the mixer and shape it into a ball.
Put the dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and rise.
Cut the dough into 8-12 pieces depending on the desired size of the bagels. Generously flour a clean surface for the shaped bagels to rest on.
There are two methods to shape the bagels. The video tutorial in the recipe card will be VERY helpful with shaping the bagels.
The first method is to roll it out like a snake and use the counter to roll the two ends together. I prefer method one.
The second method is to roll a tight ball and use your fingers to poke a hole in the middle of the dough and then gently stretch it out.
Let the boils rest on the counter while you bring the water to a boil and preheat the oven.
Boil the bagels and add toppings.
Bake the bagels and allow them to cool before slicing them open.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
There are two ways to shape the bagels. The first way is to roll each piece into a tight ball and then use your fingers to make a hole in the middle. Then, carefully stretch out the hole.
The second way is to roll the piece of dough into a snake that can fit around your hand. Then roll the overlapping dough against the counter to roll the ends together. Watch this Easy Homemade Bagels video to see them in action.
Good parchment paper or Silpat Baking Mats are a must. These bagels come out of the boiling water and the dough will stick to a bare pan.
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: Store the bagels in a bread bag. They will stay fluffy for 3 days. After day 3 you may want to toast them or freeze them.
- Reheating: Take the frozen bagels out of the freezer. Allow them to thaw on the counter or in the microwave. Then toast them.
- Freezing: Cut the bagels in half and put the cut sides back together. Double bag them and freeze them.
Additions and Substitutions
- Toppings: It is fun to experiment with the bagels and toppings. Try everything seasoning, dried onion flakes, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coarse salt.
- Cinnamon Raisin: Add an additional 2 tablespoons of sugar to the dough, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ cup of raisins.
- Chocolate Chip: Add an additional 2 tablespoons of sugar to the dough. Add mini chocolate chips after the rise and before shaping the bagels.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can keep it simple and add butter or cream cheese to the bagel. You can also add lox (smoked salmon), onion, tomato and capers on top of the cream cheese. Many people like to use bagels for breakfast or lunch sandwiches. You can add scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast. Deli meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato are perfect toppings for lunch.
Boiling the bagels creates that chewy outer crust, but keep the center of the bagel soft.
Barley malt syrup or sugar can be used in the water when boiling bagels. It helps to create the shiny, chewy exterior of the bagel.
You can make bagels without a mixer, but they need to be kneaded very well to create the classic chewy bagel. The dough is very dense and requires some strength to knead for at least 10 minutes.
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New York Style Sourdough Starter Discard Bagels
Equipment
- 1 Bosch Mixer or
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water (454 grams)
- ½ cup sourdough discard (120 grams) (a heaping ½ cup)
- 3½ teaspoons Instant Yeast (9 grams) (prefer SAF Yeast, but can sub active dry yeast)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar (30 grams)
- 2½ teaspoons kosher salt (16 grams)
- 6 cups unbleached bread flour (720 grams) wait to add the last ½ cup after you check the dough - see video
For Boiling Bagels
- water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar (30 grams)
Optional Toppings
- everything bagel seasoning
- dried onion flakes
- sesame seeds
- poppy seeds
- coarse salt
Instructions
- Add the water, sourdough discard, yeast, sugar and salt to a mixer. Add 5½ cups of flour to the mixer. Using the dough hook begin to knead the dough. It may take some time to mix well because there is a lot of flour. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup of flour until the dough isn't sticky anymore and it feels very dense.
- Knead for about 10 minutes using a Bosch mixer and about 13 minutes using a Kitchenaid mixer.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise is a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and cut it into 8-12 pieces (It depends on how large you want your bagels. I usually aim for each bagel to be about 160 grams.)
- Dust your counter with flour and place the shaped bagels onto your counter. There are two methods to share the bagels (see video). Option 1: Roll the piece of dough into a "snake." Bring the two ends together under your palm and roll the ends together. Option 2: You can roll the piece of dough into a ball and stick your finger through the center to make a hole and then use your fingers to stretch the hole.
- While your shaped bagels are resting (you do not need to cover them).1. Fill a large pot with water and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring the pot of water to a gentle boil. 2. Arrange the oven racks to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. 3. Line two pans with parchment paper or Silpat mats.4. Get your toppings ready.
- By the time the water begins to boil the tops of the bagels should be a little smoother and puffier. Gently lift a bagel and place it into the boiling water top side down. I can fit 3 at a time into my pot of boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds on each side. Remove them with a large slotted spoon or spatula. Place them gently on the parchment paper. If you want to add toppings now is the time - while they are still wet from the water.
- Put the first pan in the 400° oven as soon as it is full. Follow with the second pan as soon as you finish boiling the rest of the bagels.
- After 15 minutes swap the pans. Put the pan from the bottom on the top rack and put the pan from the top on the bottom rack. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Make sure your bagels have started to brown nicely before taking the out of the oven. The dough is dense and if you take them out too early it will still be a little gummy in the middle. Let them cool before slicing.
Video
Notes
Additional Resources
Another short video about shaping the bagels is below.
Sharon Hunt says
I tried making these bagels for my husband and I and they came out great! The video definitely helped with shaping them!
Thyme for the Table says
I'm glad the video was helpful and the bagels turned out good!
Kristin says
Oh My Bagel! I am obsessed with this recipe and absolutely love that I can have homemade bagels from start to finish in less than 2 hours! Who knew making delicious bagels was that easy?!
Thyme for the Table says
It really is so much easier than you would think! I'm glad you gave them a try!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh these look so good. Unfortunately my husband managed to end Bob my starter when I was visiting my mum.
Thyme for the Table says
Oh no! Poor Bob! My Doughlene got neglected when I was on vacation in Florida, but a couple feeds later and she perked right back up.
Hayley Dhanecha says
These look super delicious and absolutely loving this recipe. Homemade bagels in 2 hours? How amazing is that!!
Thyme for the Table says
They really are incredible!
Sheri Lane says
The recipe calls for over 8 cups of flour. It reads to add 5 initially and then add 1 to 3/4 cups for (or something like that). Do you mean we should add that much for or 3/4 from the remaining 3+ cups for that is left over?
Jen Talley says
I just went through and made a huge update on the post. I read through the recipe card and changed the way it was worded. I also added weight measurements to be more precise. There is also a full video tutorial in the recipe card. I hope that helps Sheri. I have been meaning to update this post for a while and I am sorry it wasn't clearly written.
Casey says
You can't really eat store bought bagels after making these!! I love that the dough wasn't sticky and easy to work with! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Thyme for the Table says
You're welcome Casey! I can't even remember the last time I bought pre-packaged bagels!
Rika says
I didn't know that I could turn sourdough discard into bagel! I love the idea!
Thyme for the Table says
Yes! It is a great way to use your ever-growing sourdough starter!
Alison says
Making your own bagels is so much fun! And you're right, the sourdough starter really makes these extra special!
Timothy says
I’ve tried several recipes for bagels using some sourdough starter, and these are by far the best. My mixer had some struggles with the dense dough but that made the difference: really nice chew on the exterior, and an appropriately soft but not TOO soft interior. Thank you!
Thyme for the Table says
You're welcome! My friend has a KitchenAid and I have a Bosch and the Bosch handles the denser dough a little better, but both get the job done. I'm so glad the bagels were a success.
Kat says
What setting is the mixer supposed to be at? I have a 6qt KitchenAid mixer.
Jen Talley says
The dough is going to be very dense, I would keep it at the slowest setting to knead it.
Laura says
Sooo.. I don’t have a stand mixer. Could I cut this recipe in half and knead by hand?
Jen Talley says
Hi Laura! Yes, you can absolutely knead this by hand. The nice thing about kneading it by hand is that this is not a sticky dough. However, it will be very dense and you will need to put some muscle into it. You really want to knead it well to get that chewiness of New York bagels. You can even just keep the recipe, "as is" and knead it by hand. No need to halve it.
Sarah P says
On my third batch of these. They are fantastic! I mix about 1.5 TBS roughly ground pepper with no toppings...and my husband loves them. Thank you for this wonderfully easy recipe. I have been told I need to make them weekly now.
Jen Talley says
That's awesome Sarah! I have never made them with black pepper! I'm glad you are enjoying them!
Mia Koob says
Could I let these proof over night in the fridge? If so how long should I let them ride out on the counter in the morning?
Jen Talley says
I haven't tried to let them proof in the fridge. But, I have been tempted to try! Let me know if you give it a try. I would be super interested to see how it works out.
Mia Koob says
I tried it! They turned out great, i left the dough covered over night and shapes and baked them in the morning!
Adam says
Any chance to get this recipe in standard SI measurement?
Jen Talley says
Yes, I can work on getting that to you. The good news is that these bagels are very forgiving especially because you are making a dense dough. So even without precise measurements, you will find success. But next time I make these I will write down the measurements, add them to the recipe card and email you.
Adam says
It would be nice! Thank you!
Jen Talley says
I just did a big update Adam. Not only did I add the weight measurements, I also posted process shots in the post. Best of all, there is a new video tutorial in the recipe card. I hope you give these bagels a try. My whole neighborhood loves them!
Annette says
Can I put the dough in the refrigerator after the first rise to boil and bake off the next morning for fresh bagels and coffee?
Jen Talley says
I haven't tried that yet, but maybe I will!! (I just made these bagels yesterday morning and took new pictures and a video I am going to add to this post.) I would definitely reduce the amount of yeast so that it doesn't rise too quickly overnight because then they may deflate when you add them to the water.
If I were to try this I would make the dough in the evening. I would use room-temperature water and reduce the yeast to 1 teaspoon. It will cause the first rise to be slower, but it would reduce the risk of over proofing in the refrigerator. Put parchment paper on two cookie sheets and generously dust them with flour or corn meal. Spray with oil or butter on the top of plastic wrap. Shape the bagels and put them on the cookie sheets and cover them with the plastic wrap. Set it in the coldest part of your fridge. The next morning take the bagels out and allow them to warm on the counter for 30 minutes or so. Boil them and bake them.
Like I said, I haven't tried this method, but this is what I would do. Let me know if you decide to give it a try and I'll let you know if I do.
Elizabeth Galloway says
These turned out absolutely delicious. Not a difficult recipe and tastes like a bakery bagel. Huge hit with the family. Thank you so much for this quick 2 hr start to finish recipe!
Jen Talley says
Thank's for the great review Elizabeth! I'm so glad your family enjoyed them!
D says
Hi, did you change/update your recipe in March? I found your recipe in January/February and made several batches of bagels - the kitchen aide mix at 13 minutes was spot on and I had dough that climbed the hook and then fell off perfectly, leaving silky dough to rise for an hour. I've tried three separate times to make your recipe in the past week and it's resulted in dry, hard dough. Ive had to throw away 1500+ grams of flour and all my starter discard! Your recipe seems like it's changes online from what I recall based on the photos/videos and text....
Jen Talley says
Hey D! I'm so sorry that the update caused you to have problems! I had someone comment and ask me for the measurements in weight. I was careful to measure the ingredients and weigh them. I thought that I was very careful about the changes. I just realized that for the 2 cups of water, I wrote down the weight measurement for 1 cup. I just updated the correct grams of water and I really appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Email me if you have any questions!
Marcy says
Such an excellent recipe! So easy and the bagels come out perfect every time! Thank you so much for sharing this as many people have been blessed by you and this bagel recipe! ♥️
Jen Talley says
Thanks Marcy! That is really kind of you to write. My neighbors are always looking forward to being gifted my bagels too.