The crispy crust and chewy center of these bagels will make you question how you ever enjoyed the store-bought version, at least that’s what they did for me.
After paying close attention to the ingredients in many of the bread products I was purchasing and comparing them to the recipes for the from-scratch versions, I set a goal to make all of our bread products instead of buying them. Between the highly-processed, low-quality flour, oil, and sweeteners and the unfamiliar sounding additives to increase shelf life, I decided we no longer needed those things in our household. After tackling the basics, I began to realize that there may be some things we just don’t have anymore or maybe only rarely because the recipes seemed very intimidating. Bagels were on this list…but luckily, I was completely wrong about them.
Bagels are one of my favorite bread items and the thought of not having them regularly didn’t sit well with me, so I faced my fear and finally attempted to make them from scratch. It turns out, I never should have been nervous about them. Yes, the recipe seems a bit daunting but after going through the process a couple of times the intimidation fades.
Start by combining the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of stand mixer with dough hook. Dissolve 1 tbsp of honey in the warm water and then add to dry ingredients.
Mix until well combined, this could take 3-4 minutes. Add seeds and allow mixer to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and not sticking to the sides of the bowl. Flour or water may be added 1 tbsp at a time to achieve this consistency.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Leave to rise for minimum 90 minutes, up to 6 hours. The dough should nearly double during this time.
I love that the wait times in this recipe are not strict, allowing you to easily work it into your day without having to stress over a rigid timeline. Extending the rise time will give the sourdough more opportunity to breakdown the flour, increasing the health benefits and digestibility for your gut. I’ve had success with the 90 minute rise time as well as 3, 4, and 6 hour rises.
Divide the dough into 10-12 pieces. Shape each piece by rolling it into a ball, poking a hole through the middle, and working it around your fingers to stretch the hole in the middle.
Place the shaped bagels onto a parchment lined pan and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
During the 30 minute rest:
– Preheat the oven to 425F.
– Bring 8 cups of water and the remaining 1 tbsp of honey to a boil in a medium sized pot.
– Prepare egg wash by mixing the egg white with a little water.
Boil each bagel for 30-40 seconds, flipping half way. Remove from pot and place back on parchment lined pan. Paint each bagel with egg wash. If you wish to sprinkle with toppings, now is the time.
Bake the bagels at 425F for 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Using 100% whole wheat flour instead of all purpose ensures you are getting nutrients like fibre, B vitamins, vitamin E, and many important minerals that are lost on the refining process that creates white flour. If you can get your hands on some freshly milled whole wheat flour the benefits will be even greater!
Playing around with the mixture of seeds allows you to add some bonus nutrition, flavor and texture. Our go-to combo is 2 tablespoons of each: sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, flax seeds, and sesame seeds.
Top these seedy bagels with Chia Seed Jam for a breakfast or snack with that is loaded with nutrients.
Keep in mind, without the additives found in commercial bagels, the shelf life of these is much shorter. They will keep on the counter for 4-5 days, but freeze wonderfully.
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Seedy Sourdough Discard Bagels
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
- 2 tbsp honey divided
- 3/4 cup sourdough discard
- 1/2 cup seeds/mix ins sunflower, sesame, flax, hemp hearts, chia, poppy
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook.
- Dissolve 1 tbsp of honey in the warm water and add to dry ingredients.
- Mix until well combined, this could take 3-4 minutes. Add seeds and allow mixer to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and not sticking to the sides of the bowl. Flour or water may be added 1 tbsp at a time to achieve this consistency.
- Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Leave to rise for minimum 90 minutes, up to 6 hours.
- Divide dough into 10-12 pieces. Shape each piece by rolling into a ball, poking a hole through the middle, and working around your fingers to stretch. Place shaped bagels onto a parchment lined pan and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Bring 8 cups of water and remaining 1 tbsp of honey to a boil in a medium sized pot. Prepare egg wash by mixing the egg with with a little water.
- Boil each bagel for 30-40 seconds, flipping half way. Remove from pot and place back on parchment lined pan. Paint each bagel with egg wash.
- Bake at 425F for 25 minutes.