Homemade Sourdough Everything Bagels
I’ve been deep in bagel testing lately, and this is the version I finally stopped adjusting. After years of making bagels that were good but never quite met my standards, this dough gave me the chew, structure, and crumb I was aiming for. It’s the same base I use for my sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels—just taken firmly in a savory direction.
What convinced me was how consistently this dough performed. I baked the cinnamon raisin version, then turned around and made these everything bagels using the same formula, and both came out exactly how I wanted. That reliability matters to me, especially with sourdough, where texture and timing can drift if the dough isn’t dialed in.
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You’re Going to Love These Bagels Because…
After countless failed attempts, I finally found a recipe that I love!
- The dough is stiff enough to hold its shape but still bakes up chewy
- The crumb stays tender without feeling fluffy or bread-like
- One base recipe works for sweet and savory bagels
- They’re sturdy enough for sandwiches but still great toasted
Key Ingredients & Why I Use Them
Sourdough starter
This recipe relies on an active starter for structure and flavor. I like how it brings depth without overpowering the dough.
Malt syrup
This adds a subtle sweetness and helps with browning. I’ve tested versions without it, and the crust just isn’t the same.
Bread flour + all-purpose flour
I use a blend to balance chew and tenderness. All bread flour was too tough for my liking; this combination hits the middle ground.
Vegetable oil
Just enough to soften the crumb without turning the bagels cakey.
Everything seasoning
I don’t stick to a strict mix. I usually use sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion, dried garlic, and coarse sea salt. This batch also included za’atar, which adds a tangy, savory note I really enjoy.
How I Make These Sourdough Everything Bagels
The full recipe card is below, but this is how I make them step by step and where I pay attention.
Step 1: Mixing the Dough
I start by mixing the sourdough starter, 1¼ cups of the water, vegetable oil, malt syrup, sea salt, and both flours in a large bowl. The dough will feel extremely stiff right away—that’s intentional. At this stage, I’m just making sure all the flour is hydrated. If I still see dry patches that won’t incorporate, I add the remaining ¼ cup of water a little at a time.
Then, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This short rest makes the kneading easier.
For kneading, I strongly prefer using a stand mixer. This dough needs at least 7 minutes of kneading by machine, and closer to double that if you’re working by hand. It’s dense and resistant, and that’s exactly why proper kneading matters here. This step is what gives bagels their chew.
Step 2: Rising & Shaping
When the dough is ready, it looks smooth but still feels firm and heavy. I transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 4 hours. If my kitchen is on the cooler side, I let it go closer to 5 hours.
Once risen, I turn the dough out onto the counter and divide it into pieces. I usually portion mine at 100 grams each, which gives me about 14 bagels. I shape each piece into a tight ball by rolling it against the counter with my hand cupped, using the surface tension to pull the dough into itself.
After shaping all the balls, I make the bagels by pressing my finger through the center of each one, then gently stretching the hole while rotating the dough in my hands. I focus on keeping the thickness even all the way around.
I place the shaped bagels onto two parchment- or baking-mat-lined sheets, seven per tray, cover them with a damp towel, and let them rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. When the dough springs back slowly when touched, they’re ready.
Step 3: Boiling & Baking
I preheat the oven to 425°F and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, I add baking soda. I boil the bagels in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pot, for about 20 seconds per side. I avoid boiling longer than one minute total—any more than that and the crust can turn too hard.
After boiling, I transfer the bagels to a lined baking sheet, sometimes sprinkled with semolina or cornmeal. While they’re still hot, I brush them lightly with milk and sprinkle generously with my seasoning mix.
The bagels bake for about 10 minutes, then I rotate the pans and continue baking for another 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the oven and the size of the bagels. I pull them once they’re deeply golden and let them cool before slicing.
Expert Tips
Trust me, I’ve made these dozens of times now. Here are some great tips!
- This dough should feel stiff. A soft dough won’t give you proper bagel texture.
- Don’t rush the kneading. Gluten development is what makes these work.
- Keep the boil short. Longer boiling leads to an overly thick crust.
Variations I Actually Use
Aside from the Cinnamon Raisin version of these bagels, try the below variations…
- Cheese topping: Asiago is my favorite for a savory finish.
- Seed blends: Sesame, poppy, flax, sunflower, or fennel all work well.
Storage & Freezing
I like these best the day they’re baked, but they hold up well for a couple of days stored in an airtight container. I don’t usually go beyond that. For longer storage, I freeze them whole or sliced in a zip-top bag for up to two months. If they’re already cut, I go straight from freezer to toaster.ccumsan sed rutrum vel, dapibus et leo.
FAQ
Yes. I often bake them the day before and toast as needed.
That stiffness is what gives bagels their chew. A softer dough will bake more like bread.
Absolutely. That’s my preferred way to freeze them.
This is usually either low oven temperature or skipping the malt syrup.
More Sourdough Recipes
If you enjoyed these, you’ll probably like my sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels as well. It’s the same dough with a completely different feel, and it’s one of my most reliable sourdough bakes. If you like baking with sourdough, here are some other recipes you can check out. I also have been experimenting with some regular bagels and some high protein bagels. Check them out!
Tag Me!
If you make these bagels, I’d love to see them. Tag me on Instagram or leave a comment and rating below—it really helps, and I always enjoy seeing how they turn out in your kitchen.
Sourdough Everything Bagels
Ingredients
- 300 grams sourdough starter 1 1/2 cups, 10.6 oz.
- 295-350 grams warm water 90-100F (1 1/4 cup- 1 1/2 cup, 10-12 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup or honey
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (13.5 oz, 382 grams)
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (13.5 oz, 382 grams)
- To boil bagels
- 1 tablespoon baking soda for boiling bagels
Topping
- 1/4 cup milk
Everything Bagel Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried onions
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt I use Maldon
- 1 teaspoon Za’atar.
Instructions
- Start by mixing the sourdough starter, 1 1/4 cup of water, vegetable oil, malt syrup, sea salt, and flours together in a bowl.
- Mixture will seem extremely stiff. That’s ok. Just make sure all the flour is getting hydrated. If necessary, pour that remaining 1/4 cup of water in, if you see too much dry flour that won’t incorporate into the dough.
- Cover bowl with a damp towel and let dough sit for 10 minutes.
- Kneading: I would recommend a stand mixer to knead this dough. Or a lot of elbow grease.
- Bagel dough should be kneaded at least 7 minutes by machine, probably double by hand. And it’s a very stiff dough, so it’s not the easiest to knead.
- It’s very important that you knead this dough properly, so the bagels will have their proper texture and gluten development.
- At the end of kneading, dough should be smooth, but still pretty stiff and dense.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl.
- Cover with a damp towel.
- Let it rise in a warm place for about 4 hours.
- If your place is cold, let it rise 5 hours.
- Transfer dough to the counter.
- I split mine into 100 g (3.5 oz.) pieces, and ended up with 14 pieces.
- Turn pieces into balls by rolling them against the counter, with your hand in a cup shape.
- Use the counter to push the dough against itself and turn into a perfect round.
- There are plenty of videos on youtube that show this technique properly. Very easy, and you’ll always end up with perfectly shaped rolls, bagels.
- Now that you’ve rolled all the pieces into balls, start by making a hole in the center of each ball with your finger. Expand the center out with your hands, by rotating the bagel as you shape the hole in the middle.
- Check pics above to see how I did it.
- Then, place bagels in 2 baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheets.
- I put 7 bagels in each baking sheet.
- Cover both trays with a damp towel. Let them sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Once the dough is springing back as you touch it, means your bagels are ready to go.
- Pre-heat oven to 425F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Once water comes to a boil, add baking soda to the pot.
- Boil bagels in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.
- You should boil bagels about 20 seconds on each side. I don’t like to boil them over 1 min total, or their crust might turn out too hard.
- Remove bagels with a slotted spoon after they have boiled about 20 seconds on each side.
- Place boiled bagels in a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat, and sprinkled with semolina/cornmeal, if you’d like.
- Brush bagels with milk.
- Sprinkle with whatever seasoning of your preference. I used sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onions, dried garlic, coarse sea salt, and even some Za’atar I had in my spice cupboard. Za’atar is a tangy spice blend you will love, once you try it.
- I made a big batch of this seasoning to keep on my cupboard.
- I just keep it in a shaker, and shake on top of toasts and other savory goodies.
- After sprinkling your bagels with the seasoning, place trays in the oven.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. Rotate pans. Bake for another 5-15 minutes. It will really depend on your oven and what size bagels you decided to make.
- Once bagels have a deep golden color, remove them from the oven. Let them cool and enjoy them fresh. STORAGE: I like to enjoy the bagels when they are very fresh. That’s when they are the best. However, nothing wrong with leftover bagel toast in the morning. Keep bagels in an air-tight container for up to a couple of days, I wouldn’t go longer than that. You can also freeze them wrapped in foil and inside of a ziplock bag or freezer container for up to 2 months.
- For variations: For other variations, check out this Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels.
- For bagel topping ideas: Seeds (Sesame, poppy, flax, sunflower, fennel), cheese (asiago is a big favorite), coarse salt, spice blends.
Nutrition
I don’t know the math, but I think the total time for the recipe is definitely over 1 hour 10 minutes. The total time listed in the beginning of the recipe does not account for all the rest/rising time of the dough which is what I typically see. That being said, I’m looking forward to trying a bagel tomorrow after it rests for another 3 hours.
Ooops! I should adjust that! Thank you!
I just made these for the second time and they turned out so well again! I love this recipe, I will definitely be making them again. I added everything bagel seasoning into the dough as well, just for a bit extra. I would recommend this recipe for sure!!
Yay! Thanks Jacky!! Much appreciated!! 🙂
I’ve been baking sourdough bread but not bagels. I’m glad I tried your recipe. The bagels turned out great and tasted delicious. I tweaked it a little bit. I didn’t have AP flour so I used 2 cups of bread flour and 4 cups of WW flour. I added more water to get the right dough consistency as well. Lastly, I cooked it a bit longer to get the golden brown colour. As you said, all ovens are different. Next time, I’ll try your cinnamon raisin bagels. Thanks for sharing your recipe🙂
Thank you so much for your feedback, Grace! Sounds like your bagels turned out amazing!! Hope you have a wonderful night!
This is the BEST bagel recipe I’ve tried so far! They look great and taste even better! Thanks for helping me level up my sourdough bagel game!
Yayyy!! I’m so happy to hear that!!! Thank you!!!
Instead of leaving them out for four hours, is it too much to let sit overnight? I prefer to start my sourdough recipes before bed and finish in the morning.
I guess if your place is cold that might be fine, I’ve never experimented with leaving it out for that long so I don’t know. You could place it in the fridge overnight and then the next morning, you’d take it out, let it come to room temperature before shaping the bagels, but then you also have the rising time for the bagels after that. You could make everything the day before up to shaping the bagels, then place the shaped bagels in the fridge, and wake up the next morning and just remove the bagels from the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, boil them and bake. Hope this helps!
I just pulled these out of the oven and they look awesome! Can’t wait to slice one open and try it. Thank you for sharing the recipe! Wish I could share a photo 😊
Yay!!! that’s awesome to hear Michelle!!! Wish I could see a photo!! If you have instagram pls share with me there! 🙂 enjoy the bagels!!
These bagels are so good! This was my first time making bagels. I’m used to baking with sourdough, so the recipe wasn’t as hard as I had imagined it would be for bagels. This was a project that I had put off doing for many years. Living outside the USA; my husband often mentioned the bagels that he missed. I decided to finally make bagels but they had to be with sourdough. Your recipe is the first and the only one that I have tried. They turned out great thanks to your recipe! My husband said, ” stick to this one and don’t change a thing”! I am so pleased 🙂
That’s such a lovely feedback, thank you so much Melanee!!! I really appreciate it! 🙂
I’ve accidentally put in bread flour instead of all purpose… is all lost?
Not at all!! They will be great!!!
can i use olive oil instead of vegetable?
for sure! That’s what I use nowadays!
Made these today and they turned out awesome! I substituted 1cup bread flour cause I ran out of whole wheat but worked.
I’d post a pic but these came out really good. Ate ‘em with smoked salmon cream cheese capers onions and lettuce.
Thanks for the recipe.
That sounds absolutely delicious! I am so happy you liked the recipe! Thank you Kim! Have a great day!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried a different recipe yesterday and they are chewy and have a good flavor, but never really rose like they should’ve. Can’t wait to try again, appreciate the tips you provided!
Awesome thank you! I hope you like it!
Can I use all bread flour and skip the wheat?
Yes you can do that!
Hey. I am excited to try making my own homemade bagels. Yum! And your recipes look wonderful. I keep looking for your sour dough starter recipe and can’t find it. Am I overlooking it somewhere?
Thanks so much.
Hey Amy, I never got around to publishing a recipe for my sourdough starter! I even recorded videos about it to make a video too, just never got around to sitting down and editing everything and putting it together! Do you already have a starter?
They turned out fabulous first time!
Thank you.. do you think I could make the dough at night… rising time would be 7-8 hrs would these have a negative effect?
Thank you
Becky
You can definitely make them the day before.
You can either make the dough, place it in the fridge right after kneading, let it slow rise in the fridge and remove from the fridge, let the bagels come to room temperature for 1-2 hours, shape, proof again for another 1-2 hours (the time will depend on how warm your kitchen is), and then bake.
Another option is to make the dough, let it rise for about 4 hours, then shape the bagels, place them in the fridge, then the next day, remove them from the fridge, let them come to room temperature for about 1-2 hours, and then bake.
Let me know if you have any questions!!
Thank you!!
Tried bagels a year ago. Result not good. Made these today, result is excellent. Have been making sourdough bread for 4 years, also excellent. The key to sourdough is the right balance of water to flour. I called the King Arthur hotline and they put me on the right track.
Oh awesome!!! I am so happy you had good results!!! I love this recipe so much!!! And King Arthur hotline is so incredible!!
Thank you so much for your feedback!
Have a lovely day!