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
After rising for the four hours, they hadn’t risen at all. My starter was fed and active. Is something wrong? I’ve put the bowl, well covered, in the refrigerator for the night. Right now I’m discouraged. Any suggestions?
It can take longer than 4 hours depending on your starter, the weather, etc. Give it a few more hours, or rising in the fridge overnight might also help. Take it out tomorrow, let it sit on the counter for an hour or so, and proceed with step 12 of the recipe
Thank you for that quick response. I’m hoping they will turn out fine tomorrow. Another question. When I feed my starter, I use a 1:3:3 ratio. Could this be affecting my starters response? Thank you again.
Thank you again. I just took them out of the oven and they are delicious and look beautiful. It took quite a while for them to rise, but our air conditioner is on now so it may have been too cool. I appreciate your help.
I used your recipe as my first attempt at sourdough bagels because you list measurements by weight as well as volume. I figured weighing would be more accurate, and I was rewarded with success. I had a lot of trouble with the shaping. I had to resort to rolling the dough into “snakes” then trying to glue the ends together with water and lots of pinching. The came out with a great crust, and nice flavor even though they look a bit wonky.
awesome!! thank you so much!!
This was my first try at making bagels and I am so pleased! I will definitely make these often and hope to get better at forming the bagel–the first ones came out a bit “unusual”.
I did the process up through step 9 (kneading) and then put the dough into the fridge overnight. I let it proof in a warm spot for about 5 hours and proceeded. I did not make the hole in the bagel shape large enough and will remember this the next time–and I will make this recipe frequently. Thanks for this great recipe!
Awesome to hear! Thank you Andy!
Halved the recipe cause I was worried I’d mess up on my first attempt.
Used bread flour instead of AP and could have added a little more water to compensate for the higher protein.
The dough was extra dry and was hard to bake into smooth balls cause of it. I’ll adjust next time!
Used oat milk instead of regular milk to “brush” (used my fingers since I didn’t have a brush, worked great! Sprinkled TJ’s Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning. I think instead of sprinkling, I’ll roll the bagels in the seasoning next time to coat it all the way.
Otherwise, they just came out of the oven and I LOVE them. As a native New Yorker who is currently quarantined in another city, I’ve been craving a solid bagel and this definitely has done the trick for me!
Excited to try it again with more hydration and more seasoning. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!
I just took these out of the oven! I halved the recipe and got 7 bagels. I must say I was so pleased with the results! I did use all white flour. I tried a different recipe for my first two batches ever and wasn’t too pleased. Decided to give it one more try using your recipe. So happy I could cry! Third times a charm! I will stick to this recipe. Thank you so much for the tips and great step-by-step instructions.
I had some of the same questions as some of the commenters above regarding leaving the dough overnight. I put mine in the fridge overnight right after the kneeding. Took the dough out in the morning and let it sit to come to room temperature . Worked out wonderfully!
Loved this recipe. I have ried several others and was not totally 100 percent happy. These were like I bought them at my favorite bagel shop in New England. I did make a few changes. I used all white bread flout since my family is not fond of wheat flour in their bagels only insandwhich bread. I made my own everything mix with what they like. I also have an oven that does proofing and sped the process up to a total of 6 hours which was really nice from start to eating one. Thanks for the info on storing the bagels in freezer. In future I will slice and place a piece of wax paper between the piece then wrap with foil and place in ziplock. Makes it easier to take straight from freezer to toaster. Today I plan to make more and a batch of the sourdough cinnmon raise ones.
Amazing!! Thank you so much for this awesome review and for the tips 🙂
I also don’t enjoy wheat flour, nor do I have it on hand. So the recipe worked fine with all AP flour? that’s what I plan on using!
yes! It works fine with just all purpose flour!! Lots of people made it that way
I got my starter going a few months ago and was ready to try bagels. I looked around decided to try this recipe. It was GREAT! I used the Trader Joe’s :Everything Bagel Seasoning which did the trick. I will be making them again soon. Thanks!!
thank you so much Lisa! I am so happy to hear 🙂
These were so good my kids and husband devoured them in a day! Thank you!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that 🙂
Can I use all whole wheat flour?
Yes you can, but have in mind that whole wheat flour tends to produce denser, and drier baked goods. But I think it should turn out fine, just a bit less fluffy.
Hello!
I’m eager to try this recipe after all of the amazing reviews, but I’m not sure if the starter needs to be fed/active or if discard is okay. Please let me know. Thanks!
It does need to be active! Thank you!
Really good recipe, I followed it steps by steps and my sourdough bagels are amazing. Thanks for the recipe
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you!!
Can I use all AP flour? Excited to try these! Noted the wheat has a nice nutty flavor, I just have a lot of AP flour I need to go through! These look delicious, cannot wait to try!
Yes you absolutely can 👍
Just tried this recipe today – so good! This is the first time a bread recipe has actually turned out the way it said it would throughout the various stages! My all purpose white starter was at its prime (fed it in the morning and it double by noon) when I used it and once I mixed and kneaded everything I let the dough rise in the oven (turned off of course) and it was about 4-5 hours. I did forget to flour my baking pan and put parchment paper so my bagels got stuck to the bottom but that was my own fault. Honestly a great recipe to follow!
Yay thank you for this awesome review!! 🙂
These bagels came out SO PERFECT. I have made a lot of different bagel recipes but this one is by far the best. They are addicting and I just ate two after dinner. Thank you thank you thank you!
That’s awesome to hear! Thank you so much!!! 🙂
I made these bagels last night and they are wonderfully delicious! The dough was actually much easier to knead than other bagel recipes I’ve tried before. Love the taste with the slight hint of sweetness. I didn’t have bart marley syrup or honey, so I used molasses instead. Still turned out so, so good!
That sounds lovely! Thank you so much Kieu! And sounds like a nice substitution with the molasses! Great stuff! 🙂