I really recommend looking at the recipe there, as they really do a great job explaining the recipe better than I did here, timeline and all. I tweaked the recipe a bit, so I decided to post it here mainly for myself to replicate in the future.
These bagels take a bit more time than the usual ones, but they are so much more satisfying. Today I made plain, Asiago, and everything bagels--all of them fantastic.
If you are itching to try out sourdough bagels, give these a go. You will love them.
Sourdough Bagels
Adapted from The Perfect Loaf
Ingredients:
Levain
Instructions:
The evening before you plan to mix the bagel dough, mix the levain in a wide-mouth pint size mason jar, or in a small bowl. This mixture will be quite stiff, but try to mix it completely. You and take it out of its container and kneed it, if that helps. Cover levain loosely and allow to ferment overnight (about 12 hours) in cozy location.
In the bowl of a sturdy stand mixer, mix about a quarter cup of the water with the sugar, molasses, malt powder, and salt. Add the ripe levain, remaining water, and the flour. Mix on low for about 5-6 minutes or until it looks relatively smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a bowl or other proofing container. Loosely cover and allow to ferment until puffed, about 3-4 hours.
Note: Do not use bench flour when working with this dough. It should not be sticky enough for that.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and divide evenly into 12 pieces (I used my digital scale for this). At this point you can choose to shape the bagels one of two ways: rope or ball. I used the rope method, and today the bagels turned out a bit wonky. Once your bagels are formed place them on the prepared baking sheet.
When all are done, cover the baking sheet with a lid or a large plastic bag, and allow them to proof for 2-4 hours at room temperature. If they don't seem to puff at all, just put them in the fridge anyway after 3-4 hours. Leave in the fridge overnight.
When you're ready to boil and bake, preheat your convection oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit (or 500 degrees F for non-convection). Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Fill a wide-mouth pot or dutch oven about half full of water and bring to a boil. Add the rice flour and whisk to incorporate (this helps give the bagels a nice shine).
Boil bagels in batches of 3-4 for about 1 minute, turning each bagel at the half-minute mark. Using a spatula with holes, or other straining kitchen tool, scoop each bagel out, tap bottom of spatula on a kitchen towel to drain a bit, and slide bagel onto the prepared baking sheet. Immediately top with toppings that you want to stick. Continue with remaining bagels, placing about 6-8 bagels on each pan, making sure to not crowd them if you don't want them to touch.
Bake bagels at 475 for about 7 minutes, and then turn oven down to 450 to bake another 6-7 minutes, or until they are deep golden brown. Carefully transfer bagels to a cooling rack to cool at least 10 minutes before enjoying. (Note: I used a baking steel and baking stone and slid the bagels onto the stone/steel on the parchment, and this produced nice crisp exteriors. I you don't have either of those items, baking the bagels on the baking sheets will be just fine.)
Sourdough Bagels
Adapted from The Perfect Loaf
Ingredients:
Levain
- 116 g bread flour
- 65 g water
- 30 g ripe sourdough starter
- 850 g bread flour
- 475 g water
- 30 g white sugar
- 30 g molasses or barley malt syrup
- 18 g salt
- 7 g non-diastatic malt powder
- batch of levain (noted above)
Boiling and Topping
- 3-4 quarts of water
- 2 tablespoons rice flour (for boiling)
- toppings, such as shredded Asiago cheese, everything bagel seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
Instructions:
The evening before you plan to mix the bagel dough, mix the levain in a wide-mouth pint size mason jar, or in a small bowl. This mixture will be quite stiff, but try to mix it completely. You and take it out of its container and kneed it, if that helps. Cover levain loosely and allow to ferment overnight (about 12 hours) in cozy location.
In the bowl of a sturdy stand mixer, mix about a quarter cup of the water with the sugar, molasses, malt powder, and salt. Add the ripe levain, remaining water, and the flour. Mix on low for about 5-6 minutes or until it looks relatively smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a bowl or other proofing container. Loosely cover and allow to ferment until puffed, about 3-4 hours.
Note: Do not use bench flour when working with this dough. It should not be sticky enough for that.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and divide evenly into 12 pieces (I used my digital scale for this). At this point you can choose to shape the bagels one of two ways: rope or ball. I used the rope method, and today the bagels turned out a bit wonky. Once your bagels are formed place them on the prepared baking sheet.
When all are done, cover the baking sheet with a lid or a large plastic bag, and allow them to proof for 2-4 hours at room temperature. If they don't seem to puff at all, just put them in the fridge anyway after 3-4 hours. Leave in the fridge overnight.
When you're ready to boil and bake, preheat your convection oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit (or 500 degrees F for non-convection). Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Fill a wide-mouth pot or dutch oven about half full of water and bring to a boil. Add the rice flour and whisk to incorporate (this helps give the bagels a nice shine).
Boil bagels in batches of 3-4 for about 1 minute, turning each bagel at the half-minute mark. Using a spatula with holes, or other straining kitchen tool, scoop each bagel out, tap bottom of spatula on a kitchen towel to drain a bit, and slide bagel onto the prepared baking sheet. Immediately top with toppings that you want to stick. Continue with remaining bagels, placing about 6-8 bagels on each pan, making sure to not crowd them if you don't want them to touch.
Bake bagels at 475 for about 7 minutes, and then turn oven down to 450 to bake another 6-7 minutes, or until they are deep golden brown. Carefully transfer bagels to a cooling rack to cool at least 10 minutes before enjoying. (Note: I used a baking steel and baking stone and slid the bagels onto the stone/steel on the parchment, and this produced nice crisp exteriors. I you don't have either of those items, baking the bagels on the baking sheets will be just fine.)
