With years of sourdough baking experience, I can confidently say these chewy sourdough discard bagels are one of the best ways to use up leftover starter. They have a crisp, chewy crust and a soft, fluffy crumb that’s perfect for slathering with cream cheese. I’ve kept this recipe simple and reliable, so homemade bagels are way easier to make than you might think.
Being from New Jersey, I know a good bagel. I think I cracked the homemade bagel code with these sourdough discard bagels! For a long time, I was making my sourdough bagels or whole wheat sourdough bagels on weekend mornings, but they can take a long time to make.
These bagels are ready the same day you make the dough! After you make the bagels, make sure to check out what to serve with bagels for lots of amazing recipes to serve with bagels.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Sourdough Discard Bagel Recipe
- Ingredients For Discard Sourdough Bagels
- How To Make Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Sample Baker's Schedule
- Sourdough Discard Bagel Variations
- Tips For Making Bagels With Sourdough Discard
- Storing Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Sourdough Discard Bagel Toppings
- Sourdough Discard Bagels FAQs
- More Sourdough Discard Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Why You'll Love This Sourdough Discard Bagel Recipe
- Homemade bagels are the best! You'll never buy store bought bagels again after you have a fresh, homemade bagel made with sourdough discard.
- It's great for meal prep! If you love eating bagels for breakfast in the morning, make a big batch of these bagels and enjoy them throughout the week with cream cheese or in an egg sandwich with air fryer bacon.
- They are easy to make! Don't be intimidated! These bagels are surprisingly easy to make!
Ingredients For Discard Sourdough Bagels
- Sourdough Discard. This means, your sourdough starter should be right out of the refrigerator. Do not feed it before you add it to the bagel dough. If you are new to sourdough, you can get a sourdough starter from a friend, buy one, or you can make your own sourdough starter right in your own kitchen.
- Bread flour. Bread flour helps give these sourdough bagels that classic bagel chew. There's a bit of a difference when thinking about using bread flour vs all purpose flour. In this recipe, bread flour or all purpose flour will work.
- Sugar. Sugar helps feed the yeast in this recipe. It also adds a slight sweetness to balance out the tang of the sourdough starter.
- Commercial Yeast. You'll need one packet. The yeast is doing the hard work of making the dough rise. The sourdough starter does not do much to help the bagels rise, it's more added for flavor.
Be sure to check out the printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Bagels
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water and the yeast. Let that sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
Step 2: Add the flour, sugar, salt, and sourdough discard. Turn the stand mixer on medium speed. Mix the dough for 5-6 minutes until a smooth ball forms. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it sit for 60-90 minutes.
Step 3: Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. The dough is quite wet, so use more flour if necessary.
Step 4: Shape each of the pieces into balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Lynn's Tip!
Once the dough has doubled in size, you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. The next day, cut the dough into pieces and shape them. Let the bagels rise for another 45 minutes and then boil them.
Step 5: Stick your finger in the middle of the ball and shape it into a bagel. Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.
Step 6: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add one tablespoon of honey to the water. The water should be a slight boil, not a rolling bowl. Add 2-3 bagels to the pot and boil for 30 seconds on each side.
The dough will be sticky, so it's easy to cut the parchment paper and all the dough and the parchment paper into the water. When you flip the bagels after 30 seconds, remove the parchment paper from the bagel dough. It will come off easily.
Step 7: Remove the bagel from the boiling water. If you are adding a topping to the bagel, do that now. Then continue boiling the bagels. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown.
Sample Baker's Schedule
8:15am- Bake the boiled bagels for 25-30 minutes.
6am- Mix all the ingredients together.
7:30am- Cut the dough into pieces and shape them into bagels.
8am- Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the bagels.
Sourdough Discard Bagel Variations
Make them mini! Cut the dough into 18-20 pieces instead of 8 pieces for mini bagels.
Change the flour! Add a mixture of whole wheat flour and bread flour for a nutty flavor.
Add mix ins! Just like my blueberry bagels, you can add cinnamon and raisins for a cinnamon raisin bagel, or jalapeno and cheddar for a savory bagel. You can even add dried herbs, pumpkin pie spice, or your favorite spice blend.
Tips For Making Bagels With Sourdough Discard
- Keep in mind, all sourdough starters are a little different. Your sourdough starter will adjust the taste of the bagel just a little bit. if you have a very mature sourdough starter, these bagels might be a little more tangy than a younger starter. Either way, these bagels are so good!
- For an even bake, rotate the baking sheet halfway through the baking process. This will lead to even baking on all the bagels.
- Allow the bagels to cool before cutting into them. If you cut the bagels while they are piping hot, the crumb with be gummy and not pleasant. It might be tempting to have a hot bagel, but cooling it is worth the wait.
Can I Make Sourdough Discard Bagels without a Stand Mixer?
Yes! This is a stiff dough so the stand mixer makes quick work of the kneading process. You don't need a stand mixer though. You can make all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and then mix them with a wooden spoon. Then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading the dough with your hands.
Can I Make Sourdough Bagels with Active Starter?
Yes! You can make bagels with active sourdough starter alone, without the packet of yeast. If you do that, you'll need to give the bagel dough a lot of time to rise, about 8-10 hours.
You can add active sourdough starter to this recipe and keep the yeast. It will add to the rise, but it won't do too much rising because we aren't giving it enough time.
Do I Have To Boil Sourdough Bagels?
Boiling the bagels is an essential step when making bagels. It gives the crisp, chewy texture to the outside of the bagel.
For this recipe, I added honey to the boiling water. This gives a subtle sweetness to the outside of the bagel. You can also add baking soda to the boiling water too. That will be more of a New York style bagel.
Depending on how chewy you like your bagels, would depend on how long you should boil the bagels.
I found that 30 seconds was plenty of time to get a chewy outside texture. If you prefer less chewy bagels, start with 15 seconds per side and then go up from there. The bagels will puff while they are in the boiling water.
If you boil the bagels for too long, you run the risk of overboiling the bagels and then they will deflate when they get into the oven. You'll also get a wrinkly top on the bagel instead of a smooth skin. Try not to boil the bagels for more than 60 seconds on each side.
Storing Sourdough Discard Bagels
Once the bagels are cooled, place them in a Ziploc bag or an airtight container. They will last for 3-4 days. Then they should be frozen.
These bagels freeze wonderfully. Allow the bagels to cool completely and then cut them in half. This makes it easy to toast or defrost a frozen bagel right from the freezer. Place them in a gallon Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Sourdough Discard Bagel Toppings
This recipe makes a delicious plain bagel, but there are so many different options when topping bagels. Here are a few of our favorites. Once the bagels are boiled, add the toppings to the boiled bagels before baking.
- Sesame Seeds
- Poppy Seeds
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Coarse Salt
- Dehydrated Onion
- Garlic Powder
- Cheddar Cheese
- Oats
Sourdough Discard Bagels FAQs
No, these sourdough discard bagels have a slight tang, but they are not very sour. That's because we are not letting the dough bulk ferment for very long. The longer the dough rises, the more likely the dough is to be very sour.
You'll want to use either active sourdough starter or commercial yeast alongside the sourdough discard. Without it, the dough will take a very long time to make the dough rise.
No, you need to boil the bagels. Boiling gives the bagels that classic chewy texture that we look for in bagels.
Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make Dutch oven sourdough bread with, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar and let it rise.
You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.
With your sourdough discard, you can make lots of delicious recipes like sourdough discard focaccia! I love making sourdough brownies for desserts, sourdough granola for breakfast, and sourdough chocolate chip cookies for a special treat!
If your sourdough discard bagels are dense, they need more time to rise. You can do the float test by taking one of the shaped bagels and placing it in the boiling water. If it floats, it's ready to be boiled and baked.
If the bagel sinks, it needs to rise more. Cover the baking sheet with the rest of the bagels on it and let it rise for another 20-30 minutes. Try again and if it passes the float test, boil the rest of the bagels.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard Bagel
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 ½ cups Warm Water
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 cup Sourdough Discard
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water and the yeast. Let that sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, and sourdough discard. Turn the stand mixer on medium speed. Mix the dough for 5-6 minutes until a smooth ball forms.
- Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it sit for 60-90 minutes.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. The dough is quite wet, so use more flour if necessary.
- Shape each of the pieces into balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Stick your finger in the middle of the ball and shape it into a bagel. Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add one tablespoon of honey to the water. The water should be a slight boil, not a rolling bowl.
- Add 2-3 bagels to the pot and boil for 30 seconds on each side. The dough will be sticky, so it's easy to cut the parchment paper and all the dough and the parchment paper into the water. When you flip the bagels after 30 seconds, remove the parchment paper from the bagel dough. It will come off easily.
- Remove the bagel from the boiling water. If you are adding a topping to the bagel, do that now. Then continue boiling the bagels. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown.
Notes
- Once the dough has doubled in size, you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. The next day, cut the dough into pieces and shape them. Let the bagels rise for another 45 minutes and then boil them.
- For an even bake, rotate the baking sheet halfway through the baking process. This will lead to even baking on all the bagels.
- Allow the bagels to cool before cutting into them. If you cut the bagels while they are piping hot, the crumb with be gummy and not pleasant. It might be tempting to have a hot bagel, but cooling it is worth the wait.
- Once the bagels are cooled, place them in a Ziploc bag or an airtight container. They will last for 3-4 days. Then they should be frozen.
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