If you've never had a fresh-from-the-oven bagel prepare to be amazed. These Sourdough Discard Bagels are chewy, tightly-crumbed, lightly crisp on the outside, and just so darn good. They are nothing like store bought! This dough is easy to prep-ahead if you want to make it the day before and boil and bake them fresh the next morning.
Recipe Background and Details
I've been tinkering with this bagel recipe for years (I'm also working on a true sourdough bagel that uses no yeast - stay tuned!). The first time I made homemade bagels was during the nightmarish haze of early 2020 quarantine and I still remember that first bite of a freshly baked bagel - a moment of clarity in the midst of chaotic uncertainty. Now I understood what all the bagel fuss was about! You know those bagels you buy at the store and they stay soft and "fresh" for weeks? That is not natural and these are not those bagels. Homemade sourdough discard bagels are chewy with a very thin, crackly crust, they have a tight crumb and are sturdy but somehow light. They are delicious toasted with salted butter or cream cheese (or both like my dad did!), topped with your favorite bagel toppings, and of course they are perfect on an EPIC bagel board with smoked salmon and all the fixins. Every time I make these bagels I am amazed by how good they are - really!
If you are new to sourdough be sure to check out my Sourdough Starter Guide for Beginners! As well as my other popular sourdough discard recipes for Sourdough Discard Soft Pretzels, Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls, Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust, Sourdough Discard Crackers, Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread, and Sourdough Discard Banana Bread.
Jump to:
Sourdough Discard Bagel Ingredients
You will need just a few super simple ingredients to create these delicious bagels.
- Water
- Honey
- Yeast
- Sourdough Discard
- Flour
- Salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
The bagel making process is very simple. Be warned that this is a very stiff dough by design so if you are using a mixer like I do, give it a break every few minutes if it sounds like it's struggling. I have made this by hand and it does take some muscle but it is not impossible.
First bloom your yeast in warm water mixed with honey. Then add flour and salt and mix until a smooth, stiff dough forms.
Allow dough to rise until doubled.
Divide dough, shape into buns and then poke a hole with your fingers and stretch it out. Remember the hole will shrink a lot as the dough rises during boiling and baking, so if you really want a hole in the finished bagels you need to make it quite large at this stage. Let bagels rise while you preheat the oven and get the water boiling.
Boil bagels for about 45 seconds on each side. The longer you boil the thicker the crust will be. Carefully drain and immediately apply toppings. I like to just smush them down into whatever toppings I'm using but truthfully plain are my favorite! Once all bagels are boiled and topped, bake in preheated oven.
Substitutions and Variations
I treat bagels the same way I treat soft pretzels when I'm imagining flavor options. Head to my sourdough discard pretzel post for a full list of ideas, but just know that the possibilities are nearly endless. Top these with your favorite seasonings, dried herbs, seeds, etc.
And as far as substitutions, this is a very basic dough so not a lot of wiggle room but here are some ideas:
Flour: I use all purpose but you can use bread flour. You can also sub in a portion of the AP flour for a whole wheat or whole grain variety but I would not go more than half or you'll have to adjust the water and it will really change the dough a lot.
Honey: If you happen to have some barley malt syrup that would be delicious and very traditional in both the dough and the boiling liquid. I've also seen some bagel recipes that use molasses and I think that would be good as long as you like the subtle flavor it might give.
Storage
Store bagels at room temperature in a paper or cloth bag for 2-3 days. Bagels can be frozen for up to 3 months if wrapped very tightly to prevent freezer-burn.
To reheat, I recommend slicing and toasting in an electric toaster. If you want to be controversial you can use Ina's viral bagel slicing technique (this recently went viral but as the fans who've been around since the early days will tell you, she's been doing this for decades.) She simply slices the bagel into three pieces as opposed to the traditional two slices. I think it's a great technique and I also think you should slice your bagel however you want! Somebody needs to remind the internet that life is too short to worry about how someone else chooses to slice their bagel.
If you don't have a toaster, you can also slice bagels and toast in a skillet with butter or oil.
If you want to warm them in the oven, cover with foil and heat in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
Make Ahead
Bagels are traditionally given a long, cold rising time which contributes to their signature bagel flavor. You don't have to do this but if you want to, this sourdough discard bagel dough can be made up to 24 hours ahead. Get bagels shaped and holes poked, cover very well with plastic and place in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator, boil, top, and bake.
FAQ
NY style bagels are always boiled in water that has barley malt syrup added. This gives the bagels a chewy texture and browned, thick crust as well as a depth of flavor.
It is 100% worth making your own bagels! Homemade bagels, fresh from the oven, are on a whole different level than anything you can buy at the store.
I say neither! You should boil bagels in water mixed with either honey or barley malt syrup for the best flavor, color, and texture.
More Sourdough and Sourdough Discard Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Sourdough Discard Blondies
- Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies
- Tangzhong Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
- Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls
More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas
Serve these sourdough discard bagels alongside any of my breakfast recipes:
- Sourdough Granola
- Sourdough Crepes
- Sourdough Monkey Bread (discard or active starter)
- Sourdough Star Bread
Sourdough Discard Bagels Recipe
If you've never had a fresh-from-the-oven bagel, prepare to be amazed. These Sourdough Discard Bagels are chewy, tightly-crumbed, lightly crisp on the outside, and just so darn good. They are nothing like store bought! This dough is easy to prep-ahead if you want to make it the day before and boil and bake them fresh the next morning.
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 large bagels
Ingredients
240 grams (1 cup) water, warmed to 100-110 degrees F
7 grams (2 ¼ teaspoons or one packet) active dry yeast
42 grams (2 tablespoons) honey
200 grams (¾ cup) unfed sourdough starter (discard)
560 grams (4 ½ cups) all purpose flour
3 grams (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
your choice of toppings/seasonings
for boiling:
10 cups water
¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Mix water, yeast and honey in bowl of stand mixer and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. You should see some foaming to indicate your yeast is alive.
- Add sourdough discard, flour, and salt. Mix with a dough hook on speed 2 for 5-7 minutes. Give the mixer a break every minute or two if it seems to be struggling.
- Cover dough and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
- Dump dough onto work surface and divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a disk. Poke your finger through the center and stretch to form a hole. These will rise so make the hole a bit larger than you think it needs to be. *See notes for extended cold-rise/make ahead option
- Let the shaped bagels rise while you get the water and honey boiling and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F with rack in center or lower 3rd of the oven.
- When water is boiling, carefully place bagels in and boil for about 45 seconds per side. Do this in batches if needed to avoid the bagels overlapping.
- Carefully drain the bagels and place back on parchment lined pan. Sprinkle with toppings while they are still hot and sticky. I like to have a small dish of whatever toppings I'm using and I just press the bagel down into the toppings firmly before transferring to baking tray.
- Repeat with all bagels and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Cover lightly with foil after 15 minutes if toppings are getting too browned.
- Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack. Be sure to enjoy one hot and fresh from the oven while the crust is nice and crisp still!
Notes
Bagels are traditionally given a long, cold rising time which contributes to their signature bagel flavor. You don't have to do this but if you want to, this sourdough discard bagel dough can be made up to 24 hours ahead. Get bagels shaped and holes poked, cover very well with plastic and place in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator, boil, top, and bake.
If you want to omit the honey in the boiling liquid you can. Your bagels may not get quite as burnished and browned, but they will still be great!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes plus rising
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: baking, sourdough, breads, yeast breads
- Method: baking, sourdough
- Cuisine: American
Nicole Williams says
Absolutely love this recipe!! Have made it on three different occasions. Wondering if you have a recipe for cinnamon raisin ones?
Leanna says
my bagels were flat and tough. what did I do wrong??
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Leanna. I can't say what went wrong but here are a couple guesses: 1.) They either did not rise enough before shaping and/or before boiling and baking or they rose too much and deflated. 2.) Your yeast was not active.
Can you tell me how the dough was behaving before you shaped them? Also, did you use the yeast or were you trying to make them with just sourdough starter? If you were using just starter, you'd need to let them rise for a couple hours before boiling and baking or they would most certainly be very dense.
Thanks for your feedback and let me know if you have any other questions as I'd love to help solve this! - Anita
Teresa says
When boiling the bagels why is there no baking soda added to the water? In this recipe
you list honey. I am just curious. Thank you.
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Teresa. The reason sugar or honey is added to the water is to promote browning, flavor, and give that signature shiny crust. Baking soda is added to alkalize the water and create more of a pretzel skin and taste. If you want more of a pretzel-like flavor to your bagels you can certainly add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water as well, I just don't prefer it nor find it necessary. Either way, the boiling is what gelatinizes and sets the crust and gives the bagels their chewiness - not the additional ingredients. I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks - Anita
Emily says
Straightforward, simple recipe that yields delicious, fluffy bagels with a slight chew! I made the dough at night, then placed the covered bowl in the fridge overnight to proof. The next morning, I took the risen dough out of the fridge and shaped the cold dough. I let the shaped bagels rise for about 30-40ish minutes, using the poke test, before dropping into boiling water. Might've taken longer since my dough was cold, but definitely best to err on the shorter proof time on the second rise so that they don't deflate in the oven.
I used pretty old discard but didn't taste too much of a sourdough tang, so for those that don't enjoy that, this recipe would likely be great use of it! I made slightly smaller bagels (~85g each) and got 11 bagels out of the recipe. Thanks for sharing this!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Emily! Thank you for this detailed and very kind feedback! I'm so happy this bagel recipe worked out so well for you. Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave such a sweet comment and star rating! I appreciate it so much!! - Anita
Andy says
Spectacular bagels and a great use for sourdough discard. I made seven 75g bagels from a half recipe with an overnight rise in the fridge. They remind us of the Montreal style bagels from Myers Bagels in Burlington, VT. (One small correction: 2 Tbsp of honey is 42g, not 21g. As for the kosher salt, I used Diamond Crystal which weighs about half what Morton's kosher salt weighs.)
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Andy! I am so happy to read this! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the bagels. My husband spent a lot of his childhood in VT so I'll have to share this comment with him! Thanks for catching that honey error - I'll fix it now. I use Diamond Crystal in all of my recipes but an extra teaspoon wouldn't hurt this recipe. 🙂 I usually leave that info in the notes but I seem to have left it out of this post. Thanks for the great feedback! I really appreciate it! - Anita
Chloe says
I just found this recipe randomly as my discard was building up and WOW they are amazing, just had one for breakfast with a little butter and it was delicious, made 4 plain and 4 sesame - going to test some different flavours next time
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Chloe! Woohoo! This is the best news! Thank you for giving my recipe a try and for this amazing feedback. I appreciate it so much!! - Anita
Donna says
Well I made these they came out perfect reallly good .Do you have a non discard recipe for bagels. These were so fun to make cause I screw everything up .I just don’t always have discard I have some I can’t do bread to save my life
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Donna! I'm sorry I missed your cranberry question, but yes you could add dried cranberries. I am so glad you made them! Right now this is the only bagel recipe I have. Were you looking for a true sourdough bagel or just a non-sourdough, yeasted bagel?
Donna says
Same recipe but active sourdough
Donna says
Can u put cranberries in them
Brooke says
I loved this thank you. I have made a few of your recipes now and they are great. Good instruction and delicious. thank you ! i made flavored cream cheeses to accompany the bagels and they were a hit! good discard use too.
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Brooke! I am so happy to read this kind feedback. Thank you so much! Homemade flavored cream cheese sounds wonderful! Thanks again for this sweet comment and 5-star rating. I really appreciate it! - Anita
Katrina says
Hello, I just made these! It was super easy and such a great recipe. I ended up putting them in the fridge overnight and they looked twice as big in the morning. Is that normal? They also got a little misshapen after boiling. I used tongs to put them in and out of the boiling water. Is there a better way to ensure they don’t get shriveled looking? Thank you!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Yes they will rise a bit overnight in the fridge especially if your starter is pretty mature. The boiling can be a challenge for sure - I use either a spider strainer or a large slotted spatula like a fish spatula to avoid squishing them too much but it is normal for them to look a little wrinkly/bumpy after boiling. They smooth out in the oven. Thank you so much for this great feedback!!
Sherry says
Under ingredients:
for boiling: 1/4 cup honey
But then step 6 doesn't mention honey. Do you add 1/4 cup of honey to the boiling water? If that is the case I am curious if you can do it Without or if you can substitute anything else?
Thank-you!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi! Yes, the honey is added to the boiling water. Sorry I didn't make that more clear. This helps form a darker exterior crust on the bagels. You can sub in barley malt syrup or molasses or just leave it out. If you leave it out the bagels may not get quite as shiny and golden but they will still be great!
Roza says
Best thing to make with sourdough discard! I had a lot piled up and wanted to make bagels. Stumbled upon this recipe during a google search and it did not disappoint. I made a day in advance and cold proofed overnight. By morning they had risen quite a bit, so next time I’ll be making smaller portions. But we did get 8 decent sized bagels. Topped with my own version of Everyday Bagel topping and some with just one topping - sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Huge hit! They chewy, soft and just delicious. Will keep this recipe close by I think!
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Roza! I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for coming back to leave such a kind and detailed review! It means so much!! - Anita