Sourdough Bagels
My favourite thing about baking with sourdough is that most of the magic can happen whilst you're sleeping. These delightfully chewy, deli style bagels only need around half an hour of your time and attention.
I start my dough at around 6pm, refrigerate before I go to bed, and then shape and bake the next morning. I can have warm, fresh bagels for brunch without even having to change out of my PJ's - what's not to love?
- 150g bubbly sourdough starter
- 250g warm water
- 500g bread flour (I like to use 350g white, 150g wholemeal)
- 20g granulated sugar
- 8g fine salt
Method
Whisk together the sourdough starter, water and salt until milky.
Add in the flour and sugar and mix until combined, with no dry spots of flour remaining. You will have a stiff, slightly sticky dough. Cover, and leave to rest for 30-45 minutes.
With wet hands, knead the dough lightly inside the bowl and then form into a ball.
Leave the dough to one side, give the bowl a quick clean, and put back into the bowl. Cover and leave to proof for 4-6 hours, until doubled in size.
When doubled, put the dough into the fridge for at least 8 hours, or until you’re ready to begin baking.
Remove the dough from the fridge, punch it down, and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface.
Roll into a log shape, keeping the width as even as possible. With a knife or bench scraper, cut the log half. Cut each smaller log in half again, and again, until you have 8 little pieces of dough. You can, of course, weigh each piece to be sure they’re the same size but I eyeball it.
Form your hand into a ‘C’ shape, cup the dough and move in a circular motion to form little dough balls. Use your index finger to make the hole through the middle, and stretch the dough slightly to open this up.
Place each formed bagel onto a parchment square on a baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes. Fill your pot with water and bring this to a boil while you wait, and preheat the oven to 200c.
Pick up the parchment square and use this to tip your bagels into the boiling water. Boil for 3-4 minutes, flipping over halfway through. The longer you boil them, the chewier the crust will be. You can do this in batches, but don’t overcrowd the pan.
Using a slotted spoon or a spider, remove the bagels from the water and transfer to your baking tray, smooth ‘top’ side up. If you’d like to add toppings, now is the time, the starchy water will help them stick. Sesame seeds, everything seasoning, cheddar and red onion - you name it!
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. I flip mine over for the last 5 minutes to make sure the bottom also gets some colour and that nice, crisp crust.
Leave to cool on a rack for a few minutes if you can stand it, and enjoy with whatever toppings you like. Cream cheese and bacon is my ride-or-die, but choose your own adventure.
They'll for 3 days stored in plastic or an air-tight container at room temperature, and toast beautifully.
Tagged with:
- sourdough