The ultimate lunch
I feel like some people struggle to venture into the bagel world. But I mean – nothing beats a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel with a little lemon juice. Ah I’m drooling – especially when they’re sourdough bagels.
And if you haven’t read my Beginners guide to Sourdough you can read it HERE. With a recipe and instructions on how to bake your own bread.
The journey continues – and to be honest it’s only going to keep growing – to watch me daily head over to instagram and follow me at @thefigure_
Then once you have that downpat you can start making an abundance of other yummy things.
Everyone that’s tried these has LOVED them. Even my sceptical parents.
What’s the difference?
Over the last few years as my health journey continues the more home cooking I’ve done. When you start reading the labels of packets on food you buy you start to realise so much of it has preservatives and additives. We know a lot of these are not good for our health – gut health and long term health. A few here or there is fine – but the more we consume and when you realise how often it pops up in store bought food – the more motivation it gives me to bake and cook at home.
When you start looking at the back of packets you realise the ingredients list is abundant of things that aren’t great for us. As my journey goes on – I’m all about finding better ways to fuel our bodies without having to have that stuff too.
The great thing about bagels and this recipe is that they last ages (not that they do in my house) but it’s super simple, and the possibilities are endless. Sourdough bagels are Harpers new favourite lunch as well so I know she’s getting lots of great energy and nutrients.
RECIPE
This can either be done by starting in the morning and baking at night (you need to be on hand for an hour in the morning – so I suggest mixing it all up – then doing the morning routine – then attending to it before leaving for the day). Or, starting at night and baking in the morning.
INGREDIENTS
- 150g starter in any form, active, discard, unfed, left
- 200g warm water
- 500g bread flour
- 40g honey
- 10g salt
- 20g honey (for the boil bath)
METHOD
In a large bowl, mix the starter, warm water, and honey.
Add the flour and salt and mix until fully incorporated.
Knead the dough by pulling a small section of the dough above the rest, fold it over on top, and push into the dough with the heel of your hand. Repeat this while turning the bowl of dough clockwise for 5-6 minutes.
The dough will become pretty stiff and a little bumpy looking which is normal.
Cover the dough and let it it rest for 60 minutes.
Do another set of stretch and folds this time just for 1 minute
The dough will be a little less stiff and now the dough ball is smoother. Cover the bowl and place dough in a warm place to rise.
Leave to rise until double in size. This usually takes between 8-12 hours depending on the temperature of your house.
Once the dough has at least doubled in size, remove the sourdough bagel dough from the bowl and place it on your surface – no flour dusting needed.
Stretch and shape the dough into a large rectangle, about 2cm high. Cut the dough with a bench scraper into 8 equal triangle pieces.
You can weigh the pieces of dough if you like to make sure they are all equal ( about 115g), otherwise, just eyeball it.
To shape the sourdough bagels, grab one piece of dough and pull the corners of the triangles towards the center. Then roll the dough until formed into a smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Use your thumb to punch a hole in the middle of the dough ball. Stretch the dough ball with both thumbs, until the hold is about 4cm in diameter. The dough will shrink back a bit after.
Put your sourdough bagels on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover them fully with a damp tea towel so they don’t dry out.
Let them rest until puffed up in a warm place, about 20-60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
Fill a large pot with water and add 20g honey and whisk well. Bring the water to a boil.
Pop a teatowel on the bench and a cooling rack on top.
Carefully place 2-3 bagels into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds on each side.
Using a slotted spoon, scoop the bagels and place them on the cooling rack. Repeat with all sourdough bagels.
After all the bagels have been boiled you can add some toppings if you wish. I love sesame seeds and parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle some of your toppings on a small plate and dip the top of the bagel. Then put them on a lined baking tray.
Bake the Sourdough Bagels for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the bagels from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
ENJOY
I hope you enjoy making my sourdough bagels as much as we do. The kids love them as does Chris and it’s a great lunch for everyone!
Make sure you tag me on instagram thefigure_ and comment below when you make them.
Loving this recipe – don’t forget to check out my other sourdough recipes. including Sourdough Pancakes, Sourdough crackers, Sourdough wraps. Sourdough Pasta, Sourdough pizza, Sourdough fruit loaf, Sourdough Hot cross buns.