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If you’ve followed this recipe blog for very long, you know how much we enjoy sourdough bread. Here’s an easy recipe to make your own Sourdough Whole Wheat Bagels. Warm, chewy, tangy sourdough bagels slathered with cream cheese. Oh My!
(Post modified on 1/9/24.)
The first time I ate a bagel was when I was in Junior High. My 8th grade teacher took us through the steps of making homemade bagels as a science project in our school cafeteria. They were amazing and delicious. That was probably the first time I ever enjoyed science class! Ever since then, I’ve been a huge fan of bagels. Einstein Brothers Bagels comes to mind.
I’ve since lost the recipe given to us in 8th grade. However, there are lots of recipes out there and it didn’t take much work to find one for sourdough. An even better combination–Whole Wheat and Sourdough.
More Sourdough Recipes to Try
- Rustic Sourdough Baguettes
- Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Sourdough Pretzels with Mustard Dip
Ingredients for Sourdough Whole Wheat Bagels
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
- sourdough starter (fed)
- warm water
- diastatic malt powder, divided. – You can buy it HERE. Or substitute brown sugar in its place.
- artisan bread salt (mineral sea salt)
- instant yeast
- all-purpose flour
- whole wheat flour
- water
- baking soda
- egg wash
- toppings for your bagels – sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or this fabulous Everything Bagel Topping.
Instructions for this Recipe
To begin, gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Dough
In large mixing bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, 2 tablespoons diastatic malt powder, salt, instant yeast, and flour. Using a mixer with dough hook attachment, mix this together until combined. Knead to form a stiff dough, about 4-5 minutes. Or you could knead by hand on a floured surface. Your choice.
Place the kneaded dough in lightly greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise for one hour. Gently deflate and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a work space and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a smooth, round ball. Cover and allow dough balls to rise another 30 minutes.
While the dough is rising for the final time, fill a large saucepan about half full with water. Add remaining diastatic malt powder, plus 2 teaspoons baking soda to the water and bring to a gentle boil.
If you don’t have any diastatic malt powder, you may use brown sugar in it’s place.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Time to Form the Bagels
Using a finger, poke a hole through the center of each ball and stretch until the hole is about 2 inches wide.
Transfer the bagels, four at a time, to the simmering water, maintaining a gentle boil with heat as needed. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes. Flip over and cook an additional minute.
Strain bagels from water and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining bagels.
If desired, brush egg wash (1 egg + 2 tablespoons water) over bagels and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other bread toppings such as the Everything Bagel Topping mentioned above.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
If desired, you may freeze bagels in a freezer bag or tightly sealed container for up to 6 weeks. To serve, bring frozen bagels to room temperature before removing from bag or container to protect against moisture loss in the bread.
Serve Sourdough Whole Wheat Bagels warm or toasted with cream cheese. Makes 1 dozen chewy, delicious bagels.
See more Sourdough Recipes Here.
Sourdough Whole Wheat Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter "active and bubbly"
- 1 cup warm water
- 4 tablespoons Diastatic Malt Powder divided (or brown sugar)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- water to fill 10"-diameter pan 4" deep
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Egg Wash & Toppings:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons water
- Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, or Everything Bagel Topping Everything Bagel Topping
Instructions
- Gather ingredients so you have everything close at hand.
Prepare the Dough
- In large mixing bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, 2 tablespoons diastatic malt powder, salt, instant yeast, and flours. (Depending on the hydration of your sourdough, you may not need all three cups of all-purpose flour. Add 2 1/2 - 3 cups, as needed.) Mix together until combined. Knead to form a stiff dough, about 4-5 minutes.
- Place dough in lightly greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise for one hour. Gently deflate and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
Form and Bake the Bagels
- Transfer the dough to work space and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a smooth, round ball. Cover and allow to rise another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large saucepan about half full with water. Add remaining diastatic malt powder (or brown sugar) and baking soda to the water. Bring to a gentle boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Using a finger, poke a hole through the center of each ball and stretch until the hole is about 2 inches wide.
- Transfer the bagels, four at a time, to the simmering water, maintaining a gentle boil with heat as needed. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes. Flip over and cook an additional minute. Strain bagels from water and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- If desired, brush egg wash (1 egg + 2 tablespoons water) over bagels and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other bread toppings, such as Everything Bagel Topping.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Serve warm with cream cheese. Makes 1 dozen chewy bagels.
These whole wheat bagels look so inviting!
Awesome for breakfast with a large mug of coffee. Thanks for this recipe.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Ana! We really love these whole wheat bagels. My favorite time to eat them is the afternoon for a snack with cream cheese. So yummy!
These look so delicious! And as a retired science teacher, I’m so impressed that your middle school teacher had you make bagels for a project – great idea.
Hi Beth, Yes, I thought he was a really neat teacher. If I remember correctly, we made bagels a couple of times that year. But sourdough would make an even better science project. Our oldest daughter did that in school one year. Pretty cool stuff.
These sourdough whole wheat bagels look excellent and delicious. Thanks for this amazing recipe. I’ve never had a sourdough bagel before. I am looking forward to trying this recipe.
Hi Amisha, I hope you will enjoy the bagels.
Thanks for the recipe, good to know it uses whole wheat flour too
Looks so good and inviting!
Thanks for stopping by, Nisha!
This looks so good. I love sour dough as well, especially homemade sour dough breads. I’ve never had sour dough bagels – I think I will need to change that now that I have your recipe!
These are delicious! A little crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I usually make regular sourdough bagels but I think these will be my new go to. Thanks!
Hi Sheila. I’m delighted that you tried my recipe and enjoyed it! Yay! I love these bagels, especially with cream cheese thickly spread over them! Thank you for sharing with me!