Lemon Poppyseed Sourdough Bagels

Bagel Recipe

• Feed your sourdough starter: roughly 8-12 hours before you mix the bagel dough, feed your sourdough stater so that it is ripe and active. Your starter is ready when it has doubled in size and the peak has just begun to drop back down in the jar.
  25 g Active sourdough starter, 80 g Water, 80 g Flour
• Mix the bagel dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, water, sourdough starter, honey, optional sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low speed. Once the dough starts to come together add the poppy seeds and continue mixing on low (6-7 minutes total) until the dough is smooth and elastic. If kneading by hand, knead for 8-10 minutes.
  500 grams Bread flour, 280 g Water, 125 g Sourdough starter, 10 g Salt, 20 g Honey, 13 g Lemon zest, 30 g Poppy seeds, Optional: 20g sugar, Optional: Natural food coloring
• Rest the dough: Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until it doubles in size.
• Overnight proof: Once the first rise is done, place the covered dough in the fridge to proof overnight. This step helps develop flavor and build structure in the dough.
• Preshape the bagels: After the overnight proof, remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 8 equal pieces, roughly 125g or 4.25oz per bagel. Shape each piece into a ball by pulling the corners up and over. Then, use your finger to poke a hole through the center of the ball and rotate the dough with 2 fingers to form a ring.
• Final rise: Place the formed bagels on a greased baking tray and let rise at room temperature for 1-3 hours, until puffy to the touch.
• Boil the bagels: Preheat the oven to 425f (220c). On the stove, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil each bagel for 1 minute on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake the bagels: Bake the bagels in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Allow them to fully cool on a wire rack before serving.
• Serve with cream cheese or your favorite spread (I used a honey cream cheese) and enjoy!
  3 tbsp Cream cheese, 2 tsp Honey or raw honeycomb