Everything Sourdough Bagels

Sourdough Everything Bagel Recipe {with Strawberry Cream Cheese}

Deliciously chewy sourdough everything bagels baked to perfection. This easy sourdough bagel recipe uses simple ingredients and will be your new go-to! Add your favorite cream cheese or butter and a side of eggs (like I do!) for a nutritious breakfast. 

The savory, garlicky flavor and irresistible crunch of everything bagel seasoning is just perfect with cream cheese. It’s the perfect blend of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, diced minced onion, dried garlic flakes, and sea salt. And these sourdough everything bagels are soft in the center, chewy and golden brown on the outside, with a salty, crunchy crust of everything bagel seasoning.

If you need a full step-by-step tutorial on how to make homemade sourdough everything bagels check out this blog post. This homemade sourdough bagel recipe is easy to make and by the 2nd time you make them, you’ll breeze right through all the steps! 

✨Health Benefits of Sourdough Bagels✨

Sourdough bagels are unlike all other types of bagels because they go through a long and slow natural fermentation with wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). This ancient, 6,000-year-old tradition has remarkable health benefits.  A long and slow sourdough fermentation transforms wheat and other grains easy to digest because it degrades gluten, removes anti-nutrients, and breaks down FODMAPs and starches. Sourdough foods are also chock full of fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making it an all-around microbiome superfood.

What I do to Make These Sourdough Everything Bagels Healthy

It’s fair to say I’m addicted to sourdough bagels (which isn’t a problem with me) because they’re just as healthy as they are delicious. These everything bagels are nutritious and will quickly become a healthy staple food in your life.

LET’S GET SPECIFIC:

Sourdough Fermentation. These bagels are naturally fermented with sourdough starter instead of a rapid fermentation with yeast. Unlike commercial fermentation, a long and slow sourdough fermentation with sourdough starter makes wheat and other grains easy to digest because it degrades gluten, removes anti-nutrients, and breaks down FODMAPs and starches. Sourdough is also chock full of fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making it an all-around microbiome superfood.

Organic, High-Quality Flour: I use a blend of organic (stone ground) whole wheat and white bread flour because it is richer in macronutrients like protein and fiber and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.

Honey: Instead of refined sugars like Cane Sugar, I use a touch of honey (raw honey) to sweeten the dough. Any honey will do but I always go for organic or raw when I can.

Clean, Simple Ingredients. I only use real, simple ingredients and never any preservatives or artificial ingredients like store-bought bagels.

Nutrition Breakdown of One Sourdough Everything Bagel

Macro-Nutrients

• 183 Calories
• 6.5g Protein (13%)
• 4.9g Fiber (17%)
• 1.4g Sugar (3%)

Micro-Nutrients

• 2mg Iron (10%)
• 2.6mg Vitamin B3 (16%)
• 0.1mg Vitamin B2 (8%)

Strawberry Cream Cheese

An everything bagel with strawberry cream cheese is the perfect sweet and savory combo. It has to be homemade strawberry cream cheese though. The nutty, garlicky flavor of everything bagel seasoning goes so well with the sweet strawberry flavor.

I also don’t use store-bought strawberry cream cheese. I just added fresh strawberries to Nancy’s probiotic cream cheese. So the cream cheese is fresh and light with just the right amount of sweetness from the diced strawberries.

The combination of fresh strawberries and my favorite probiotic cream cheese, makes it’s so much tastier and healthier than any store-bought cream cheese! Also, it would be a great spread for bread, muffins, or with a little drizzle of honey on top too. 

Everything Bagel Seasoning 

I use the everything bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods but most stores nowadays sell everything bagel seasoning. I just check the ingredient list to make sure it doesn’t contain any seed oils or weird ingredients. My ideal everything bagel seasoning is heavy on the sesame and lighter on the salt.  I’m more in it for the crunch and the garlic flavor. Before baking, you’ll brush your bagels with a little egg wash and then coat with everything bagel seasoning. 

Sourdough Bagel Baking Schedule

This is what a typical bagel-making schedule looks like for me.

P.S. Temperature is one of the single most important factors that affect fermentation. The warmer your place, the faster your dough will ferment. So please use my schedule as simply a jumping-off point for your own.

Prepare sourdough starter

Either feed your sourdough starter the night before to prepare or if your sourdough starter is in the fridge be sure to feed it every 12 hours, 3 days before you plan to bake.

Day One

• 10 AM – Mix bagel dough, cover and let sit at room temp until it doubles in size (6-8 hours)
• 6 PM – Place dough covered in the fridge for an overnight fermentation (10+ hours). This step is to develop flavor and nutrition… it’s optional, but highly recommended.

day two

• 8 AM – Divide bagel dough, shape and cover with tea towel. Let it rise for 2 hours.
• 10 AM – Prepare boiling water and preheat oven.
• 10:15 AM – Boil bagels, add toppings and bake.

Ingredients for Everything Sourdough Bagels

Here’s what you’ll need to make sourdough bagels at home.

5 CORE INGREDIENTS

• Bread Flour: A high-protein flour is needed for bagel making. You can use a white or whole wheat bread flour. King Arthur has a great bread flour that is usually widely available. I use this stone ground partially sifted whole wheat flour. I recommend using a blend of white bread flour and whole wheat flour.
• Water: Preferably warm water is best! Warmer water helps kickstart fermentation.
• Sourdough Starter: Be sure you are using active sourdough starter (not discard).
• Honey: Instead of cane sugar, I like to use a touch of honey to sweeten the dough.
• Sea Salt: Enhances flavor (and nutrition) by slowing fermentation.

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• Olive Oil: Used to grease the bowl or plate where are bagel dough will rise.
• Eggs: You’ll brush your bagels with an egg wash prior to adding everything bagel seasoning.
• Everything Bagel Seasoning: My favorite one is from Trader Joe’s.

CREAM CHEESE INGREDIENTS

• Strawberries: I used about 4 ripe strawberries (the redder the better!)
• Cream cheese: I used my favorite probiotic cream cheese from Nancy’s

Equipment Needed for Sourdough Bagels

• Dough Mixer or Mixing Bowl (by hand): You can prepare the bagel dough with either a mixer or by hand. Kneading the dough by hand is essential to the bagel making process (and my favorite part).
• Dough Scraper: Used for dividing our dough.
• Baking Pan
• Baking Scale: ideal for accurate measuring of ingredients and to weigh dough balls after dividing to ensure they are similar in size.

Tips for Making Sourdough Bagels

What flour is best for this recipe?

A high-protein flour is needed for bagel making. You can use a white or whole wheat bread flour. King Arthur has a great bread flour that is usually widely available. I use this stone ground partially sifted whole wheat flour. I recommend using a blend of white bread flour and whole wheat flour.

How do I make just one Sourdough Bagel?

Ingredients for One Sourdough Everything Bagel:

• 100 g Bread Flour
• 55 g Water
• 25g Sourdough Starter
• 2g Sea Salt

Looking for other sourdough bagel recipes? Here are a few ideas:

Cornbread Sourdough Bagels

Step-by-Step Sourdough Bagel Recipe

French Toast Sourdough Bagel Recipe

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