Pumpkin Shaped Sourdough bagels
These pumpkin shaped sourdough bagels soft on the inside, perfectly chewy, and so easy to shape for the most beautiful, festive bagels.
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter
- 25 g Active Sourdough Starter
- 80 g Water
- 80 g Flour
Bagel Dough
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 282 g Pumpkin Puree I used Libby's!
- 125 g Water* Add 25-50g more if needed. Texture of the dough should be hydrated but not sticky!
- 125 g Sourdough Starter
- 18 g Honey
- 10 g Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Pumpkin Spice
- 8 Cinnamon Sticks
- Optional: Orange all natural planted based food coloring
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter: Roughly 8-12 hours before you mix your bagel rough, feed your sourdough starter (25g active starter, 80g water, 80g flour). This will yield enough active starter for the recipe (100g) plus some extra to maintain your sourdough starter. Your starter is ready when it’s doubled in size and the peak has just begun to drop back down in the jar.
- Mix the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, pumpkin puree, water, sourdough starter, honey, pumpkin spice, and sea salt (optional: add orange all-natural plant-based food coloring). Use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment or knead the dough by hand until smooth and elastic. If using a stand mixer, mix on low speed with for 6-7 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for 8-10 minutes.
- Rest the Dough: Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 6-8 hours, or until it doubles in size.
- Overnight Proof: After the first rise, place the covered dough in the fridge for an overnight proof to develop flavor.
- Pre-Shape the Bagels: The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 8 equal pieces, approximately 120g or 4.25oz per bagel. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Shape the Bagels into Pumpkins: Cut 32 pieces of cooking twine into roughly 12’’ strands. Dip the strands in a bowl of oil (I used olive oil but vegetable oil or avocado oil would both work). This will prevent the string from sticking to the dough. Start by laying 4 strands down on a table overlapping with a single centerpoint to form a star. Place one bagel dough ball, seam side down, on top of the center point. Working with one string at a time, take both ends and tie them together into a square knot. You want to give the dough a gentle squeeze but it should not be too tight. Cut off any extra twine once the knot is tied. Repeat this process for the remaining 3 strands for this bagel until you have a pumpkin-shaped dough with 8 sections.
- Final (Short) Rise: Place your shaped bagels on a greased baking sheet and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1-3 hours, until puffy to the touch.
- Boil the Bagels: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). 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 and firm to the touch. Allow them to fully cool on a wire rack. Then snip and carefully remove the strings.
- Add the Pumpkin Stem: Place one cinnamon stick in the center of each bowl poking down from the top to create the stem.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Storage:
Store your pumpkin sourdough bagels in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or slice and freeze your bagels for 3 months. If freezing, remove the cinnamon stick first.Considerations:
- Use a good quality canned pumpkin: For the best color and flavor, I like to use Libby’s pumpkin puree.
- Customization: For extra spice, you can increase the amount of pumpkin spice, or even sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar on top of the bagel just before baking.
- Flavored Cream Cheese: These bagels are so good with your fave cream cheese, butter, or however you love to top bagels. I topped my bagels with a maple cream cheese for the perfect flavor combo.