Chewy, crispy, dense and so delicious! These New York style bagels are surprisingly easy to make and make the perfect lunch with cream cheese and your favourite smoked meat.
I start the dough in the evening, proof them in the fridge overnight and boil/bake the bagels the next morning.
INGREDIENTS (makes 10)
DOUGH
- 200g active sourdough starter
- 550g white bread flour
- 200g wholemeal flour
- 450g water (if you use 100% white bread flour then use 420g water)
- 1-2 tbsp honey or brown sugar (depends on your sweetness preference)
- 2 tsp salt
FOR BOILING & TOPPINGS
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- sesame seeds and/or poppyseeds for topping
- Mix all ingredients together into a firm dough and leave covered to rest for 30-40 mins
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-8mins until smooth
- Cover in bowl and let rest for another 45-60min
- Divide dough into 10-12 pieces (approx. 120-130g each), roll into a ball and poke your thumbs into the centre to make a donut shape (see picture below). Grip the dough circle with your other fingers to turn and stretch out the circle. the circle should be 4-5 cm in diameter. For a couple of of the balls, I folded in some blueberries to make blueberry bagels
- Place bagels on a lined tray, cover them with a damp tea towel and then in a big plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight.

Step 6: After overnight rise After overnight rise Step 10: Boiling Just before baking
- The next morning, remove bagels from the fridge. They should have slightly increased in size approx. 20-30%. Leave them for 30mins or so to allow them to come to room temperature
- Preheat oven at 220*C
- Prepare a big pot of boiling of water adding 1 tbsp of baking soda and 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Pour sesame or poppy seeds on a plate
- Boil each bagel 30 sec on each side, then dunk them into the seeds and place them on a baking tray. You’ll notice the bagels will puff up slightly while boiling
- Once oven is hot, bake bagels for 20-25mins until golden brown
- Place them on a cooling tray for 10 minutes and eat them soon after if you can! Soooo delicious with cream cheese, capers, dill and smoked salmon, ham or turkey, and some greens.
- If you’d like to freeze the bagels, slice them in half first

