Sourdough bagels are a multistep process, as you can see in this week’s long recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. But that’s bagels in general, whether you make them with active dry or wild yeast. If you want dense, chewy bagels, you need to boil and then bake the dough.

I learned when I first started making sourdough bagels that many commercial bakeries steam rather than boiling, which creates soft, fluffy bagels that seem more like hamburger buns. Immersing the dough in boiling water causes its starches to gel and form a firm crust over a dense interior after baking. This step is particularly important with long-ferment sourdough, which becomes so stretchy and acidic that it wants to rise—and then potentially deflate—if it goes straight into the oven.

Over years of making sourdough bagels, I’ve adjusted my technique to minimize tools and active time and consistently created the classic bagel shape. So the recipe in this week’s column is really Sourdough Bagels 2.0.

Learn more about making bagels and get the complete recipe for Sourdough Bagels in my column. Learn how to get free sourdough starter and join in my 9th Annual Sourdough Month here.

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Twice as Tasty

If you’ve been baking my Sourdough Bagels 1.0 recipe, I encourage you to note the changes I’ve made for this version and update your recipe files. If you’re about to make your first batch of sourdough bagels, you may still be interested in the reasoning behind my key changes:

• Use less starter: I called for more sourdough starter in my original recipe, but even I don’t usually keep that much starter on hand and needed to feed mine up before baking. I recalculated the starter, liquid, and flour numbers using this handy Sourdough Hydration Calculator to reduce the starter yet retain the dough’s hydration percentage.
• Shape in two stages: Giving the dough time to relax and rise at room temperature creates the smoothest, most consistent bagels. I now divide the dough, shape it as smoothly as I can into balls, and then let it rise for about an hour before I poke a hole and stretch each ball into a ring. Both parts of the shaping process take less active time because the dough is more malleable.
• Double the boiling time: In the update recipe, I leave the bagels in the boiling water for 4 minutes. This creates an exterior that’s less likely to rise and deflate in the oven and a chewier interior.
• Dip in cornmeal: Some bagel batches were sticking to my baking stone, so I experimented with wiping down the stone or dough with oil or dusting with cornmeal. I get the best results when I sprinkle a little coarse cornmeal on a plate and dip each bagel’s bottom in it. It’s less likely to burn or smoke on the stone than oil or scattered cornmeal, and the just-baked bagels slide right off.
• Skip the steam dome: I love the oven spring created by setting cold dough on a baking stone and covering it with a pan or bowl, but I realized that preboiled bagels gain little benefit from this step. Baking the bagels uncovered slightly shortens the cooking time too.

I’ve also been experimenting with bagel flavorings and will talk more about toppings in next week’s column, including my favorite garnishes, when to add them, when to use an egg wash, and the pros and cons of mixing flavorings right into the dough.

Need starter? Join the Sharing fermented starters Facebook group to request sourdough starter, scoby, kefir grains, and more, any time of year. If you are not a Facebook user, request some of my personal sourdough starter using this form by January 31, 2026, or schedule an in-person sourdough workshop.