Sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels - happiness from home cultivation

These Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels are soft and chewy. They are lightly flavored with cinnamon and sprinkled with raisins.

Sourdough bagels are easy to make and delicious. They’re raised with a sourdough starter that brings extra flavor and texture

Don’t have the sourdough for this recipe yet? look at mine Instructions for sourdough starters to prepare an active sourdough starter for baking!

About those bagels

The bagel dough is lean and thick with low hydration (unlike many other sourdough recipes like sourdough brioche or cinnamon raisin bread).

This results in dense and chewy bagels with a wonderfully chewy texture. The dough is easy to knead by hand, or you can make it in the bowl of a food processor.

These sourdough bagels are made over two days. The dough essentially goes through two proofing stages, one at room temperature and one overnight in the refrigerator. The long chilling brings additional flavor to the dough.

You can save time by skipping the cold proof if you like. This reduces the sourdough taste. After shaping, they are poached in boiling water before baking. This gives them that iconic chewy texture.

The ingredients

For the simple ingredients for this sourdough bagel recipe, check out the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is an overview of what you need.

Active sourdough starter
Warm water
Soft brown sugar
Bread flour or strong all-purpose flour
Salt
Cinammon – woody and warming cinnamon is a perfect bagel pairing.
raisins – Plump raisins add texture and sweetness.
More brown sugar, honey, or barley malt syrup for cooking bagels – Poaching them in sweetened boiling water before baking gives them a golden and chewy crust. You can also add some baking soda which will brown them even deeper.

equipment

This sourdough recipe is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.

method

Feed your sourdough in the morning or the night before. Let rise until doubled in size.

In a large bowl, add flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and water. Add the sourdough starter.

Use a fork and then your hands to mix the dough into a coarse and shaggy ball of dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

For optimal gluten development, the dough should be worked and kneaded for approx. 6-8 minutes. Alternatively, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the batter on low speed.

Flatten the dough and place the raisins in the middle.

Gather the sides of the dough to cover the raisins. Gently knead the dough again to incorporate the raisins.

Once the raisins are incorporated, transfer the batter to a lightly greased large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place at around 25°C until it has doubled in size.

You can create a warm and humid spot by placing the dough in a turned-off oven next to a mug of boiling water. This can take about 5-6 hours in a warm room.

Once the dough has risen, place in the fridge until the next morning or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, you can skip the cold proof and go straight to forming the bagels.

Shape bagels

Take the firm dough out of the fridge and turn it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface.

Use a scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough into nine equal portions.

A kitchen scale works well to ensure even bagels.

Shape each piece into a tight ball and place on a lightly floured work surface.

Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes while the gluten relaxes.

Take a ball of dough and use your thumb and forefinger to make a hole in the center.

Roll the ball of dough around your fingers in a circular motion to widen the hole.

Aim for a large hole, as it will shrink again once inserted.

Continue with the remaining dough balls.

Place the formed bagels on a prepared sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover them with a tea towel and let them rise for about 60 minutes while preheating the oven and bringing a pot of water to a boil.

water bath

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once the water is boiling, stir in the brown sugar or honey.

Dust excess flour from the bagels and add them one at a time to the boiling water. Cook 2-3 bagels at a time.

Poach them in the water for a total of 1 minute, turning after 30 seconds.

Remove the bagels from the water with a slotted spoon. Drain the cooked bagels on a wire rack and continue with the rest.

Bake

Place the bagels on the lined baking sheet. Bake them in the oven for 22-25 minutes until deep golden brown. If they bake unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the baking sheet over after 15 minutes of baking.

Remove the baked bagels from the pan and let them cool to room temperature on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve and store

Spread cream cheese or toast bagels with salted butter.

Store leftover bagels in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels also freeze very well. Freeze up to 3 months.