Freshly baked sourdough honey wheat bagels on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

I came up with the idea for these sourdough honey wheat bagels when I was baking my sourdough honey wheat sandwich bread. I thought for sure I could adapt this for my sourdough bagel recipe and I was right! These are now our favorite bagels. I like to make them mini sized which is the perfect size for a nice addition to breakfast or makes a great afternoon snack. One batch will make 16 mini bagels or 8 regular size bagels.

These sourdough honey wheat bagels have just the right amount of sweetness from honey that pairs beautifully with the warm nuttiness of whole wheat. Delightfully chewy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside these bagels are a favorite in our house. Enjoy them toasted with a smear of cream cheese or make them into bagel sandwiches with your choice of meat and cheese.

Ingredients you will need for these sourdough honey wheat bagels:

1 cup active sourdough starter (fed and bubbly)
1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour

For boiling the bagels:

8 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:

12 hours before you will be shaping the bagels (or the night before):

1.) Prepare the dough by putting the sourdough starter, honey, salt and water into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir together until combined.
2.) Add the whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Attach the dough hook and begin mixing the dough on low.
3.) Let the mixer continue to kneed the dough for 10 minutes. You can do this by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer but it will take a lot of elbow grease to get the dough to come together, just keep that in mind.

Sourdough bagel dough mixing in stand mixer.

4.) After 10 minutes remove the dough from the mixer. It should be smooth and not sticky. Shape into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl. Cover securely with plastic wrap and leave out at room temp for 12 hours or overnight.

Sourdough bagel dough in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap ready to proof over night.

The next morning:

5.) Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. The parchment paper is necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

6.) Remove the dough from the bowl onto your work surface. Using a knife or pastry cutter divide the dough into 16 equal parts (or 8 for larger bagels), I do this by gently shaping the dough into a rough circle and cutting it like a pie or pizza.

Woman shaping dough balls into bagel shapes.

Woman rolling dough balls for sourdough bagels.

7.)To shape the bagels form each piece of dough into a ball, press gently to flatten slightly and using the thumb and pointer finger make a hole in the middle the dough. Stretch the dough out into an even circle with the hole in the middle. Place the shaped dough onto the parchment lined cookie sheet.
8.) Once you have shaped all the bagels cover the cookie sheet with kitchen towel and let rest for another 2-3 hours at room temp until they have puffed up a bit.
9.) Once the bagels have puffed enough preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare the water bath by putting 8 cups of water into a large pot along with the baking soda and sugar. Bring to a low boil.
10.) Prepare two more baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

11.) Gently add the bagels to the boiling water making sure not to crowd the pot. I usually do one or two at a time. Let the bagels boil for 1 minute, then flip them over to the other side with a wooden spoon or spatula for another minute. Using a slotted spoon or slotted spatula remove the bagels from the water and place on the parchment lined baking sheets making sure to leave plenty of space between them.

Placing boiled bagel dough onto a cookie sheet for baking.

12.) Bake for 15-20 minutes until a light golden brown. (20-25 minutes for 8 larger bagels.)
13.) Enjoy fresh from the oven and/or let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy with your favorite bagel accompaniments!

Notes:

Make sure your starter is active and bubbly. If it isn’t you will not get the rise you are wanting. Feed your starter 4-6 hours before making the dough.
Do not skip the boil! This is an essential step for that lovely bagel texture.

Pin for later!

Pinterest pin for sourdough whole wheat bagels.

Yield: 16 small bagels or 8 large bagels