Delicious Cranberries & Walnut Sourdough Bagels in the morning are great for brunch with the fall flavor that I love this time of year.
Making these bagels is also a fitting for the holiday season to bring unity. Bagels were introduced in the marketplace in 17th-century Poland. The aroma of freshly baked bread fills the air. As the bagel emerges from the hands of skilled bakers, its distinctive shape and dense, chewy texture captivate the masses.
Legend has it that the bagel's distinctive shape was inspired by a momentous event in Polish history. As the story goes, in 1683, a baker from Krakow fashioned the first bagel in the shape of a stirrup to honor King Jan III Sobieski's triumphant victory over the Ottoman Empire. The bagel's circular form was said to symbolize unity and celebration.
In the early 20th century, when millions of Eastern European Jews arrived in the United States, the bagel found a new home in cities like New York for that New York style bagel.
The traditional method of preparing bagels involved boiling them before baking, resulting in their characteristic chewy texture and shiny exterior. This process not only ensured freshness but also provided a symbolic cleansing, representing the removal of sins during religious ceremonies.
Today, bagel shops can be found on nearly every street corner, offering an endless array of flavors and fillings. A religious symbol that so many today are unaware of but survived for centuries. Now let's get started with this super easy sourdough bagel with cranberries and walnuts.
Ingredients for Homemade Sourdough Bagels
If you want to make the best sourdough bagels that are plain get the recipe here. If you want to make the cranberry and walnut version just follow the recipe below
What You Need
- All-Purpose Flour
- Spring Water
- Salt
- cranberries
- Walnuts
- Orange
- Honey
- Baking soda
- Muscovado Sugar- can substitute for brown sugar
Start with Active Sourdough Starter
Day 1 - Time: 2:00 pm
The first thing to do for these homemade sourdough bagel recipes is to have an active sourdough starter. The best way to do this is to feed the sourdough starter and let it rise.
Once that is done do a float test by taking a piece of the starter and drop into a glass of water. If it floats to the top like a piece of dough, get ready to mix the ingredients.
Day 1 - Steps for Bagel Dough
Time: 7:00 pm
- Around 7 p.m., I started mixing the dough. I found the weather in Florida will affect the dough. It took me about 12 hours for the dough to double, which was perfect for making bagels in the morning.
- First, get the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook attachment. You can mix by hand but it is very tough dough so work out the arms before you do.
- Add the sourdough and water at room temperature and mix, then add the honey and one cup of flour.
Adding Cranberries & Walnuts
- Chop the walnuts into small pieces, about ½ cup for this recipe. For the cranberries, I soak ½ cup in hot water for about 3 minutes, then drain the water and put the cranberries in the mix.
- Add a little zest of an orange to boost the flavor of the bagels.
- Mix it into the dough, then add the salt and the rest of the flour one cup at a time.I also need to add a little more flour, about 2 tablespoons because the berries are wet.
- This dough is tough to mix and tempting to add water but do not. Stop mixing once it is a smooth ball and place it in a bowl.
- Place plastic wrap and shower cap on top and let the dough rise until the next morning in a warm place
- This is the first rise for the dough to double in size.
Day 2 - Steps for Bagel Shapes
Time: 6:00 am
- The dough should have doubled the next day.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it into balls. Using a dough cutter, cut equal pieces into 8.
- Weight each piece of dough on the scale if you would like to have same-size bagels.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball.
- Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan and do a light spray so the dough will not stick. Take your dough ball and with index fingers pock a hole in the center and stretch the dough around to make a water tube. Then place it on the pan. Repeat this for each piece of dough in the bagel shape.
- Place a damp towel on top of the bagels for second rise about 1 to 2 hours depending on the climate.
Steps for Boil Bagels
- Preheat the oven at this time to 375º degrees.
- The easiest part is boiling water for the bagel bath in a large pot of water. First, I use spring water from a bottle to fill up 8 cups of water, along with baking soda and sugar and I start by boiling the water.
- Once the water is bubbling, add a few bagels and let them boil for about a minute. Then, flip them over and add another minute.
- With a slotted spoon remove the wet bagels and return to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the process for each bagel
- Make an egg wash with 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water, mix, and brush onto the bagel.
Baking Sourdough Bagels
- Place the bagels in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 375º degrees.
- Rotate the bagels after 15 minutes and bake until golden brown which for me, with my oven, was about 10 minutes more.
- Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Serve with your favorite cream cheese or freeze for a later date. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks for Sourdough Bagel Success
One thing I have learned about making bread is don't make it on a hot day. The dough is highly affected by humidity. The other thing that is great about making bagels is that they freeze very well in airtight containers for about 3 months.
Making Sourdough Discard Sourdough Recipes
To make sourdough, discard and make the same recipe, add 2 teaspoons of yeast to the mix.
Making Homemade Bagels with Yeast
If you are not a fan of sourdough or do not have any sourdough ready to go. I would recommend the King Arthur Bagel recipe. I've made it once and it was very good.
As my husband scuffed down his bagel, when they just came out of the oven, he said these are his favorite. I have to admit, I agree, the bagels with cranberry and walnuts are a real treat for this time of year and perfect for a Thanksgiving morning. Hope you enjoyed our journey today with a Polish favorite. Until next time my beautiful friends as my quest for the perfect bite continues. As they say in Poland, ciesz się posiłkiem! AKA: enjoy your meal!
More Sourdough Recipes to Enjoy!
Cranberries & Walnut Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup Active Sourdough Starter
- 3 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Spring Water Bottled room temperature
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- ½ cup cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts
- 2 teaspoon orange grate the orange grated the orange
- 2 teaspoon Salt
Egg Wash
- 1 egg separate the yolk
- 2 tablespoon water
Boiling
- 8 cups Spring Water Bottle
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon Muscovado Sugar- can substitute for brown sugar
Instructions
Active Sourdough Starter
Day 1 - Time: 2:00 pm
- The first thing to do for these homemade sourdough bagel recipes is to have an active sourdough starter. The best way to do this is to feed the sourdough starter and let it rise.
- Once that is done do a float test by taking a piece of the starter and drop into a glass of water. If it floats to the top like a piece of dough, get ready to mix the ingredients.
Day 1 - Sourdough Bagel Dough
Time: 7:00 pm
- First, get the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook attachment. You can mix by hand but it is very tough dough so work out the arms before you do.
- Add the sourdough and water at room temperature and mix, then add the honey and one cup of flour.
Adding Cranberries & Walnuts
- Chop the walnuts into small pieces, about ½ cup for this recipe. For the cranberries, I soak ½ cup in hot water for about 3 minutes, then drain the water and put the cranberries in the mix.
- Add a little zest of an orange to really boast the flavor of the bagels.
- Mix it into the dough, then add the salt and the rest of the flour one cup at a time. < I also need to add a little more flour, about 2 tablespoons because the berries are wet >
- This dough is tough to mix and tempting to add water, but do not. Stop mixing once it is a smooth ball and place it in a bowl.
- Place plastic wrap and shower cap on top and let the dough rise until the next morning in a warm place
- This is the first rise for the dough to double in size.
Day 2 - Shape Sourdough Bagels
Time: 6:00 am
- Take the dough out of the bowl and roll into dough balls. With a dough cutter, cut equal pieces into 8.
- Weight each piece of dough on the scale if you would like to have same-size bagels.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball.
- Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan and do a light spray so the dough will not stick. Take your dough ball and with index fingers pock a hole in the center and stretch the dough around to make a water tube. Then place it on the pan. Repeat this for each piece of dough in the bagel shape.
- Place a damp towel on top of the bagels for a second rise of about 1 to 2 hours depending on the climate.
Egg Wash
- Once the bagels have risen, make an egg wash with 1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of water and coat the top of bagel.
Boil Sourdough Bagels
- Preheat the oven at this time to 375º degrees.
- First, I use spring water from a bottle to fill up 8 cups of water, along with baking soda and sugar and I start by boiling the water.
- With a slotted spoon remove the wet bagels and return to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the process for each bagel
Baking Sourdough Bagels
- Place the bagels in the oven and let them cook for 15 minutes at 375º degrees.
- Rotate the bagels after 15 minutes and bake until golden brown which for me with my oven was about 10 minutes more.
- Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Serve with your favorite cream cheese or freeze for a later date. Enjoy!
Notes
- One thing I have learned about making bread is don't make it on a hot day.
- The dough is highly affected by humidity so I never pick a warm day to make them at home.
- The other thing that is great about making bagels is that they freeze very well in airtight containers for about 3 months.
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