Sourdough Bagels From Scratch

These round little baked goods have a special place in my heart, and not because I love New York bagels or have strong opinions about what a bagel “should" be. Instead, it’s because they are a token from my high school years, when I would get home from class and set to work mixing flour, salt, water and yeast. My dad loved (and still loves) telling people that this was how his teenage daughter chose to spend her free time. I haven't outgrown the phase, apparently—only matured it, taking the last year to research and test a sourdough version. These naturally leavened bagels are my new go-to, with a chewy crust, great rise, and complex flavor.

Sourdough Bagels from Scratch

Published February 9, 2021 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 12   |    Active Time: 2 hours active cooking time; 25 total hours (including rising)

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Ingredients:

For the Levain:

500g bread flour

500g warm water

250g ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) (For me, this is typically my entire jar of starter — that’s good, you will put some back in the jar after the first ferment. I’ve found this is a great way to reinvigorate my starter, too!)

For the Dough:

1000g levain (above)

360-480g bread flour

6g diastatic malt powder (optional, provides improved rise and golden crust)

17g salt

3g instant dry yeast

For Cooking & Topping:

Large stock pot of water

2 tablespoons honey (optional, gives bagels golden crust)

1 cup of toppings, such as: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel topping, shredded cheese, cinnamon sugar, etc.

Directions:

1. This recipe includes a suggested baking schedule to help you plan, but you can adjust the schedule to fit your calendar. Feed your starter the night (or ~8hours) before making the levain.
2. 8 am: Make levain by combining bread flour, warm water and 250g of ripe starter in the bowl of stand mixer. Cover, and set in a warm place to ferment, 8 hours (if it’s a very warm day, cut this to 6 hours).
3. 4 pm: Move 250g of the levain back into your starter jar, leaving 1000g of active levain in the mixing bowl. Add 360g flour, malt powder, salt, and yeast to bowl. Place the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer, and mix until roughly combined. Turn mixer to speed 3 and knead, adding the additional 120g of flour in batches. The dough should be tough, smooth an elastic. If you notice the dough tearing, add a few small drops of water and stop adding flour. Knead for an additional 5-7 minutes.
4. 4:15 pm: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Divide the dough in 12 equal sized pieces, about 120-130g each. Shape each piece into a ball, and place on baking sheet. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place for 20 minutes.
5. 4:40 pm: Shape the bagels: working one at a time, use your thumb to poke a hole through the middle of each roll, and gently stretch to form a bagel shape. (Tip: once the initial hole is formed, I like to spin the loop around my finger and let gravitational pull do the stretching.) As the bagels rise and bake, the dough will puff, shrinking the hole in the middle, so make the hole a tad bigger than you want it to be in the finished product. Place shaped bagels back on baking sheet. Cover again with a damp towel, and rise for 20 minutes.
6. 5:05 pm: The bagels should be puffy. Test their rise by dropping one in a bowl of water: it should float. If it does not, allow to rise longer. Cover entire tray of bagels loosely with a plastic bag (or two), and place in fridge overnight (or up to 36 hours - the longer you wait the more sour they will taste).
7. 8 am (the next day): Prepare to cook bagels: Preheat oven to 475°F. As oven heats, bring a stock pot of water to a boil. Add honey. Prepare your toppings, by placing each topping in a wide bowl or on a plate that you can easily dip a bagel into.
8. 8:05 am: Boil bagels: Remove bagels from fridge. Gently lower 3 bagels into pot. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip, and cook for 30 seconds on second side (Tip: I set a stopwatch next to the stove so I can watch the clock). Using a slotted spoon, remove bagels from water, allowing excess water to drain back into the pot. Dip top of bagel into bowl of toppings, then set, topping-side up, on the sheet pan. Repeat until all bagels are boiled. Note: Boiling will slow with the addition of the cold bagels — keep the water warm enough to maintain a gentle boil.
9. 8:15 am: Bake bagels: Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on all sides.
10. 8:35 am: Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.
11. Serve to taste with butter, cream cheese, lox, capers, etc. Bagels are best fresh, but will last the week if stored well: Allow bagels to cool completely before storing. Once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic or place in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Blueberry Almond Muffins (Paleo)

The light came in through a window behind my back, over the sink and past the counter where my grandpa would make breakfast sausage in the mornings. Next to that was the fridge, decorated humbly with only a few cards. On the wall hung an off-white phone, it's cord long and tangled from use. The counters and the oven door were a faded tawny orange color, the wooden cabinets a deep mahogany, with golden stain--or at least that's how it is my memory. They're given no help from the rusty colored vinyl floors, which reflect an extra orange glow onto everything in the room. 

I sit in a kitchen chair with metal legs and a faux leather cushion. My grandma has pulled my hair back into a pony tail but it's like you would expect from any toddler: the stray wisps are everywhere, escaping the elastic ponytail holder and doing their own thing. That's where time is frozen: I'm pouring fresh blueberries into a bowl of batter, while my grandpa snaps a picture. The mixing bowl, bigger than my head, is also orange. Daringly, I'm wearing no apron, just a floral dress with puffy, short sleeves (it is the '90s). 

If it weren't for that picture, I wouldn't remember this day. Actually, I'm not sure if I do remember this day--my memories from being in this house are fleeting, single moments that fade and disappear before they really emerge. But because of this photo, I feel like I remember making those muffins. Not just those muffins, but many muffins. I feel like I remember preparing that same recipe every time I visited, setting my fate as a baker early. 

Many years later (and many times in-between), I would go back to visit. Everything was as it had been: orange vinyl, white phone, that dated oven door. Most of the cards on the fridge were the same, only a few were added to the mix. This picture sat in a frame in the living room, amongst 20 or 30 others. My grandma told me that when my younger cousins found the photo, they asked her if they could also learn to make muffins. Instead she taught each of them a different recipe, leaving her legacy behind in the whisks and folds of homey pastries.

Blueberry Almond Muffins (Paleo)

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Sweet blueberries are accented by toasted almonds in this tender muffin.

Yields: 6    |    Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/16 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoon raw honey
• ½ cup canned coconut milk, full fat
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 scant tablespoons cassava flour
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and fit a muffin pan with 6 muffin liners.
2. Next, in a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, cassava flour, salt, baking soda.
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: honey, coconut milk, vinegar, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and eggs.
4. When the wet ingredients are fully combined, add the dry ingredients to the wet 1/2 at a time, stirring in-between. A batter will form. Once no clumps remain, fold in the blueberries gently.
5. Using two spoons, scoop the batter into muffin liners until they are about 5/6 of the way full. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of slivered almond and then bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Set on cooling wrack to cool 10 minutes.

Paleo Banana Bread with Cacao Nibs

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Using almond flour in place of regular flour in banana bread makes for a soft, nutty, and moist loaf. One that’s satisfying, grain-free, and gluten-free, too!

A lot of bakers will tell you that in order to make bread, you need to pull out the scale. You need to measure twice, and be precise. I am not that baker. In fact, this recipe is a “base recipe” from which I’ve made many variations, including turning the slices into french toast, swapping out the cacao nibs for chocolate chips, and topping the whole thing with walnut streusel. My mom has reported replacing half of the almond flour with regular wheat flour. My point: be brave, experiment, and create.

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My advice: Don't be afraid to try test things out. Sometimes, a little experiment can lead to wonderful things. Even if it doesn't work, you'll learn more about your ingredients by giving it a shot.

Alternative flours are different, and bake differently than traditional flour — some experimentation and learning comes with baking with almond flour for the first time, too!

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Paleo Banana Bread with Cacao Nibs

Published April 17, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 1 loaf   |    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour 
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch  
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, softened or melted, plus more for greasing your pan
• 4 eggs 
• 4 very ripe bananas (if you are using bananas that are solid yellow (i.e., they do not yet have brown spots), you may wish to add 1-2 tablespoons of honey to this bread to increase it’s sweetness)
• 1/2 cup cacao nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a standard 9-inch loaf pan with coconut oil (alternatively, you can line the pan with parchment paper). 
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, until no clumps remain.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the bananas, coconut oil, and vanilla. Once they are fully combined, stir in the eggs until incorporated. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring it in with a spatula or electric mixer until a consistent batter forms. It may have a few small clumps but should be mostly smooth. Fold in the cacao nibs.  
5. Spread the batter into an even layer in the loaf pan. Optionally, sprinkle the top of the load with cacao nibs. Then, place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until golden on top, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.