Sourdough Pumpkin Bagels
These sourdough pumpkin bagels are gently spiced with a beautiful golden hue. They’ve got a chewy outside and soft and tender inside.
The pumpkin puree gives a gentle sweetness and moisture. Because these bagels are slightly sweet and baked in a very hot oven, the bottoms can sometimes darken too much. To prevent this, I line my pan with a silicone mat for a bit of insulation. Using a light-colored pan can also help, or simply placing another baking pan beneath the one holding the bagels.
You can use homemade or canned pumpkin puree for this recipe. Some pumpkin purees will have more water than others. If your pumpkin puree is slightly wetter and your dough is too wet, add an extra tablespoon of flour if needed, or leave it as-is. A stickier dough will make a softer bagel, so feel free to adjust based on the texture you prefer.
Pumpkin spice
I love pumpkin spice in this dough. It’s a cozy blend of warm spices. Here’s what’s inside:
- Ground Cloves: Just a pinch of cloves brings bold and sweet flavour.
- Cinnamon: Sweet and woody, cinnamon is the main spice.
- Ground Ginger: This adds a touch of warmth and spiciness.
- Nutmeg: Nutmeg brings a subtle depth.
- Allspice: Despite its name, it’s just one single spice! It taste like a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
If you don’t have these spices, it’s great with just cinnamon too!
Here’s how it’s done
- Feed your starter in time before beginning so it’s nice and active.
- Mix warm water, pumpkin, sugar and sourdough starter.
- Add you flour, salt and spice.
- Mix into a shaggy dough, then knead until smooth and soft.
- Let the dough rise until almost doubled in size, then refrigerate overnight.
- The following day, shape, boil and bake!
Storage Tips
Keep bagels in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat them gently in the toaster or oven.
Freezing Instructions
Let the baked bagels cool completely, then slice in half and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. This makes it easy to take out individual bagels to thaw and toast as needed.
More sourdough recipes
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping
- Sourdough Chocolate Muffins
- Soft Sourdough English Muffins
Sourdough Pumpkin Bagels
Ingredients
Starter
- 25 g sourdough starter
- 50 g bread flour
- 50 g water
Bagel Dough
- 120 g water lukewarm
- 32 g soft brown sugar
- 180 g pure pumpkin puree
- 440 g bread flour
- all the sourdough starter 100g (around 1/2 cup)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin spice* see notes
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Poaching
- 2 litres water
- 18 g honey or brown sugar
Instructions
- In the morning or the evening before, feed your sourdough starter.
- Once the starter is ready to go, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the dough ingredients and use a fork to combine it into a thick and rough dough.
- Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. For optimal gluten development, the dough should be worked and kneaded for around 8 minutes. Take a break if you need it, it will get easier to knead if you let it rest for 10 minutes. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.
- Once kneaded, place the dough ball in a large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm spot around 25°C/77°F until bulked out by at least 60%.
- Once the dough has risen, place it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
Shaping
- Pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball.
- Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (a kitchen scale works well to ensure even bagels) and shape each dough into a smooth ball. Let these dough balls rest for 5 minutes.
- Use a rolling pin and roll a dough ball into a rectangle. Roll it up tightly into a cylinder from the long end and seal the edges by pinching them together. Then, lengthen the cylinder into a 10-inch rope on a clean surface. Flatten one end of the rope to about 1-2 inches long.
- Bring the rounded end of the rope around to meet the flattened end. Carefully overlap the flattened end over the rounded end. If needed, moisten the flattened end slightly to help it stick.
- Place the shaped bagels on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and loosely cover. Let them rise for around 2 hours until puffy – the timing will depend on your room temperature.
Poaching and baking
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and once the water is boiling, stir in honey or brown sugar.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Dust any excess flour off the bagels and drop them in the boiling water one at a time. If your pot is small, boil them in batches.
- Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds. Remove the bagels from the water using a slotted spoon and place back on the baking sheet.
- Bake the bagels in the oven for around 20-25 minutes until golden brown; the timing will depend on your oven. If they are baking unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the oven tray around after 15 minutes of baking.
- Remove the baked bagels from the tray and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Pumpkin Spice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
