Cinnamon Crunch Sourdough Bagels

Cinnamon crunch bagels sitting open on a platter with cream cheese spread on top.

4.91 from 10 votes

Cinnamon Crunch Sourdough Bagels

Sweet cinnamon crunch bagels are made with 100% sourdough natural yeast. They bake up into beautiful bagels with a sweet, crunchy topping. Slather with some cream cheese and enjoy!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Fermentation Time1

Total Time1 45

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: bagels

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

baking sheet
stand mixer
large pot for boiling water bath

Ingredients

Levain (1:1:1, about 3-4 hours at 78ºF)

45 grams sourdough starter ripe and active, about 3 Tablespoons
45 grams all-purpose or bread flour about 6 Tablespoons
45 grams water warm or cool depending on temperature, about 3 Tablespoons

Sourdough Bagels

120 grams levain ripe and active, about 1/2 cup
300 grams water about 1 1/4 cup
60 grams maple syrup about 3 Tablespoons, see recipe notes
5 grams diastatic malt powder about 1 teaspoon, see recipe notes
12 grams salt about 2 teaspoons
625 grams bread flour about 4 1/2 cups

Cinnamon Crunch Topping

55 grams brown sugar about 4 Tablespoons
55 grams granulated sugar about 4 Tablespoons
20 grams bread flour about 2 Tablespoons
30 grams unsalted butter, softened or melted about 2 Tablespoons
6 grams ground cinnamon about 2 teaspoons

Boil Bath

1800 grams water 8 cups
30 grams brown sugar about 2 Tablespoons

Instructions

Levain (1:1:1, about 3-4 hours at 78ºF)

Mix together 45 grams ripe active sourdough starter with 45 grams water and 45 grams flour. Cover and set in a warm place to rise. Once peaked, active and bubbly, it is ready to use.
Ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be replaced with the levain in this recipe if desired.

Cinnamon Crunch Sourdough Bagels

Mix the Dough: Set the bowl of a stand mixer on a kitchen scale. Add ripe levain, water, maple syrup, bread flour, salt and diastatic malt powder to the bowl. Start the mixer and knead the dough together for about 5-7 minutes until smooth. The dough should feel smooth, tacky to the touch and not sticky. If it is sticky, add a little extra flour to the dough.
This dough can also be kneaded by hand for about 8-10 minutes until smooth.
Bulk Fermentation: Place the dough in a container and cover. Do your best to keep the temperature of the dough at 78-80ºF. I use a bread proofer in the winter to help the dough develop at the right temperature. The entire bulk fermentation will take about 4 hours. At the end of 4 hours, the dough will feel more cohesive and strong, although it may not have risen very much. If your dough is colder, this process will take longer.
Prepare a baking sheet: Use parchment paper or sprinkle cornmeal on the baking sheet to keep the bagels from sticking. If you are letting the dough cold ferment in the refrigerator, parchment paper is enough. If you are going to let the bagels rise at room temperature without cold proofing, add a little cornmeal on top of the parchment to keep the bagel dough from sticking.
Shape Bagels: Separate the dough into 8 equal pieces. Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter using your hand in a cupping shape (see video here) to seal the balls and create tension. Let the balls rest for a minute on the countertop before shaping into bagels. To make the bagel shape, take your finger and press directly into the center of the ball of dough until it goes through to the other side, creating a hole. Use your fingers to widen the center hole, moving the dough around in a circle as you stretch it. Let the dough relax and repeat with the next bagel. The dough will spread back out a little and the hole will close up a bit, don't worry. You will have a chance to widen it again before boiling and baking. Place the bagels on the baking sheet and cover.
Proof Bagels: Cover the bagels with plastic wrap, a kitchen towel or sheet pan cover and let the bagels rise on the baking sheet for about 2-3 hours at 78-80ºF. I use a baking mat to keep the temperature consistent (the oven the with light on works too, but it may make the process faster or slower depending on the temperature). After about 2-3 hours the bagels will be puffed up and risen. They won't look completely doubled, but you should notice a change in their texture – from dense to light and airy. If they don't look this way, let them continue rising for another 30 minutes to an hour and check again.
Refrigerate: Place the covered bagels in the refrigerator overnight for a cold fermentation. This develops flavor and makes it easy for you to boil and bake them in the morning. Be careful going over 12-16 hours in the refrigerator as they can more easily over-proof.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Boiling: Place a pot filled with 8 cups water on the stove and turn the heat to high. Have a slotted spoon and a cooling rack ready. As soon as the water comes to a boil, add brown sugar to the water. Gently widen the hole of the bagel again and place it into the boiling water. It should float within the first 10 seconds or so of placing in the water. Add as many bagels to the pot of water as you can without stacking bagels on top of each other (they should each have a little personal space in the water).
Boil for about 40 seconds and then flip. Boil for 40 seconds on the other side. Using the slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the boiling water and place on the cooling rack to drip dry for a minute before placing back on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Note: The cinnamon crunch topping can get messy as it bakes, so use parchment paper on your baking pan for easy clean up.
Topping: Mix together cinnamon crunch topping - brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until it forms a thick, crumbly mixture. Top each bagel with the cinnamon crunch topping.
Baking: Bake for 25– 30 minutes until bagels are golden and baked all the way through. If your bagels are too dark on the bottom, place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack underneath the bagels to help.
Cool: Let bagels cool for about 20-25 minutes before serving. The cinnamon crunch topping hardens a little (though the bottom can still sometimes be a little gooey). Bagels can be stored for 12-24 hours at room temperature and then frozen. Enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Starter: This recipe calls for a levain, but bubbly, active, ripe sourdough starter can be substituted if desired.

Pure Maple Syrup: Barley Malt Syrup is traditionally used in bagels, but it’s not an ingredient I often have on hand. I use pure maple syrup instead with great results. This imparts sweetness to the bagels. Do not use processed pancake syrup.

Diastatic Malt Powder: A small amount of this powder helps encourage fermentation, impart flavor and gives a caramelization color to the bagel dough when baked. If you want to make bagels without it, you can leave it out – substitute for bread flour instead.

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