Sourdough Cinnamon Sugar Bagel Pull Apart
Sourdough bagel balls boiled and coated in butter and cinnamon sugar. Pull apart breakfast with chewy texture and caramelized coating. Can be made with sourdough starter or instant yeast.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook or mixing by hand
- Large bowl
- kitchen scale
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Slotted spoon or spider strainer Fish spatula
- 13x9 inch baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Plastic wrap or large plastic bag
- Cooling rack
- 2 small bowls for butter and cinnamon sugar
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH:
- 600 g bread flour 4 3/4 cups
- 310 g water 1 1/3 cups
- 180 g active sourdough starter 3/4 cup
- 35 g brown sugar 3 tablespoons, packed
- 12 g salt 2 teaspoons
- 5 g ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon
FOR BOILING:
- 1420-1900 g water 6 to 8 cups
- 30 g honey or sugar 2 tablespoons
FOR COATING:
- 75-115 g unsalted butter melted (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
- 5 g vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
- 100 g brown sugar 1/2 cup, packed
- 12-18 g ground cinnamon 2 to 3 tablespoons
OPTIONAL CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
- 10-15 g cream cheese per bagel ball 2 to 3 teaspoons per ball, formed into balls and frozen for 30 minutes
Instructions
DAY 1 MORNING:
- In a large bowl, dissolve the 180g (3/4 cup) sourdough starter and 35g (3 tablespoons, packed) brown sugar in the 310g (1 1/3 cups) water.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 600g (4 3/4 cups) bread flour, 12g (2 teaspoons) salt, and 5g (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
- Mix until all flour is absorbed and forms a shaggy dough.
- Cover and rest 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes or in a stand mixer on speed 2 for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Let bulk ferment at room temperature, ideally 70 to 75°F (21 to 24°C), until 1.5x in size, approximately 5 to 7 hours.
- Do NOT let it fully double before refrigerating.
DAY 1 EVENING (BEFORE BED):
- Remove dough from refrigerator if you refrigerated after bulk ferment.
- Divide dough into 18 pieces at 60g (2 ounces) each.
- If using cream cheese filling, flatten each piece, place frozen 10-15g (2 to 3 teaspoons) cream cheese ball in center, wrap and seal tightly.
- Shape each piece into a tight ball by cupping hand over dough and rolling in circles on an unfloured surface.
- Cut 18 squares of parchment paper, about 3x3 or 4x4 inches.
- Place each shaped ball on its own parchment square on a large baking sheet.
- Cover the entire tray with plastic wrap or place in a large clean plastic bag.
- Make sure it is well sealed so dough does not dry out.
- Transfer tray to refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
DAY 2 MORNING:
- Remove tray from refrigerator.
- Let rest at room temperature, still covered, for 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Do the poke test: gently press a ball with your finger. It should have give and spring back slowly.
- If it feels tight and cold, give it another 15 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Bring 1420-1900g (6 to 8 cups) water to a boil in a large pot.
- Add 30g (2 tablespoons) honey or sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Melt 75-115g (1/3 to 1/2 cup) butter in a small bowl and whisk in 5g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract.
- Mix 100g (1/2 cup, packed) brown sugar and 12-18g (2 to 3 tablespoons) cinnamon in a separate shallow bowl.
- Spray a cooling rack with cooking spray or oil.
BOILING AND COATING:
- Working in batches of 8 to 10 balls, pick up a parchment square with bagel ball on it.
- Lower the whole thing into boiling water, parchment side down.
- The parchment will release and float to the surface. Or when you flip them over take it off.
- Use tongs or slotted spoon to remove the parchment square and discard.
- Boil bagel ball for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Use slotted spoon or spider strainer to flip bagel ball over.
- Boil for another 20 to 30 seconds.
- Bagels should float immediately. If they sink, they need more proofing time.
- Remove with slotted spoon and place on the oiled cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining bagel balls.
- Once all balls are boiled and have cooled slightly (you can start coating while the last batch finishes boiling), dunk each ball in melted butter.
- Immediately roll in cinnamon sugar mixture, coating generously. Feel free to add a little extra on the top.
- Arrange coated balls in the prepared 13x9 pan with about 1/2 inch spacing between balls.
BAKING:
- Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Cool 5 to 10 minutes before pulling apart and serving.
Notes
CREAM CHEESE FILLING TIPS:
Portion cream cheese into 10 to 15g balls (about the size of a large marble) and freeze for at least 30 minutes before shaping.
When shaping, flatten dough piece into a 3 to 4 inch disc, place frozen cream cheese in center, bring edges up and over, and pinch tightly to seal.
Roll seam side down on counter to smooth and create a tight ball.
The parchment paper technique (placing balls parchment side down in boiling water) helps seal the bottom seam and prevents cream cheese from leaking out.
A small amount of cream cheese may leak during baking, this is normal and will bake into the coating.
STORAGE AND REHEATING:
Store cooled bagels in a paper bag or loosely covered with a kitchen towel at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Do not store in an airtight container as the cinnamon sugar coating will become sticky.
To reheat, place on a baking sheet in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 to 8 minutes to crisp up the coating.
Freezing is not ideal due to the sugar coating, but if needed, freeze in a single layer then transfer to a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature and reheat in oven.
SIZE VARIATIONS:
For mini bagel bites (30g each): Divide dough into 36 pieces. Boil 15 to 20 seconds per side. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Use 5 to 8g cream cheese filling per ball.
For standard size bagels (90g each): Divide dough into 12 pieces. Boil 20 to 30 seconds per side. Bake 25 to 28 minutes on a larger pan with 1.5 to 2 inches spacing. Use 15 to 20g cream cheese filling per ball.
FLOUR SUBSTITUTION:
This recipe is designed for bread flour. If using all-purpose flour, the bagels will be slightly less chewy and may absorb liquid differently. You may need to adjust water by 10 to 20g. Start with less water and add more as needed during kneading.
NON-SOURDOUGH YEAST VERSION:
To make this recipe with yeast instead of sourdough starter, make these changes to the ingredients:
Replace the 180g sourdough starter with: 7g (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast OR 8g (2 3/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast, plus 90g additional water (for a total of 400g water), plus 90g additional bread flour (for a total of 690g bread flour).
If using active dry yeast: Dissolve it in the warm water (100 to 110°F / 38 to 43°C) with the brown sugar and let bloom for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy before adding to flour.
If using instant yeast: You can add it directly to the flour mixture and use room temperature water.
For timing: Bulk fermentation will take 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled in size instead of 5 to 7 hours to 1.5x.
You can still do the overnight cold retard after shaping. Follow the same Day 1 evening and Day 2 morning instructions.
Everything else in the recipe remains the same.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
Dense, heavy bagels: Over-proofed during bulk fermentation (let dough rise past 1.5x) or under-proofed during final rise (didn’t give shaped balls enough time). Watch bulk ferment closely and use the poke test before boiling.
Bagels spread too much: Dough was too wet or over-proofed. Use a scale to measure flour accurately.
Bagels sink during boiling: Under-proofed. Let them continue proofing for 15 to 30 minutes and test again.
Cinnamon sugar won’t stick: Bagels cooled too much or not enough butter. Work in batches and keep butter warm. Double dunk if needed.
