You may not know this but January 15th was National Bagel Day and we celebrated by making some sourdough bagels for the first time and they did not disappoint. I have always been a little intimidated by bagels and pretzels but now I know it is actually pretty easy to make the bagels so the pretzels will be next on my list… hopefully before National Pretzel Day. (April 26th is National Pretzel Day, in case you were wondering!)

Here is a quick video on how to easily shape bagels… so easy!

We used the Sourdough Bagel recipes from Around the Family Table. I love a lot of her recipes and they have given me the confidence to try a lot of new things. The best thing is that these recipes are Trim Healthy Mama approved so they go along with our new healthy eating lifestyle. These bagels may have been the best bagels I’ve ever had… Mr. Awesome and the kids couldn’t stop talking about them as they were that good.

We didn’t really need any special ingredients as we already make a lot of breads. The only thing you might not have on hand would be the dough enhancer or the wheat gluten. We did half of the bagels plain and half of them with the Everything Bagel Seasoning and they were all delicious. The kids have already been putting in special requests for the next batch! I did use about 1/2 cup of soured milk that we had in the refrigerator for part of the liquid.

I am excited to use this recipe as a base recipe as well because I’ve got my heart set on some cheddar jalapeno bagels or maybe some onion bagels! I’ll have to get some dried blueberries to try some blueberry bagels but we might try to do some cinnamon swirl as well… I like raisins but Mr. Awesome doesn’t so we might have to do a batch with raisins and one without.

Sourdough Bagels THM-E

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 cups active sourdough starter
• 3 tablespoons dough enhancer OR 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 4 – 4 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon salt
• Everything Bagel Seasoning

The full recipe is available HERE on Around the Family Table.

I had been trying to use Mondays for our meal prep day of the week but it seems to have turned into my sourdough day for the week but that’s ok. It gives me time to get all of the bread dough made up and put into the fridge for a long ferment. When we need or want bread during the week I can easily grab some dough and make a loaf or two… unexpected company? We can grab some dough and whip up some fresh breads, rolls, or pizzas in a short amount of time.

These bagels will definitelybe making it into our meal rotations as they are just so easy and so delicious. They are also a lot healthier for you than the store bought ones with all those extra ingredients. We haven’t tried putting them in the freezer but we may test out a couple to see how they do… then we could making extra large batches to keep on hand.

I also use Mondays to reset the house with a Home Blessing and we try to restock all of the pantry goods like the flour, sugar for the kids baking, monkfruits, salt, etc. We also make sure that all the soaps and cleaners are filled as many of them are made with vinegar or baking soda so all of that is in the pantry. Its so easy to knock it all out at one time and not have to worry about it for the rest of the week.

What flavor of bagels do you like? What flavor do you think we should try next?

Hope you all have a great week!