These Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels are the perfect way to incorporate spring and summer berries into your breakfast spread! These are wonderful to serve for breakfast or brunch with your favorite cream cheese, jams, or other toppings! And your kitchen will smell amazing: these bagels smell like warm strawberry jam when they come out of the oven.
If you're looking for more sourdough discard recipes, try these Sourdough Discard Waffles and this Sourdough Discard Strawberry Cake.
If you're looking for a different bagel flavor, try these Sourdough Discard Bagels in a variety of different flavors:
- Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels
- Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bagels
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter, how to use sourdough discard, and tips for struggling sourdough starter.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- These Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels are easy to make and they freeze well. So enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later!
- You can use fresh or frozen berries to make these bagels.
- This recipe uses sourdough discard, but you can make an easy modification to use active sourdough starter if you prefer.
- Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels are perfect for breakfast or brunch, and delicious to serve with your favorite jam or cream cheese!
Ingredients
There are only a few key ingredients you'll need to make these Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels.
- Bread flour: Using bread flour will give the soft interior and crusty bagel exterior that we know and love! If you use AP flour, it will work, but your bagels will not have that same texture.
- Granulated sugar: You will use 1 Tablespoon of sugar in the dough (to feed the yeast), and the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar in the water for boiling the bagels.
- Instant yeast: Even though we're using sourdough discard, this recipe uses instant yeast. The discard is inactive, so we need to use a leavening agent to ensure the dough rises predictably.
- Fresh strawberries: Fresh berries will give you the most flavor, but frozen berries can work, too!
- Sourdough discard: The discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough starter with a 1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part flour and 1 part water). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and below are a few easy substitutions and variations you can try.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you want to make this recipe with active starter, you can! To do so, omit the yeast and replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). You will also need to increase the rise times.
- Use active yeast - If you don't have instant yeast, you can make this recipe using active yeast. To do so, you'll need to bloom the active yeast on the warm water for 5 minutes until foamy. Then, continue with adding the remaining ingredients.
- Use frozen strawberries - If you're using frozen strawberries, let them thaw before coarsely crushing or puréeing the berries. This will help ensure that you're accurately feeling the water content of the dough. You may find that you need to add some additional water to the recipe when using frozen berries, as they will have lost some of their water content.
- Use different berries - You can easily use different berries in place of the strawberries! Try raspberries, blackberries, and more. You can also try my Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels: a blueberry version of this recipe!
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to make Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels
These Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels come together in just a few easy steps! You'll have them ready to eat in a few hours! The full recipe with detailed directions is at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Trim and halve your strawberries
- Step 2: Coarsely crush the berries in a food processor. Some texture is good here, so don't make this into a smoothie!
- Step 3: Combine all your dough ingredients, then knead by hand until smooth and soft. Cover and let rise for 90 minutes.
- Step 4: Divide the dough into 8 equal-size pieces.
- Step 5: Roll each piece into a ball using one of your palms for friction.
- Step 6: Press your thumbs through the center of the ball to make a hole. Stretch the hole to be larger than you think it should be. Cover and let rise while you prepare the next step.
- Step 7: Boil the bagels for 15-30 seconds on each side.
- Step 8: Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake!
Expert Baking Tips
- Make sure to knead the dough long enough. The dough should be completely smooth and soft before the first rise. When in doubt, knead a little longer!
- Use warm water. This is important for getting the yeast to active and the bagels to rise!
- Use room-temperature berries. It's also important to use room-temperature berries (not cold berries from the fridge or freezer). If they are cold, they will slow down the dough's rise.
- Make the center hole larger than you think it should be. The bagels will expand quite a bit during the boiling and baking processes, so make it a bigger hole than you think!
- Make sure your bagels pass the float test. If they aren't floating, cover them and let rise for another 10 minutes, then try again!
Passing the Float Test
During the boiling step, it's important that the bagels "pass the float test." This means that they float when they're added to the water! You might see a few different things:
- If the bagels float immediately, this is passing the float test! Continue with the recipe as written.
- If the bagels sink to the bottom, then float, this counts! You've passed the float test and can continue with the recipe as written.
- Sometimes you may need to nudge the bagels with your spoon or spatula if they seem to be sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- If the bagels sink and don't float, cover the unboiled bagels with plastic wrap and let rise for an additional 10 minutes, then try again.
If the bagels are not floating, this is a sign that the dough has not risen long enough. If you bake them without letting them rise longer, they may be a bit dense and not as fluffy on the inside!
Equipment
I like to make the dough in a KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer, but this can also be made in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. I recommend using a food processor to crush the berries. Use a kitchen scale to measure and weigh the sourdough discard.
You'll need a large bowl to let the dough rise, then two baking sheets, a large pot for boiling water, a slotted spoon or spatula to remove the bagels from the boiling water, and a cooling rack.
kitchen essentials
My Favorite Food Processor
Perfect for coarsely crushing the strawberries!
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: These bagels are best fresh, of course! Once cooled, they can be stored in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to three days. Reheat the bagels in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make them warm and soft again.
Freezer Storage: These bagels freeze well! Once fully cooled, transfer the bagels to a freezer-safe plastic bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to freeze them in individual plastic bags so I can reheat just one bagel whenever I like. Reheat frozen bagels in the microwave for about 60 seconds until warm and soft again.
Recipe FAQ
Sourdough discard is what is leftover after you feed your sourdough starter. You can either literally discard it (in the trash or compost), or you can use it to make sourdough discard recipes like this one!
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter, how to use sourdough discard, and tips for struggling sourdough starter.
Yes, you can! Let them thaw before coarsely crushing or puréeing the berries. This will help ensure that you're accurately feeling the water content of the dough. You may find that you need to add some additional water to the recipe when using frozen berries, as they will have lost some of their water content.
There are a few things that will contribute to this: make sure you use warm water and room-temperature berries when you make the dough. Using cold water or cold berries will slow down the rise time. Your environment also plays a huge role in rise times! Dough rises slower in a cooler room. If they need more time to rise, give them more time!
Passing the float test indicates that your bagels have risen long enough. If they are not floating, then cover them with plastic wrap and let rise for another 10 minutes, then try again.
The strawberry flavor will be the strongest while the bagels are still warm. If you want to add even more strawberry flavor, you can add ½ teaspoon strawberry extract to the dough.
The bagels won't be pink from the strawberries alone, but if you wanted you could add a bit of pink or red food coloring to dye the dough!
Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bagels
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups bread flour
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries room temperature
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water
Instructions
- Combine flour, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook*. Stir to combine.
- Coarsely crush or purée the strawberries in a food processor. You will need 1 cup (220g) of crushed berries.
- Add the sourdough discard and crushed strawberries to the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the warm water. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Turn the dough to a work surface and knead for 4-5 minutes until a smooth dough forms. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. If needed, add more flour or water (1 Tablespoon at a time) to reach your desired consistency.
- Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and divide into 8 equal-size pieces. For me, each portion was about 136g. Using the palm of your hand, roll each piece into a smooth ball. Use your thumb to press through the center of each ball, stretching the hole to form your bagel shape. Make this hole larger than you think it should be - the dough will expand quite a bit while boiling and baking. Lightly cover the bagels with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap to rest for 20 minutes while you prepare the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Bring a pot with 2 quarts of water and 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar to boil.
- Place each bagel in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds on each side**. You can likely fit 2-3 bagels in the pot at a time, but make sure there is enough room for them to float openly. Remove the bagels from the boiling water using a slotted spoon or spatula, letting excess water drip off, and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. If needed, you can reshape the bagels a little after they've cooled.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool fully before slicing and serving.
Chandler says
I combined blueberries & strawberries to this recipe & they turned out so well and were such a pretty purple color. I also used active starter & failed to float test a few times but after an extra hour of rise time they were perfect. Curious to know if you could add honey somewhere in this recipe to make it even sweeter? Thanks for the inspo!
Jessica Vogl says
So glad you loved them! I haven't tried it, but I imagine you could increase the sugar slightly (or use honey, if you'd rather). I wouldn't go past a few Tbsp though, and if needed, you can always add more liquid if the dough is feeling too dry while kneading.
Heather says
I followed the recipe to the letter, and everything looked great. But when I cut the bagel, all the strawberry is GONE! The flavor is gone. It's like the strawberry evaporated. I am going to try again, but add strawberry when I shape.
Jessica Vogl says
You could also try adding strawberry extract if you would like more strawberry flavor.
Jessica Vogl says
These have a subtle sweetness and the strawberry flavor (and smell) is wonderful! The perfect brunch bagel!