Sourdough Bagels

My friend recently gave me some sourdough starter, so I used it as an opportunity to mess around with different breads. This recipe is much easier than it looks, and will convince you that homemade bagels really are way better than store bought.

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough starter (make sure it has been left at room temp for at least 3 hours prior to using)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
3 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

Add the starter, olive oil, salt, sugar, and warm water into the bowl of a standing mixer and let it sit for about 2-3 min until you see bubbles at the top.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in all of the flour.
Once the flour is all added, turn the mixer speed up to 2 and knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Take the dough (which should be a sticky ball at this point) and put it into a glass bowl that has been greased with a little olive oil. Turn the dough over to make sure all sides of it have a small layer of olive oil on it.
Let the dough rest for 4-5 hours. If the room is warm, the dough should only need 4 hours to rise.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Take the dough out of the bowl and put it onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 even pieces, and gently form each piece into a ball. Use your fingers to create a hole in the center. *the dough won’t rise much after this, so the size you make the bagel at this point is the size it will stay*
Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
Gently place two bagels into the water at a time, and remove once they float to the top (should be less that 30 seconds).
Place the bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the top of the bagels with whatever seasoning you prefer. I do some with sesame seeds and some with everything bagel seasoning. You can also do cheddar cheese and jalepenos!
Bake the bagels for 20 minutes or until they have browned at the top.
Keep them in a bread bag/box for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to a month.