Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Bagels (Easy!)

Name: Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Bagels
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 325 min
Ingredients: 400 grams (1⅔ cup) water; 20 grams (11½ tsp) psyllium husk (whole husks, not powder, see post for more details); 20 grams (1½ tbsp) olive oil (any other oil will work, too); 18 grams (1 tbsp) sugar (honey or maple syrup will work, too); 200 grams (1½ cups) sourdough staret (use a mature starter, not unfed discard); 350 grams gluten-free flour; 10 grams (1¾ tsp) salt; 6 cups water; 1½ tbsp baking soda (for the crunchy crust); poppy seeds (to taste); sesame seeds (to taste); cheese/dried onions (optional)

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These gluten-free sourdough discard bagels have a crunchy crust and a chewy crumb! Goes great with cream cheese, avocado, salmon, cucumber, and many other fillings!

Gluten-free sourdough discard bagels on a table with plates and cream.

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Why You Will Love This Recipe

– The bagels hold up together very well thanks to psyllium husk!

– Great way to use up your sourdough starter.

–Use gluten-free all-purpose flour. No need to buy 5 types of flour for this recipe!

What Is A Sourdough Starter?

Sourdough starter is wild yeast that can be created at home by combining flour and water and maintaining the mixture through regular feedings. For more information check out my gluten-free sourdough starter guide! You can also make a gluten-free pizza crust with sourdough, cinnamon rolls, sourdough flatbreads, and, of course, gluten-free bread with sourdough.

Ingredients

Gluten-free flour – I used my homemade flour blend with cornstarch, tapioca, and rice flours but you can use any other premade blend in this recipe!

Gluten-free sourdough starter – use a mature starter for this recipe instead of unfed discard. A mature starter is a starter that was fed a few hours ago and is bubbling and rising. If you don’t have a starter, here is a basic recipe for a gluten-free starter.

Psyllium husk – make sure you are using whole husks and not psyllium husk powder as they behave slightly differently in recipes. In case you only have psyllium husk powder read the Substitutes section for directions.

If you don’t have sesame seeds, here are 9 great substitutes for sesame seeds you can use instead!

Substitutes

Sugar – sugar is used to help the bacteria. You can substitute the sugar for maple syrup or honey.

Psyllium husk – the only good substitute for psyllium husk in this recipe is psyllium husk powder. In the case of using psyllium husk powder, use 17g (85% of the total amount) and add it to the dry ingredients instead of the water as it will clump in the water.

Toppings – feel free to use cheese, dried onions, or any mix of your favorite seeds.

Water bath – some recipes will recommend adding honey or sugar to the water bath instead of the baking soda but I prefer baking soda as bagels will stick to the baking sheet during baking if you boil them in water with honey. After having to shave the bagels off the baking tray with a knife I never want to use sugar water again!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 – mix the dough

Psyllium husk mixture with oil and sugar in a bowl with a whisk.

First, add psyllium husk, sugar, oil, and water together and whisk to combine. Leave the mixture to form a gel, it should take a couple of minutes.

Mixing psyllium gel with gluten-free sourdough starter in a glass bowl with a whisk.

Once psyllium gel has formed, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the sourdough starter. Mix well to combine.

Mixing the dry and the wet ingredients in a glass bowl by hand.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and bring the dough together using your hands. Mix until the dough starts separating from the bowl walls.

Cover the bagel dough with a kitchen towel and leave it to rise for 3-3 1/2 hours at room temperature.

Step 2 – Shape the bagels

Separating the dough into 8 pieces using a bench scraper.

Turn the bagel dough over onto the working surface and shape it into a ball. Then, separate the dough into 8 pieces using a bench scraper or a knife. Finally, shape each piece into a small ball.

Shaping the gluten-free sourdough bagels.

Poke a hole in the middle of each dough ball and carefully enlarge the hole to be as big as you want it to be. Keep in mind that it will close a bit as the dough puffs up during baking, so make it a little bit bigger than what you want the end result to look like. After shaping all the bagels, cover them with a kitchen towel and leave to rise at room temperature for about an hour.

Step 3 – Bake

Water bath for boiling the bagels before baking.

Start preheating the oven to 430F/220C. Boil 6 cups of water and add it to a medium pot. Add 1 1/2 tbsp of baking soda to the water and bring it to a boil on the stove. Then, place as many bagels as can fit into the pot comfortably. Boil them for 30 seconds on each side, then remove them from the pot using a spider skimmer. Place them on a kitchen towel until you boil the rest of the bagels.

Dipping the bagel into the sesame seeds and poppy seeds topping.

After all the bagels have been boiled, dip each one of them into the toppings of your choice. I used a mix of sesame and poppy seeds. Place each bagel onto the baking tray lined with parchment paper. When the oven has preheated, place the bagels into it and bake for 30 minutes. Let the bagels cool before slicing them. Enjoy!

Gluten-free sourdough bagel cut in half with white cream spread on one of the slices.

Expert Tips

– Don’t make bagel holes too big to avoid them breaking in the water bath.

– Use a digital scale for the best results.

– If you like a denser crumb, add 40g more flour.

– Keep checking your bagels in the last 5 minutes of baking. Mine are normally ready after 27 minutes of baking. The crust will be brown and the inner temperature will read at least 205-210F/100C.

– Store these gluten-free sourdough bagels at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 4-5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.

FAQ

Why Do You Need to Boil Bagels?

Bagels are boiled before baking so that the outside starts cooking before the inside catches up. This way the outside layer is harder and chewier while the inside is soft.

Is Sourdough Gluten-Free?

Sourdough is only gluten-free if it is made with gluten-free flour. Otherwise, it is not gluten-free!

Why Did My Bagels Burn on the Bottom?

Your oven might be running too hot. I recommend getting an oven thermometer to track the actual temperature of your oven!

Can I Freeze Bagel Dough?

You can freeze the dough after the first rise. This way, whenever you are ready to bake, you will need to just take the dough out of the freezer, shape the bagels and let them become puffy before baking, although with sourdough the rise will not be that great after thawing.

Note: you might also like my gluten-free sourdough dinner rolls and soft pretzels!

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