my only childhood bagel experiences were the day old, half priced bruegger’s asiago bagels my friends and i would sneak out of statistics class to buy at our high school cafeteria. when i moved to nyc, i entered the bagel mecca itself, and oh i had much. to. learn.
i learned not to toast the good ones (the sacrilege!).
i learned that pumpernickel had no association with leprechauns (ok but doesn’t it conjure up the image?).
i learned that the bagel could, and should, be used as a vehicle to consume many other delicious things, like peanut butter, or smoked salmon, or scallion cream cheese (but absolutely no vegetables allowed except for red onions, nuh uh).
this sourdough is an homage to nyc, my home for the last 4 years. it’s encrusted with the everything seasoning we know and love, with a higher percentage of rye and spelt for that familiar tang.
for maximal stickiness, cover the sticky dough with the seasoning post-shape and pre-flour. if you find the seasoning falling off, you can try wetting it a little bit before covering the dough with seasoning by spraying a bit of water.
everything bagel sourdough
formula
- 20 g levain
- 20 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 80 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 80 g water @ 85°F
- 164 g king arthur bread flour
- 100 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 33 g bob's red mill rye flour
- 33 g spelt flour
- 257 g water @ 90°F
- 8 g sea salt
- 80 g levain
- 7 g additional water
- 3 tbsp poppy seeds
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 tbsp dried minced garlic
- 2 tbsp dried minced onion
method
- refresh your starter using levain build formula, and stiff starter method.
- in a separate large bowl, mix all flours together.
- slowly add the water, mixing with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate the water into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated. let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.
- sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough, and pour additional water over it to help the salt absorb. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times.
- measure out the ripe starter, and add to bowl.
- mix using the pincer method, for about 6-7 minutes. target final temperature should be 78 degrees.
- this dough bulks for about 8 hrs during spring/fall, longer if your kitchen runs cool or during winter, and shorter if your kitchen runs warm or during the summer.
- this dough needs 3-4 stretch and folds (or coil folds), and a round of lamination after the first fold, spaced about 45 minutes apart if possible.
- slowly transfer dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface, so it lays out in a vaguely rectangular looking shape.
- stretch the dough very lightly and gently fold it onto itself 4 times
- i like shaping these like a batard, using what i like to call the "burrito method."
- 1. gently tug the top, short end of the vaguely rectangular looking shape, and fold over a small section.
- 2. grab a tiny bit of dough from the left side, and tug it over onto the right side. grab a tiny bit of dough from the right side and tug it over onto the left side. continue pattern downwards to form a stitch-like appearance.
- 3. when you get close to the bottom end, fold over a small piece upwards. then do one final stitch to seal.
- 4. take the top end of the burrito, and roll it over onto itself, kind of like a cinnamon roll.
- 5. seal the ends by pinching the holes shut.
- mix your own everything seasoning using the ratio listed, or buy some from trader joe's.
- take a handful of the everything seasoning blend, and cover the smooth face of the shaped dough. if the smooth side is not sticky enough, take a spray bottle and lightly spray until just damp. the everything seasoning should adhere to the dough.
- lightly flour a lined bannetone or other proofing vesicle. flip the top of the dough over, and gently transfer the dough seam side up into the bannetone.
- place bannetone inside of a plastic bag to cover, and place in fridge overnight for 14-18 hours.
- place dutch oven with lid on into the oven. pre-heat oven to 495°F for an hour.
- dough is proofed when it passes the finger dent test. remove bannetone from fridge.
- optional: sprinkle coarse corn meal on the bottom.
- flip dough out of bannetone onto a cut piece of parchment paper.
- scoring is tricky with this loaf because the everything seasoning forms a sort of crust on the proofed dough. i keep it simple with this loaf with just a single, vertical slash length wise, about 1/8" deep, and 1/4” away from both edges.
- transfer scored dough to dutch oven. decrease temperature to 485°F. with the lid on, bake for 30 minutes. then, decrease to 475°F and take the lid off. bake for another 15-20 minutes, or whenever the crust turns the color you like it (i go for a pretty deep brown).
- let this loaf cool on a wire rack (or something else that allows the air to circulate) for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Hello! I’m so excited to try this recipe but presently do not have spelt flour, are there any alternatives you would recommend and if so would you change the amount of flour used?
Hi Annie, feel free to directly swap the spelt with whole wheat flour! This shouldn’t noticeably affect flavor or gluten development. This recipe was definitely written during a time when I was feeling fancy playing with ancient grains 🙂
Gotcha, that’s super helpful — thank you!!