Sourdough Cranberry Orange Bagels – Home Grown Happiness

30 May 2024

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These sourdough cranberry orange bagels are deliciously chewy, scented with orange dotted with sweet dried cranberries.

I used my base sourdough bagel recipe but switched some of the water in it for fresh orange juice, and added lots of orange zest and dried cranberries. The cranberries add delicious pops of sweetness through out the chewy bagel base.

The dough is very easy to mix by hand because it’s low hydration, so it’s not very sticky at all! You’ll need to give it a long enough knead though for the best bagel texture – around 10 minutes. This develops the structure of the dough.

Ingredients

Bagel dough is always a lean dough, with no added proteins and fats. You can find the ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here’s what you need:

Strong bread flour – A good bagel has a decent amount of toothsome chew to it. Flour with a higher protein level is required for the chewy interior – a level between 11-13%. Some all-purpose flours have a protein level of over 11% in which case you can use that too.
Sourdough starter – An active starter.
Salt
Granulated sugar – Only a little bit, the cranberries and orange provide most of the sweetness.
Water
Fresh orange – The zest and the juice
Dried cranberries – Or use
Honey (for poaching the bagels)

halved sourdough orange cranberry bagels.

Method

In the morning, feed your starter so it’s risen and bubbly and ready to go.

In a large bowl, add the flour, water, orange juice, zest, the doubled starter, sugar and salt.

Use a fork to combine it a bit, then switch to your hands and make a rough and shaggy dough.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.

Flatten the dough out and press on half the cranberries. Fold over one side into the middle, then do the same for the other – like a pamphlet.

Press on the remaining cranberries, then roll the dough up into a roll.

Form a ball. Place the dough into a bowl or container with a lid and cover.

Let the dough proof in a warm spot (ideally at around 25°C/77°F) until it has risen by about 50%. You can create a warm spot by adding the dough to a turned-off oven alongside a mug of boiled water. Replace the water as it cools down.
Once risen, cover the dough tightly and place it in the fridge overnight.

Shaping

Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and pull it from the bowl. Weigh it, then cut it into 8 equal pieces.
Shape each piece into a ball on a lightly floured work surface. Let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes to relax the gluten.

Take a piece of dough, and flatten it out with your fingers. Roll it up into a tight cylinder to eliminate any air pockets.

Then roll this into a long rope, approximately 20 cm / 8 inches in length. Try to keep the rope even in thickness throughout.

Roll the overlapping ends on the counter with your palm to seal them together, forming a ring. Pinch together the seal with your fingertips.

Place the shaped bagels on floured, parchment paper-lined baking tray. Let them proof at room temperature for the second time, for around 1-2 hours, until lightly puffed.

Poaching and baking

Boil a large pot of water and preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F. Once the water is boiling, stir through honey.

Drop the bagels in the water one at a time. If your pot is small, boil them in batches. Let them poach in the water for 1 minute, flipping them after 30 seconds.

Using a slotted spoon, remove and drain the bagels and place them on the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake the bagels in the oven for 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown. If they are baking unevenly or your oven has hot spots, turn the oven tray around after 15 minutes of baking.
Remove the baked bagels from the tray and let them cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

If you enjoyed these, I’d love it if you left a review below! 🌟

Related recipes

Sourdough Cranberry Orange Bagels

Elien

These sourdough cranberry orange bagels are deliciously chewy, scented with orange dotted with sweet dried cranberries.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

15 hours

Total Time 15 hours 50 minutes

Course Sourdough

Cuisine American, New Zealand

Servings 8

Calories 275 kcal

Levain

50 g sourdough starter
50 g flour
50 g water

Dough

440 g bread flour or strong all-purpose flour with a protein level of at least 11%
160 g water
60 g orange juice
10 g granulated sugar
9 g salt
1 Tbsp orange zest finely grated
All the levain around 120g active starter in total
80 g dried cranberries

Poaching

1.5 litres water
1 Tbsp honey

In the morning, feed your starter so it’s risen and bubbly and ready to go.
Add the flour, water, orange juice, zest, doubled starter, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Use a fork to begin to combine it, then switch to your hands and make a rough and shaggy dough.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and strong. Alternatively, mix the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed.
Flatten the dough out and press on half the cranberries. Fold over one side into the middle, then do the same for the other – like a pamphlet.
Press on the remaining cranberries, then roll the dough into a roll.
Shape it into a ball and place the dough into a bowl or container with a lid and cover.
Let the dough proof in a warm spot (ideally at around 25°C/77°F) until it has risen by about 50%. You can create a warm spot by placing the dough bowl in turned-off oven next to a mug of boiled water. Replace the water as it cools down.
Then cover the dough tightly and place it in the fridge overnight.