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sourdough cinnamon roll pumpkin bagels sitting on a orange plate

Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Bagels (Optional Pumpkin)

Homestead Lady
Make these surprisingly simple sourdough cinnamon roll bagels with an optional powdered pumpkin addition for health and flavor. These have the fantastic texture of a traditional boiled bagel with the flavor of a slightly sugary cinnamon roll. You can adjust the recipe for sweetness, FYI!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Ferment Time 6 hours
Course Bread
Cuisine Breakfast
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • 1 Baking Sheet
  • Parchment paper To fit the sheet
  • 1 Medium-Sized Pot To boil the bagels before baking
  • 1 Mesh Strainer To remove the bagels from the boiling water

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 4 Cups Organic White Flour
  • 2 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Powdered Pumpkin, Optional (Canned pumpkin instructions in notes.)
  • 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water (Filtered or well water is best.)
  • 3 Tbsp. Honey
  • 1/2 Cup Sourdough Starter

Cinnamon Sugar Mix

  • 1/2 Cup Raw Sugar May also use coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. Powdered Cinnamon May substitute nutmeg

Instructions
 

Mix the Dough

  • Mix the 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup pumpkin powder (if using), and 2 tsp. sea salt in a medium sized bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the 1 1/2 cups water, 2 Tbsp. honey, and 1/2 cup sourdough starter thoroughly.
  • Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. If using a stand mixer, dough should clear the sides of the bowl when using a dough hook. If mixing by hand, the dough will become uniform and form a ball.
  • Cover and set aside in a warm place for at least six hours to ferment.
  • Mix the 1/2 cup of sugar with the 1 Tbsp. of spice.
  • After at least six hours, remove the dough from the bowl and wet a clean countertop to roll the dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over the surface of the dough.
  • Fold the dough in half over itself, and then in half again to make a fat rectangle. Flatten this out as you did before. You will encounter more resistance this second time since all your work with the dough will activate the gluten in the flour. Be gentle, but be firm.
  • Once you've flattened the rectangle again, sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the dough. Fold in half, and in half again. Flatten the dough to a rectangle again. Be gentle, but firm. You won't produce as wide a rectangle this time, so just do your best.
  • Orient the rectangle of dough so that its length is horizontal. Using kitchen scissors, cut eight strips of dough. You can measure or simply eyeball it.
  • Pick up each strip and shape into the classic bagel shape by forming a circle with the dough strip and pressing the ends together, slightly tucking them under. Again, be gentle but firm. You're the boss, so be sure the bagel is the shape you want - round with a hole in the middle. See the notes section for more help.
  • Place each bagel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover* to rise for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.
  • When the bagels are ready, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and gently place 3-4 bagels in the boiling water. Allow them to boil on each side for 1/2 minutes. Remove them one by one and place on a greased bakers rack to drain.
  • Repeat with the remaining bagels and allow to drain completely.
  • Place the boiled bagels on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until slightly browned. You should be able to smell the bagels wafting through the house when they're just about done.
  • Allow to cool completely, if you can manage to wait that long. If you cut into bread before it sets up completely, it can get gummy. However, you don't need my permission to tear into your hot bagels, melt butter all over them, and eat them up for dessert tonight.

Notes

You can substitute one cup of white flour with whole wheat flour.
You can add 1/3 cup of powdered pumpkin, if you'd like more. I've added up to a cup before and included a few tablespoons more of water. This increases the pumpkin flavor, FYI.
  • If you need to use commercially canned pumpkin puree, use 1/2 cup and reduce the water in the recipe by 1/2 cup. 
  • If you need to use home-canned pumpkin chunks, set 1 cup of chunks to drain. Mash the cup and drain again if still weeping a lot of liquid. Measure out 1/2 cup of the mashed pumpkin to replace 1/2 cup of water in the recipe.
This recipe is different from a cinnamon roll in that you don't add butter to the sugar and spice mix. This is a bagel, after all.
On that note, you can increase the sugar and spice mix, if you'd like. I deliberately keep it light because we prefer these bagels only slightly sweet. 
We typically use coconut sugar, which isn't as sweet as granulated sugar.
The reason for rolling out and then folding, rolling out and then folding, is that this process keeps the cinnamon and sugar in the bagel much better than simply rolling it out once. This process is called laminating because it seals in the inclusions (the things you are including, or adding, to your bread.)
If you have a hard time forming your bagels from strips freehand, you can form them around the rim of a drinking glass.
If the dough is unyielding, roll it gently in your hands like you did when you were a kid with a snake made out of playdough. Gently pull and tease the dough until it's long enough to form a solid circle.
Keep in mind that your bagels will double in size as they rise.
To cover my bagels for rising, I use a piece of parchment paper over the bagels. Then I cover that with a kitchen towel. It keeps the moist enough as they rise but keeps the bugs, cats, and kids out of them.
If you don't have a fancy mesh strainer to remove the bagels from the boiling water, you can use tongs or a slotted spoon. The strainer is nice because it doesn't damage the soft bagel or alter its shape. You're smart, though - use whatever you have.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!