Homemade Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels [Recipe]

Cinnamon raisin bagels are one of those simple, classic bagels with which you pretty much can’t go wrong. They’re sweet and salty, dense and chewy; perfect to toast for breakfast or use for a delicious homemade bagel sandwich. 

Homemade sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels take all of that one step further – by adding the benefits of fermented grain and that incredible, well-developed flavor that only sourdough bread and bagels can offer. This is one sourdough recipe you won’t want to miss, made with simple ingredients that are easy to find.

How to make sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels from scratch

The process of making sourdough bagels is much like making any other type of bagel: First, you make the dough, let to rise (or in this case, ferment), shape the bagels, boil the bagels, and bake the bagels. 

Sounds pretty simple, right?

It is! Well, for those of us who’ve done it before, anyway. If you’re new to the process of bagel making, that might just sound like a whole lot of unfamiliar. 

If that’s you, no worries – this post is for you! I’ll walk you through the whole process, step-by-step.

Ingredients

The first thing you need to think about is ingredients. Before attempting any recipe, it’s important to read through the whole thing first: know what you need (ingredients), and know how much time you’ll need to make the whole thing happen. 

​Here are a few notes on the ingredients in this recipe! 

Water

This is one ingredient that I wasn’t going to comment on, but then I realized: it’s actually super important. I always make my bagels with lukewarm tap water, so you don’t need to worry about using special filtered water or anything (unless your tap water is not clean). 

That said, what’s really important regarding the water is that you do not using boiling water. Boiling water will kill the active culture in your sourdough starter, which will ensure that your bagels will not rise properly, and they will not turn out. 

The best temperature for the water to be is definitely lukewarm (although cold water works just fine as well). 

Sourdough starter

To make anything sourdough, you’re going to need a healthy, active sourdough starter. This mixture is the live, wild yeast that allows your bagels to rise, ferment, and develop that incredible flavor and texture. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can check out my tutorial here to make your own, or ask a friend to lend you some of theirs! 

Oil

For my bagels, I usually use olive oil. Any type of neutral cooking oil or melted fat (such as butter or lard) will work well for this recipe, however, so feel free to use what you have on hand. 

Honey

Honey gives the bagels some wonderful flavor and chewiness to the texture. I have tried this recipe with maple syrup with great results, however, so in a pinch, feel free to try making these bagels that way. 

Molasses

Traditionally, bagels are made with an ingredient called barley malt syrup. Since that can be a little bit hard to come by, however, I use a mixture of honey and molasses to give my bagels a little extra depth of flavor and texture. 

Salt

Salt is so key to making great breads, and this recipe is no exception! You can use any type of salt for this recipe, although it is often recommend to use non-iodized sea salt for any kitchen projects containing a live bacterial culture (such as sourdough starter) for best results.

Cinnamon

For this recipe, I use 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. If you like your bagels with a little bit of extra cinnamon flavor, feel free to add a little extra– just don’t overdo it! It might seem like there’s “No such thing as too much cinnamon” but trust me, I know – there is. (Don’t ask.) 

Raisins

I like to use some good, juicy raisins for this recipe and I find that I get the results I want with Thompson raisins. These are dark, sweet raisins that work perfectly for this recipe.

Flour

My preference is to use unbleached all purpose flour to make my bagel dough, but I would feel comfortable using bread flour as well. If you want to use some whole wheat flour in these bagels, I would not recommend using more than 1-2 cups (140-280g), since that will significantly change the flavor and texture of the dough.

Instructions

Now for the the nitty gritty: here’s my step-by-step instructions on how to make homemade bagels from scratch!

Make the dough

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the water, active starter, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon, raisins and flour. Knead by hand or with the dough hook until smooth, about 10 minutes (this recipe makes a very stiff dough). Cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to ferment at room temperature for 8-12 hours (overnight).

Shape the bagels

Turn the dough out onto and unfloured work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into bun shape, sealing the exposed raisins into the dough the best you can. Allow the buns to rest for 2-5 minutes.

Roll each bun into a 12″-18″ rope, and pinch the ends together (with a 1-2″ overlap) to seal. The hole in the middle of the bagels should be large enough to snugly fit a golf ball inside. Set the shaped bagels onto a lightly oiled or parchment lined cookie sheet. Allow them to rise 30 minutes.

Poach the bagels

Meanwhile, stir the honey into a large pot of water (see the recipe card for quantities), and boil the bagels for 1 minute per side after they begin to float. Remove from the water with a large round slotted spoon.

Bake 

Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Baking Tips

When making bagels, there are a few things to keep in mind for getting the best results. Here are a couple of my favorite ways to make sure your bagels come out right:

Try not to multi task

Making bagels is easy, but since the turnaround time is short (during the boiling/poaching process in particular), it’s important to make sure that you give this project your full attention. I know from making literally thousands of bagels, taking on too many projects on bagel day never goes well.

Weigh the flour (or make sure you don’t overdo it!)

Did you know that 1 cup of flour (measured in a measuring cup) can weigh anywhere from 100-170g? That means that depending how you scoop it, your flour measurement could make you a super sticky dough or a incredibly dry, stiff dough that is almost unworkable.

​To avoid measuring the flour incorrectly, my favorite thing is just to weight the flour out with a kitchen scale. It’s faster this way, and more accurate – making the bagels come out perfectly every time!

If you don’t have a kitchen scale, but you still want to try this recipe:

Loosen the flour with your measuring cup, scoop it out until the cup is full (the measuring cup should dip into the loose flour easily), and level the top with the back of a knife. 

Firmly pinch the ends together

​I find that the prettiest bagels in my kitchen have always come from rolling the bagel dough into a long rope, and then pinching the ends together to make the bagel shape. That said, if you don’t pinch the ends together firmly, they can separate in the water during the boiling process.

To avoid having to reassemble broken bagels (which can be done, by the way), just make sure to firmly pinch the ends together to fasten the bagels into shape.

Shaping cinnamon raisin sourdough bagels

To make the perfect bagel, the shaping process is (in my opinion) one of the most important components. Raisin bagels, I have found, can end up having a softer/stickier dough (because of the raisins adding moisture). 

To give yourself the best chance of beautifully shaped raisin bagels, I like to shape the pieces of dough into little buns, let them rest for a few minutes, and then roll them into long ropes.

There are two reasons for this:

1. Working the dough a little bit gets the gluten activated again (making the dough feel less sticky), and 
2. Making little buns seals the raisins inside the dough, making it less slippery/sticky to work with.

Not sure what I mean? Just try it out. You’ll understand it with practice!

Disclaimer: I discovered this fantastic tip (shaping the dough into buns first) after taking the step-by-step photos (below).

Storage

To store your fresh baked cinnamon raisin bagels, you can put them into sealed freezer bags or airtight storage containers. I like to slice my bagels in half and then throw them directly in the freezer. Frozen bagel halves can go right into the toaster, and this way you don’t have to worry about anything going stale or spoiling too quickly.

To make this recipe, you will need:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Stand mixer (optional)
• Mixing bowls
• Stir spoon
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Kitchen scale
• Bench scraper or sharp knife (for dividing the dough)
• Large pot
• Slotted spoon or cooking skimmer (my preference)
• Pastry brush
• Parchment paper
• Baking trays

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

• Sourdough Sesame Montreal Bagels
• Sourdough Everything Bagels
• Jalapeno Cheddar Bagels
• Easy No-Knead White Sourdough Bread

There you have it! If you’ve never had a warm bagel fresh out of the oven, this recipe could be your ticket to experiencing that goodness! Let me know if you make this recipe in the comments, or feel free to tag me in your gorgeous fresh bagel photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. I always love to see that my recipes are being enjoyed!

Naomi

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