Everything Bagel Sourdough

This everything bagel sourdough bread is full of flavor, thanks to the generous dose of everything bagel seasoning in the dough and on the crust!

Everything bagel sourdough bread combines a chewy, tangy crumb with a crisp crust and a bold, savory topping that actually sticks. This loaf is baked with everything bagel seasoning folded into the dough and sprinkled generously on top, so every slice delivers real flavor!

It's the kind of bread that doesn't need much help. Toast it, spread it, or turn it into a next-level sandwich. However you use it, this loaf earns its place on the counter.

This everything bagel sourdough bread recipe is dedicated to bold flavor.

Key Ingredients:

Sourdough Starter: For this recipe, you want to use a fed and active sourdough starter. Your starter should have been fed before beginning and have at least doubled in size.

Salt: I use hand-ground grey sea salt, but any quality salt will do. The salt in this sourdough recipe is responsible for adding taste and enhancing the aromas and flavor present in the dough itself. Salt also helps to tighten the gluten structure and strengthen the dough – making it easier to create and hold air bubbles.

How To Make Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread:

Make The Dough:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 365g warm water with 120g of active starter until mostly combined. I like to use a Danish dough whisk, but anything will work.
2. Add 500g bread flour, 25g everything bagel seasoning, and 8g salt to the bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated.
3. Cover the bowl and set aside for 45 – 60 minutes.

Stretch And Fold:

1. Uncover the bowl and using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. This is considered 1 set of stretch and folds.
2. Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process at least 2 more times over the next 2 hours. The intervals can be as short as 15 minutes, or as long as 60 minutes, but it should be completed at least 3 times.
3. Then cover, and set aside for 2 hours to finish the bulk ferment.

Shape:

1. Uncover the dough and transfer to a work surface or countertop. Gently press and spread the dough into a large rectangle.
2. Fold up the bottom third of the dough as though you were folding a letter, and then fold the top down.
3. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll up into a large log. Cover with a kitchen or tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
4. After the rest, pick up the dough with a dough scraper and flip it over, gently press the dough flat then roll it again. Pinch the ends if you’re making a batard or tuck them in if your making a boule.
5. Optional: sprinkle extra everything bagel seasoning onto a plate, then spritz your shaped loaf with a bit of water before rolling through the plate. For a plain crust, simply dust the dough with rice flour.
6. Tuck seam side up into a banneton.

Don’t have a banneton basket? I have a guide on bannetons and banneton alternatives!

Prove + Cold Retard:

1. Prove the everything bagel sourdough loaf in the banneton for 2 hours in a warm place before covering and placing in fridge to cold retard for up to 3 days. If you want to bake it right after proving, you’re welcome to, but the flavor is better after resting in the fridge. The loaf in these photos was cold proved for approximately 36 hours.

Bake:

1. Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don’t have a dutch oven, I do have a guide on sourdough bread baking without a dutch oven.
2. Once the oven is preheated, invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
4. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
5. Bake the dough at 450f covered for 30 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is nicely browned. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Cool:

1. Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.

Try These Sourdough Bread Recipes!

Batch + Storage

Batch:

This everything bagel sourdough recipe makes one large boule or batard. This is enough for my family of 4 to snack on for at least 2 days! It can be doubled to make 2 loaves, or tripled, if desired.

Storage:

If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to store sourdough bread to help prolong its quality after cutting.

Your loaf can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I do recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours, though.

Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze sourdough bread, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.

Recommended Equipment

Cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy cast iron dutch oven, as it traps in steam and boosts the oven spring of your sourdough.

The blue one in these photos is a large oval dutch oven that I find perfect for baking batards. As an added bonus, due to the shape, I can fit this dutch oven and a round one in the oven to bake double the volume! If you don’t have a dutch oven, I have a guide on open baking sourdough bread.

Scale: It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. A good kitchen scale will treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough. Think of all the amazing sourdough you can bake!