This easy sourdough bread with Everything Bagel Seasoning is going to blow your mind - mainly because it's so easy ... but also because it's a taste sensation! All that oniony, garlicky, salty goodness ... on a crusty sourdough loaf - YUM!
I recently started making my own Everything Bagel Seasoning (it's a game changer) and I love putting it on everything ... and not just chewy bagels!
Using this seasoning as a crunchy outer layer compliments the chewy texture of your sourdough bread perfectly! Seriously, you'll fall in love with this flavored sourdough the first time you bake it, I promise! It's like eating bagel bread ... and that can never be a bad thing, right?
The delicious savory seasoning makes your Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread perfect for things like avocado toast, grilled cheese, spreading with scallion cream cheese ... or just enjoying slathered with cultured butter! The possibilities are seriously endless!
And soon, it will be your favorite way to enjoy sourdough!
What is Everything Bagel Seasoning?
Everything Bagel seasoning is a seasoning mix made up of poppy seeds, white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds, onion flakes and garlic flakes and flaky sea salt.
It's a relatively simple combination of flavors - the genius is in the way it's put together. Using ingredients that all relatively the same size is the key to a good EB seasoning!
It can be bought from places like Trader Joes and grocery stores, but can also be made easily from scratch at home. You might like to try this recipe for homemade Everything Bagel seasoning.
As the name suggests, it's purpose was originally for seasoning bagels, however in more recent times, it's used to season pretty much anything you can think of!
Making it yourself is great because you can control the salt too! This sourdough bread has 8g salt, however you can decrease the salt further if you wish. I love salt so I find it's ok, but if you prefer, you can decrease it.
Why Does Everything Bagel Work With Sourdough?
This tasty savory seasoning mix works perfectly by enriching the crunchy outer crust and soft, chewy interior of your sourdough bread. It enhances the savory flavor perfectly. I love that when making this bread, you can use the Everything Bagel seasoning instead of flour to make sure the sourdough doesn't stick to the banneton. In fact, using flour when shaping this bread will actually prevent the seasoning from sticking to the dough.
You might also like to add Everything Bagel Seasoning to these sourdough bread recipes - add it as a seasoning on the top or roll the dough in the seasoning:
- Easiest Sourdough Discard Loaf Ever
- Easy Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
- Pumpkin Sourdough Bagels
- Rye Sourdough Bagel Recipe
- Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
How To Make Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread
If you're already proficient with making sourdough bread, making this seasoned loaf will be a breeze! If not, then I highly recommend checking out my Beginner's Guide to Sourdough Bread.
It's really important to use bread flour for this recipe rather than all purpose flour, as you'll get a much better result from a higher protein flour.
Autolyse - Premixing The Dough
Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large ceramic or glass bowl.
Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a shaggy dough.
The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together.
Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour.
Forming Up The Dough
After the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre, until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-30 stretches to form the ball.
You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch & Fold - Creating Structure
Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding".
Aim to do around 4-6 sets of stretches and folds.
For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do at least 4 sets over 2 hours.
Bulk Ferment
Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the plastic wrap or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment at room temperature until doubled.
Shaping The Dough
Once your dough has finished its bulk ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard.
You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
Placing Into A Banneton + Adding Everything Bagel Seasoning
Sprinkle some of the Everything Bagel seasoning into the bottom of the banneton you want to use. This will ensure that you have a nice crust of seasoning when you pop the dough on top.
Once the dough is shaped, place it into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton.
Now sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning all around the loaf. Carefully use your fingers to move the dough aside and coat the sides and top of the loaf (like you would if you were sprinkling rice flour).
If you are worried about the dough sticking, even with the seasoning, you can also add a bit of corn meal around the sides of the dough too, but ideally you want to use the seasoning as the "non sticking agent".
Cold Ferment
Now the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge.
I use a large plastic bag to cover it - I just reuse it each time.
Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours.
Preparing To Bake
Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F.
Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets HOT. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.
Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
Bake Time!
Now it's time to bake!
When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of parchment paper.
Some of the Everything Bagel Seasoning will fall off, but don't worry, most of it should have stuck to the dough!
Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.
Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. I find a single slash is best for this recipe as the Everything Bagel seasoning can be tricky to cut through. You can find my full guide on how to score sourdough bread here.
Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.
BAKE TIME:
30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus
10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F
You can adjust the oven temperature if you prefer.
Finishing The Bake
When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
Recipe + Ingredient Variations
If you're looking for some fun and easy ways to take this Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread to the next level, why not try some of these ideas"
- Add 100g of shredded cheddar cheese to the dough when adding the flour to make Everything Bagel Cheddar Sourdough Bread.
- Swap up to 250g of bread flour for whole wheat flour for a wholegrain twist on this recipe.
- For a softer crust, you can add olive oil to this recipe.
Tips for Better Sourdough Bread
- If you don't have a Dutch Oven, or prefer an open bake, you can bake this sourdough bread without a Dutch Oven. You can place it on a lined baking sheet and into the oven with plenty of steam for the best oven spring.
- If you want to adjust this recipe to bake in hotter or colder temperatures, then you can change the amount of sourdough starter you use.
- Getting bulk fermentation right is essential to baking the best sourdough bread possible. Under fermentation is a common mistake for many home bakers, but one that is easily fixed!
Baker's Timeline
If you like having a sourdough baker's timeline to follow, this is a good one. It works well if you're a full time worker.
However I've also written instructions on how to create your own timeline that best suits your life.
DAY 1
7.00am - Feed sourdough starter (1:5:5) so it takes all day to double.
7.30 pm - Premix and Autolyse.
8.00pm - Form into a smooth ball. Rest for 30 minutes.
8.30pm - Perform 4-6 sets of stretch & folds over next 2 hours.
10.30pm - Cover and leave on bench overnight for bulk ferment if temp right (under 20C).
DAY 2
6.00am - Shape & lift into banneton/bowl & into the fridge. Let it cold ferment while you're at work.
6.00pm - Bake your sourdough bread!
Storing + Freezing Instructions
This bread is best eaten within 24 hours of baking. Sourdough bread isn't designed to last for longer periods, like bread you might buy from the store. It is best consumed within 24 hours or used for toast. You can read more about how long sourdough lasts here.
You can easily slice and freeze this loaf to eat later. You'll find full instructions for freezing sourdough bread here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can follow these instructions to make the bread with a stand mixer and then add the Everything Bagel Seasoning at shaping as per the instructions below.
You can add some into the dough while stretching and folding, but you need to understand that the garlic granules in the seasoning may interfere with the fermentation of the bread. This is why I like to add it after shaping.
Sourdough Bread with Everything Bagel Seasoning
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scales
- Banneton
- Dutch Oven optional
Ingredients
- 500 g Bread Flour 100%
- 350 g Water 70%
- 50 g Sourdough Starter 10% (Fed and Bubbly)
- 8 g Salt 2% (increase or decrease according to your taste)
- 3 tbsp Everything Bagel Seasoning (store bought or homemade)
Instructions
- Autolyse - Premixing The DoughWeigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large ceramic or glass bowl. Glass is always good as you can see what's happening underneath your dough. This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake.Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a shaggy dough. The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together.
- Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour. It's ok if it's a little bit longer, it's not going to matter too much.This process is called the "autolyse" and allows your flour to soak in all the water and become hydrated.
- Forming Up The DoughAfter the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre, until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-30 stretches to form the ball. You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
- Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch & Fold - Creating StructureOver the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding". Aim to do around 4-6 sets of stretches and folds. For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do at least 4 sets over 2 hours.
- Bulk FermentOnce you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage).See notes below for more info on this step.
- Shaping The DoughOnce your dough has finished its bulk ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard (see notes for more info).You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
- Placing Into A Banneton + Adding Everything Bagel SeasoningSprinkle some of the Everything Bagel seasoning into the bottom of the banneton you want to use. This will ensure that you have a nice crust of seasoning when you pop the dough on top (see notes).
- Once the dough is shaped, place it into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton. Now sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning all around the loaf. Carefully use your fingers to move the dough aside and coat the sides and top of the loaf (like you would if you were sprinkling rice flour).If you are worried about the dough sticking, even with the seasoning, you can also add a bit of corn meal around the sides of the dough too, but ideally you want to use the seasoning as the "non sticking agent".
- Cold FermentNow the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge. I use a large plastic bag to cover it - I just reuse it each time. Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours.
- Preparing To BakeOnce you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F. Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets HOT. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
- Bake Time!Now it's time to bake!When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of baking paper. Some of the Everything Bagel Seasoning will fall off, but don't worry, most of it should have stuck to the dough!Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. I find a single slash is best for this recipe as the Everything Bagel seasoning can be tricky to cut through. You can find my full guide on how to score sourdough bread here.Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.BAKE TIME:30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F
- Finishing The BakeWhen you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Notes on Flour: This recipe is written using strong Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than All Purpose flour. If you choose to use All Purpose flour you may have a different result because of this. You can read more about the differences between All Purpose Flour and Bread Flour here.
- Notes on Sourdough Starter: This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake. For info on how to make a sourdough starter, go here.
- Notes on Stretch & Folds: If you are going to do the stretch & folds on your bench top, spray your surface with water mist rather than using flour. You can leave the dough in the bowl if you want to. Wet your hands to stop the dough sticking - although it shouldn't be too sticky. It will get less sticky as you do your stretches and folds. For more information on how to do stretch and folds, go here.
- Notes on Bulk Fermentation: If your home is warm then your dough will ferment a lot faster and could be done in as little as a few hours. If it's colder, it will take longer, possibly overnight.
I would recommend that you try to do your first few bulk ferments during daylight hours so that you can watch your dough closely.
Once you're more familiar with the process - and the temperature of your home - you will be able to do overnight ferments. You will know your dough is ready to move to the next stage when it has *just* doubled in size. It will be fairly wobbly and full of bubbles. You should be able to see large air bubbles under the surface of the dough.
You don't want to let it go any further than doubled as it will be over fermented.
If you want to do an overnight ferment, but your home is warm, consider using a little less starter (ie 25g).
Less starter means your dough will take longer to ferment and you will reduce the risk of over fermenting your dough. You'll find more information on these topics here:
When is my bulk ferment finished? What is the difference between cold ferment and bulk ferment? Why does the amount of starter matter?
- Notes on Banneton: You don't need to flour your banneton for this recipe. You need to use the Everything Bagel Seasoning instead of flour. If you put rice flour in your banneton, the seasoning won't stick to the dough. If you feel like it's too sticky, even after adding the seasoning, you can use some cornmeal around the edges of the banneton.
- Notes on Baking: If you're worried about the base of your bread burning, place a baking sheet on shelf underneath your Dutch Oven - it works! If you're worried about your bread not being cooked all the way through, turn the oven off and place your dough straight onto the oven rack. Leave the door ajar and let your bread rest there for a few hours. Make sure you don't close the door or your sourdough will sweat and you'll get a wrinkly, soggy crust. Remember not to cut into your loaf too soon - you'll need to let it cool for at least a few hours (4-6 is best).
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