active starter

This delicious Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia sweet bread is infused with apples and topped with cinnamon sugar, butter, and caramel.

Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia

unsweetened applesauce, warm (3 ¼ cup)

water, warm (scant ¼ cup)

sourdough starter (heaping ⅓ cup)

salt (1 ⅓ teaspoon)

bread flour (3 ⅔ cups)

apples

butter (½ cup)

sugar (1 Tablespoon)

cinnamon (1 teaspoon)

soft caramels (8-10 pieces)

flaky sea salt

sugar

Whisk together applesauce, warm water, and active sourdough starter in a large bowl.  If your applesauce is in the fridge I recommend warming it up in the microwave so it is warm in the dough. Cold applesauce will slow down the rise times.400 grams unsweetened applesauce, warm, 50 grams water, warm, 150 grams sourdough starter

Next, add in the salt and bread flour and mix until combined in a shaggy dough.10 grams salt, 500 grams bread flour

Cover, and then let the dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. I like to cover with a lid or dinner plate instead of a tea towel so that the dough doesn’t dry out. 

Peel and dice the apples. After 30 minutes, add the apples to the dough and perform a set of stretch and folds. Wet your hand and reach down to the bottom of the dough. Pull the dough up on one side and on top of the dough. Turn the bowl and repeat again 3 more times until the dough won’t stretch anymore. Cover the dough and let rest for 30 minutes. Perform a second set of stretch and folds. Cover and wait 30 minutes. Perform a 3rd set of stretch and folds. Continue to let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has risen about 50% and is jiggly.130 grams peeled and diced apples

Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Add 4 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter to the pan and then dump the focaccia dough into the pan. Flip the dough once to coat both sides with butter and then cover the pan. For the second proof, let the dough rise for an additional 1-2 hours or until it is puffy and mostly fills the pan. 114 grams butter

After the second proof, add the remaining butter to the top of the dough. Sprinkle with a mix of cinnamon sugar and scatter chunks of soft caramels. Then using your fingertips press down into the dough stretching it to fill the pan and dimpling it, creating indentations in the dough.15 grams sugar, 3 grams cinnamon, 50 grams soft caramels

Bake in the oven for 27-30 minutes at 425F. Top with flaky sea salt and powdered sugar, if desired. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.Pinch of flaky sea salt, Dusting of powdered sugar

This recipe was delicious and easy.  I substituted the sugar with a mixture of coconut sugar and monk fruit sugar.  I didn't add the caramels and instead did a maple syrup/coconut sugar caramel drizzle when it came out.  I prepped it in the evening and left it out on the counter overnight and it was ready to bake in the morning (our house is mid 60's at night).  Fool proof.

Holy cow! This is delicious! I used different caramel and will cover with foil next time to prevent the caramel from burning, but this turned out amazing! Highly recommend adding a little powdered sugar glaze!

Not sure what happened.  I’ve made focaccia before and the dough felt similar, but the end result had bread that was way too moist.  I used warm, homemade applesauce and fresh gala apples diced; I’m wondering if perhaps the applesauce and apples had too much moisture that released when baking.  I used a cast iron skillet to cook and it took about 50 minutes, rose nice and looked good.  Cut into it when slightly cooked and it was a moist, mushy mess with good flavour

Love the recipe, especially appreciate the gram measurements. I added some cardamom with the cinnamon apples and a bit directly into the dough, and topped with simple syrup instead of caramels to make a pseudo apple fritter. Love the instructions are easy to follow and tweak to your preference.

Unfortunately this recipe turned out to be a complete goopy mess for me. At 91% hydration you absolutely need VERY high protein flour for it to turn out well as formulated. I used KA 12.5% protein flour. I ended up having to add 50g of flour for the dough to even come together. Even with that it was still very goopy and hard to handle.

This Chocolate Sourdough Bread is a chocolate lover&#x27;s delight, boasting a rich, chocolatey flavor with a sweet taste and a crisp crust.

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

sourdough starter (⅔ cup)

granulated sugar (⅓ cup)

brown sugar (¼ cup)

cocoa powder (¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons)

salt (1 ½ teaspoons)

bread flour (3 ½ cup)

water (1 ½ cup)

chocolate chips

To a large bowl, add all the dough ingredients except the mix-ins. Mix together until completely combined. Cover and begin bulk fermentation, resting the dough for 30 minutes and keeping the dough at 78-80ºF.150 grams sourdough starter, 65 grams granulated sugar, 55 grams brown sugar, 30 grams cocoa powder, 10 grams salt, 500 grams bread flour, 350 grams water

After 30 minutes, perform a set of stretch and folds. Wet your hand and reach down to the bottom of the dough. Pull the dough up and over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl and repeat again - 4-6 times until the dough won’t stretch anymore. Cover the dough and let rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the chocolate chips if you would like. Perform a second set of stretch and folds. Cover and wait 30 minutes. Perform a 3rd set of stretch and folds. Add a 4th set of folds if the dough feels weak.Optional mix-ins: 1 cup chocolate chips or Heath® bits

Cover the dough and let rest for the remainder of the bulk fermentation. From the time you mix your dough to the end of bulk fermentation it will be about 4 hours, or longer if the temperature is cooler. However it is best to watch for the following signs the dough is ready to move on: risen about 50%, pulling away from the sides of the bowl with a dome shape in the middle, and scattered bubbles around the sides of the bowl.

Dump the dough on the counter. Use a bench scraper and a wet hand on each side of the dough, going around in a circle and tucking the dough under itself forming a ball. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, flip the dough over. Going around in a circle, pull the dough towards the center and then flip the dough so the seam is on the bottom. Using cupping hands, rotate the dough towards you, creating a taut surface. Place upside down in a basket and cover. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours.

Preheat a Dutch oven at 450ºF. Pull the loaf out of the refrigerator. Remove the cover and flip the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Use a bread lame or very sharp knife to score the dough. Place the scored dough into the Dutch oven with the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on followed by 5 minutes with the lid off. The loaf should sound hollow if you knock on the bottom and register at 205ºF. If it doesn’t, bake a few extra minutes with the lid on. Cool before slicing.

I absolutely love this recipe. Just made it again for the third time. Never disappoints! I’m wondering if I could turn a 1X recipe into 4 smaller loaves and what the bake time would looked like!

If I could add a picture, I would! This came out so beautifully (and was delicious)!!

This bread baked beautifully.  Even though I had to tweak the suggested schedule, and therefore took longer to proof  it was delicious.  It was my first attempt to bake a sweet sourdough.  It reminded me of a brownie flavor.  We ate it with butter, as a toast with cottage cheese or ricotta and at the end we baked a delicious bread pudding.

These Sourdough Bagels are chewy and so delicious! They are everything you love about bagels, but they are leavened with active sourdough starter for a natural rise, easier digestion and signature sourdough flavor.

Sourdough Bagels

starter (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons)

water (1 ¾ cups)

salt (2 ½ teaspoons)

bread flour (5 ¼ cups)

Optional toppings

baking soda (1 Tablespoon)

Feed your starter: Add flour and water to your sourdough starter and let it sit in a warm spot until it is doubled or more in size and is done growing. It should be bubbly on the sides and top. If you want to feed your starter about 12 hours prior to mixing the dough I recommend a 1:5:5 ratio (15 g starter: 75 g flour: 75 g water) and leaving it at about 72°F. For a quicker rise, you could feed your starter a 1:1:1 ratio (55 g starter: 55 g flour: 55 g water) 4-5 hours ahead of time and leave it at about 77°F.

Mix &amp; Knead

Mix &amp; Knead: To the bowl of a stand mixer add active sourdough starter, water, sugar, salt and bread flour. Using your dough hook, knead the dough for about 15-20 minutes or until the dough can pass the windowpane test. You can also mix this dough in a bowl and then knead it by hand.The windowpane test is used to see how well the gluten has developed. When the dough is able to stretch thin enough that you can see light through, without it tearing, it has passed. 750 grams bread flour, 150 grams starter, 400 grams water, 15 grams sugar or honey, 15 grams salt

Bulk Fermentation

Bulk Fermentation (First Rise): Transfer the bagel dough to a bowl or straight-edge container and let it rise on the counter overnight, covered, until doubled in size. At 72°F, my dough doubled within 8 hours. If your house runs warmer or you need a longer rise time, you can reduce the amount of starter in the dough to 125 grams to slow down the process.

Divide dough

Divide dough: Once doubled in size, punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces, about 108 grams each. I like to use a bench scraper for this.

Form into balls

Form into balls: Taking one section at a time, form the dough into a ball by pulling the sides to the middle of the dough and then flipping it over. With your hand in a cupping shape, rotate the dough ball a few times in a circle. Repeat with the remaining 11.

Shape into bagels:  Poke a hole in the middle of the dough and then, using both pointer fingers inserted on each side, rotate your fingers around each other, making a hole in the middle of the dough. Ideally you want the size of the hole to be 1.5-2 inches.

Second rise

Second rise: Cut twelve 4×4-inch squares of parchment paper. Place a shaped bagel on each piece of parchment paper, and then place all 12 of them on a large baking sheet.  Alternatively, you can place all 12 of them on a silicone mat, but when you pick them up to boil them the shape of the bagel can change. Cover with a slightly damp tea towel and let the bagels rise for another 30 minutes to an hour to relax and get puffy. The bagels will not double in size.

Boil

Boil: After the bagels have had a chance to rise, preheat your oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Add a few bagels at a time to the boiling water, parchment paper side up, and boil them for about 1 minute on each side. Once the bagels are in the water, you can easily remove the parchment paper from the dough. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to easily remove the bagels from the water and drain excess liquid.

Add toppings

Add toppings: Place the bagels on lined sheet pans, 6 to each pan. Add your toppings of choice to the tops (see notes on flavor options above and for tips on adding to bagels).

Bake

Bake: Bake for 18-20 mins or until lightly golden brown.

Cool

Cool: Let the bagels cool on a wire rack and then enjoy them with butter or cream cheese.

these were amazing, easy to mix (use your mixer), fun to shape, easy to boil/bake (trust the parchment process-push it under the water and it comes right off). we made 8 plain, 2 cinnamon sugar and 2 salt. lasted 2 days. the very best, dammit now I cant buy bagels  10/10 recommend

Super easy with amazing results!! I have been looking for ways to make them most of my discard. This recipe makes a reason to feed your starter! I followed the recipe to a T and the bagels are awesome. I made everything seasoned, cinnamon sugar and a mix of poppy and sesame seed. Already sent
the recipe to a couple of fellow bakers. Thank you for posting and sharing!

What a fantastic recipe, thank you so much. For a first timer venturing away from just sourdough, I will put these at the top of my "Must Bake" list.  I can never buy store bought bagels ever again.

Emily, thanks for your amazing sourdough recipes, I made my first loaf of focaccia bread (salsa recipe) and received several compliments. I might cut back some of the oil next time. 
I use my ThermoPen for internal temp, doing a thump test was my reliable in my past. Would you ever consider adding an internal temp to the recipes or can you provide a guide line?

can I shape and then pop in fridge until the morning?

I have made 2 batches in 2 days. My family has devoured them. We've used a bunch of different toppings, eaten them plain, and loved using them for sandwiches. I will definitely be coming back to this recipe! Thank you!

So good! Easy to follow, my bagels came out great the very first try!

Hello, I’m a bit confused as I begin to navigate my sourdough era (lol). Please help me understand the starter feeding for this recipe. Do I take out some starter from my current counter starter and feed just the small amount called for this recipe? Then feed my original counter starter again? Could raisins be added to these bagels too?!!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/kRecpEhP.mp4

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Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bagels

Top 3 active starter recipes from across the web

The most viewed active starter recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bagels

The most viewed active starter recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine