Pumpkin Sourdough Bagels (Perfectly Chewy Pumpkin Spice Bagels)

Perfectly Chewy Pumpkin Sourdough Bagels

These pumpkin sourdough bagels are perfectly chewy, soft in the center, and filled with cozy pumpkin spice flavor. They’re made with active sourdough starter, real pumpkin puree, honey, bread flour, and warm fall spices.

The dough ferments overnight, so you can prep everything before bed and wake up ready to shape, boil, and bake fresh homemade bagels in the morning. They’re delicious toasted with cream cheese, honey walnut cream cheese, or simply a little butter.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Perfectly chewy: Boiling the bagels before baking gives them that classic chewy bagel texture.
• Real pumpkin: Pumpkin puree adds flavor, color, and moisture.
• Overnight recipe: Let the sourdough do the work while you sleep.
• Simple ingredients: No complicated ingredients or special bagel equipment required.
• Perfect for fall: Pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice make these such a cozy fall breakfast.
• Freezer friendly: Make a batch now and freeze extras for later.

A Cozy Fall Sourdough Recipe

I was all about pumpkin recipes when I first made these bagels. On my flight home from a trip, I started making a list of fall recipes I wanted to bake, and I’m pretty sure three-fourths of the list involved pumpkin.

We’d been getting hit with days of rain from the hurricane, school was canceled, and most of town was closed, so I decided to fully embrace a cozy day at home. We pulled some fall decorations out of the garage, lit candles, watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and made a batch of these pumpkin spice sourdough bagels.

I hadn’t baked with my sourdough starter in a while and was slightly worried it wouldn’t survive its refrigerator vacation, but it came right back to life. Once I fed it, it was bubbling and ready to go!

These ended up being some of my favorite sourdough bagels I’ve made. They’re puffy, chewy, perfectly spiced, and especially good sliced, toasted, and covered in cream cheese.

New to Sourdough?

If this is your first time making a sourdough recipe, don’t worry! These pumpkin sourdough bagels are beginner-friendly, but you’ll need an active sourdough starter before getting started.

Here are two helpful sourdough guides:

1. The Best Sourdough Bread Recipe for Beginners — My beginner-friendly guide with tips for baking your first loaf and working with sourdough.
2. How to Make a Sourdough Starter — Start here if you don’t have a sourdough starter yet! This guide walks you through making and maintaining your own starter.

Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bagel Ingredients

These homemade pumpkin spice sourdough bagels are crispy on the outside, soft and chewy in the center, and filled with warm fall spices. Even better, they’re made with simple ingredients you may already have in your pantry.

• Active sourdough starter – Make sure your starter is active and bubbly before making the dough.
• Water – Room-temperature filtered water works best.
• Honey – Adds a touch of sweetness and helps balance the pumpkin and spices.
• Sea salt – Enhances the flavor of the bagels.
• Bread flour – Gives the bagels their wonderfully chewy texture.
• Pumpkin puree – Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Cinnamon – Adds that classic warm fall flavor.
• Ginger – Adds a little warmth and spice.
• Cloves – A small amount goes a long way!
• Nutmeg – Adds another layer of cozy fall flavor.
• Allspice – Rounds out the homemade pumpkin spice blend.

Shortcut: You can also use cinnamon and prepared pumpkin pie spice instead of measuring all of the individual spices.

Ways to Serve Pumpkin Sourdough Bagels

These bagels are especially delicious sliced, toasted, and topped with cream cheese or homemade honey walnut cream cheese. They’d also make such a cozy breakfast for Halloween, Thanksgiving morning, or any chilly fall weekend.

One of my favorite ideas is turning them into Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches the next day. Add sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, cream cheese, and even a little gravy. It’s basically Thanksgiving dinner packed into a pumpkin spice bagel!

If you want to try another flavor, my original sourdough bagel recipe is a great year-round version.

Pumpkin Sourdough Bagel Timeline

There are two easy ways to fit these sourdough bagels into your schedule. I’ve made them both ways, but Option One is my favorite because I love waking up and baking fresh bagels in the morning!

Watch the pumpkin sourdough bagel tutorial below!

Option One: Overnight Sourdough Bagels

Morning: Feed and activate your sourdough starter.
Before bed: Make the pumpkin sourdough bagel dough and let it ferment overnight.
Next morning: Shape the bagels, let them rise, boil them in the water bath, and bake.

Option Two: Same-Day Baking

Before bed: Feed and activate your sourdough starter.
Morning: Make the bagel dough.
Late afternoon/evening: Shape the bagels, let them rise, boil, and bake.

My preferred method: I usually choose the overnight option. There’s nothing better than having warm, chewy pumpkin sourdough bagels baking first thing in the morning, especially with a cup of coffee!

Equipment for Making Sourdough Bagels

You don’t need any special bagel-making equipment for this recipe, but a few basic kitchen tools will make the process easier:

• Kitchen scale – I recommend weighing the ingredients for the most consistent results.
• Electric mixer with dough hook – Optional, but helpful for kneading the stiff bagel dough.
• Large mixing bowl
• Silicone baking mat – Optional for working with and shaping the dough.
• Large pot – For boiling the bagels before baking (I use my dutch oven)
• Baking sheets
• Tongs or slotted spoon – For safely removing the bagels from the water bath.
• Parchment paper – I line my baking sheet with parchment paper and often add a thin layer of uncooked rice underneath the parchment to help prevent the bottoms of the bagels from getting too dark.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bagels

Step One: Activate the Sourdough Starter

In the morning, around 7–10 AM, combine ¼ cup sourdough starter, ½ cup room-temperature water, and ½ cup all-purpose flour in a clean jar. Mix well and allow the starter to become active and bubbly.

Tip: If you need to slow down the activation process, use cooler water.

Step Two: Prepare the Pumpkin Bagel Dough

In the evening, around 7–10 PM, add the active sourdough starter, filtered water, honey, and sea salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well combined.

Add the bread flour, pumpkin puree, and spices. Mix until a shaggy dough begins to form.

Step Three: Rest the Dough

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Don’t worry if it looks a little dry or flaky at this stage. Bagel dough is naturally much stiffer than traditional sourdough bread dough.

Step Four: Knead the Dough

Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low speed for about 7 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and strong.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface. The dough should feel firm and slightly tacky, but not wet.

Step Five: Overnight Fermentation

Cover the bowl and let the dough ferment at room temperature for approximately 10 hours overnight.

By morning, the dough should look puffier and have increased in size.

Step Six: Shape the Bagels

After 10–12 hours, the dough should look puffy and have increased significantly in size.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Weigh out approximately 150 grams of dough per bagel and shape each portion into a smooth ball.

Use your thumb to poke a hole through the center of each ball, then gently stretch the opening until you have a bagel shape.

This recipe makes approximately six large bagels.

Step Seven: Let the Bagels Rise

Place the shaped bagels on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let them rise for approximately 2 hours.

Step Eight: Boil the Bagels

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Carefully place 2–3 bagels at a time into the boiling water. Boil for 1 minute on each side, using tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully flip them.

Remove the bagels from the water bath and place them back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.

If you’re adding toppings or seasonings, add them after the water bath and before baking so they stick to the outside of the bagels.

Step Nine: Bake

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I like to add a thin, even layer of uncooked rice underneath the parchment paper to create a buffer between the bagels and the hot pan. This helps prevent the bottoms from getting too dark.

Arrange the boiled bagels on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 22–26 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let them cool slightly before slicing and serving.

How to Store & Freeze Sourdough Bagels

If we’re going to eat the bagels within a few days, I store them in an airtight bag or container. I like to slice and toast them before serving so the outside gets crispy while the center stays soft and chewy.

For longer storage, these pumpkin sourdough bagels freeze beautifully. Place the cooled bagels in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and freeze them for later.

My tip: Slice the bagels before freezing. That way, you can easily grab one from the freezer and pop it into the toaster without having to wait for the entire bagel to thaw.

If you freeze them whole, simply let them thaw at room temperature before slicing and toasting.

The Best Way to Serve These Pumpkin Bagels

If I needed to run a campaign on toasting bagels, I absolutely would! It kills me inside when I watch my husband grab a bagel straight from the bag and eat it like a wild animal. 😂 That bagel deserves to be sliced, toasted, and covered with cream cheese!

When I worked at a bagel shop in high school, we used to make honey walnut cream cheese for our sweeter bagels, and it is so good with these pumpkin sourdough bagels. The honey, walnuts, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice flavors are basically made for each other.

Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

• ½ cup plain cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

To make it: Stir everything together until creamy and well combined. Spread it over a warm, toasted pumpkin sourdough bagel.

Make a Double Batch or Mini Bagels

This recipe makes about six large bagels, but you can easily double the recipe if you want to make more. For mini pumpkin sourdough bagels, divide the dough into smaller portions. I use about 75 grams of dough per mini bagel instead of 150 grams.

If you double the recipe, make sure to double all of the ingredients, including the active sourdough starter.

More Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love

If you’re looking for more recipes to make with your sourdough starter, here are a few of my favorites:

Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bread Recipe
The Best Golden Sourdough Bread Recipe
The Best Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Pull Apart Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Frosted Gingerbread Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Jalapeño Pepperjack Sourdough Bread

Pumpkin Sourdough Bagel FAQs

Can I make pumpkin sourdough bagels overnight?

Yes! The overnight method is actually my favorite way to make these bagels. I prepare the dough before bed and let it ferment for about 10–12 hours. In the morning, I shape the bagels, let them rise, boil them, and bake. There’s nothing better than fresh sourdough bagels in the morning!

Do I have to boil sourdough bagels before baking?

Yes! The water bath is an important step for creating that classic chewy bagel texture. I boil each bagel for about one minute per side before transferring it to the baking sheet.

Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices?

Yes. If you don’t want to measure cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice individually, you can use pumpkin pie spice instead. Use the exact substitution amount you have tested in your recipe card here so we don’t guess at the quantity.

Why are my sourdough bagels dense?

Bagel dough is naturally firmer and denser than traditional sourdough bread dough, but the finished bagels shouldn’t feel heavy or under-risen. Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly before making the dough, and give the dough enough time to ferment and the shaped bagels enough time to rise.

Can I make these pumpkin sourdough bagels vegan?

Yes! These pumpkin sourdough bagels can easily be made vegan. Replace the honey with maple syrup, agave, cane sugar, or brown sugar. The remaining bagel ingredients are naturally dairy-free and egg-free.

Can I freeze pumpkin sourdough bagels?

Absolutely. Let the bagels cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe bag or container. I recommend slicing them before freezing so you can easily grab one and toast it whenever you want one.

Can I double this sourdough bagel recipe?

Yes! Double all of the ingredients, including the active sourdough starter. This recipe makes about six large bagels, so a double batch will make approximately twelve.

I hope you love these pumpkin sourdough bagels as much as we do! They’re one of my favorite recipes to make when the weather starts cooling down, especially toasted with honey walnut cream cheese and a hot cup of coffee. If you make this recipe, leave a rating and comment below and let me know how your bagels turned out. Happy fall baking! 🎃🥯