diff --git a/swh/search/elasticsearch.py b/swh/search/elasticsearch.py
--- a/swh/search/elasticsearch.py
+++ b/swh/search/elasticsearch.py
@@ -204,6 +204,9 @@
             index='origin',
             body=body,
             size=count,
+            # XXX: make that configurable (either method parameter
+            # or application config...)
+            request_timeout=20,
         )
 
         hits = res['hits']['hits']