Blueberry Sourdough Bagels with Blueberry Cream Cheese

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Ready to upgrade your breakfast game? These blueberry sourdough bagels are soft on the inside, perfectly chewy on the outside, and packed with blueberries in every bite. Spread on some blueberry cream cheese for an extra pop of flavor, or enjoy them with any sweet or savory topping you love.

Homemade Sourdough Bagels
Recipe Run Through
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Homemade Sourdough Bagels

As you may know, one challenge with blueberry bagels is making sure the blueberry flavor really shines after baking. It’s almost like you can add a ton of blueberries, but once they’re baked, you wonder, ‘Where did all the blueberries go?’ After testing with fresh, frozen, dried, and freeze-dried blueberries, I’ve found that freeze-dried works best, with dried as a second alternative. To amp up the blueberry flavor even more, I love topping them with blueberry cream cheese.

Recipe Run Through

If you’ve made one of my other bagel recipes, like Za’atar Sourdough Bagels or Classic Sourdough Bagels, this process is no different.

Day one

Prepare the levain – All you have to do to prepare the levain is to mix active sourdough starter, water, and flour in a bowl. Either transfer the mixture to a sta rter jar or simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Next, place the levain in a warm spot, ideally at 78°F/26°C for 4 hours or until the levain has doubled/tripled in size (reached peak.)
Mix up the main dough – Once the levain has peaked (doubled/tripled in size) – Add water, levain, and flour to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until just combined. Cover the bowl and autolyse/rest for 30 minutes.

Add salt, malt, and blueberries – Sprinkle salt and barley malt extract on top of the autolysed dough and knead on low-medium speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough lets go of the sides of the bowl and is strong and bouncy (should not stick to the fingers). Finally, add freeze-dried blueberries at the very end and knead until incorporated.
First proof – Oil a large baking bowl with a little bit of neutral oil. Shape your dough into a round and transfer it to the lightly oiled bowl. Proof for four hours at around 75°F/24°C. As always, especially during the winter months, I use my Brød and Taylor proofer to manage the temperature during proof.
Rest in the fridge / cold proof – Finally, place the dough in the fridge for 10-15 hours. This second rest stiffens up the dough, which makes it easier to handle during shaping. It also helps develop flavor and great texture in the finished bake.

Day TWO

Shape – Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it into ten equal pieces. Be careful not to use too much flour during this step. You actually want the dough to somewhat stick to the work surface to create enough tension to form a dough ball that will hold its shape. Next, shape all the pieces into seamless rounds. Then, you want to press a finger through the center of each round and use your hands/fingers to widen the hole to 1,5 in/3,5cm.
Preparations for final proof: Line two baking trays with parchment paper and sprinkle rice flour or semolina on top. Rice flour has no gluten and won’t be absorbed by the dough in the same way as regular flour. Therefore, rice flour works as a barrier between the parchment and dough pieces, making the bagels easy to remove from the paper and put into boiling water later on. Arrange the shaped bagels on the trays.

Final proof – Proof for 1.5-3 hours (ideally at 75°F/24°C) until the bagels have risen slightly and are nicely puffed up and relaxed.
Boil the bagels – 30 minutes before you are ready to bake: preheat the oven to 430°F/220°C, and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sugar and baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the bagels, 3-4 at a time, for 1 minute on each side. Transfer the bagels to a clean kitchen towel to drain, and then place them on a lined baking tray.
Bake the bagels – Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Finally, transfer the bagels to a wire rack and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

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Blueberry Bagels with blueberry cream cheese

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Blueberry Sourdough Bagels w/ Blueberry Cream Cheese

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Ready to upgrade your breakfast game? These sourdough blueberry bagels are soft on the inside, perfectly chewy on the outside, and packed with blueberries in every bite. Spread on some blueberry cream cheese for an extra pop of flavor, or enjoy them with any sweet or savory topping you love.

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10 bagels

Resting time 20

Equipment

Ingredients

Sourdough Levain

50 g active sourdough starter at peak, fed 12 hours prior
50 g water at 75-78℉/24-26℃
50 g bread flour

Main Dough

600 g bread flour
320-360 g water at 75-78℉/24-26℃
150 g sourdough levain
35 g barley malt syrup
10 g salt
30 g freeze-dried blueberries

For Boiling The Bagels

3 liters/quarts water
45 g granulated sugar
1.5 tbsp baking soda

Blueberry Cream Cheese

100 g blueberries frozen or fresh
50 g granulated sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
200 g cream cheese

Instructions

Sourdough Levain

Add the active sourdough starter, water, and flour to a bowl. Mix until combined, cover, and rest in a warm spot for four hours or until the levain has doubled in size.
50 g active sourdough starter, 50 g water, 50 g bread flour

Main Dough

Add flour, water, and levain to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. I recommend starting with the minimum amount of water recommended. Every flour is different, so adjusting the hydration may be necessary. ⁣
600 g bread flour, 320-360 g water, 150 g sourdough levain
Turn the mixer on for 2 min until the dough comes together.
Cover and rest for 30 min.⁣
Turn the mixer on and add salt and barley malt syrup.
35 g barley malt syrup, 10 g salt
Knead for 10 min at medium speed. The dough should be strong and bouncy (should not stick to the fingers).
Add freeze-dried blueberries at the very end and knead until incorporated.
30 g freeze-dried blueberries
Place the dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl.
Cover, and rise at around 75°F/24°C for four hours.
Transfer the dough to the fridge overnight (10-15 hours). ⁣

Next morning: Shape⁣

Line two baking trays with parchment paper cut into ten squares. The squares should be a little larger than a bagel. Sprinkle rice flour or semolina on top of the parchment paper.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into ten equal pieces. Use a scale for accuracy.
Shape all the pieces into seamless rounds. Press a finger through the center of each round, then use your fingers to widen the hole to 1.5 in/3.5 cm.
Proof for 1.5-3 hours (ideally at 75°F/24°C) until the bagels have risen slightly and are nicely puffed up and relaxed.

Boil & Bake

Preheat oven to 430°F/220°C, and bring a large pot of water to a boil.⁣
3 liters/quarts water
Add sugar and baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the bagels, 2-3 at a time, for 1 minute on each side.⁣
45 g granulated sugar, 1.5 tbsp baking soda
Place the bagels on baking trays and bake for 15 min, until golden brown.⁣

Blueberry Cream Cheese

Add berries, sugar, and lemon to a pot.
100 g blueberries, 50 g granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Simmer on medium heat until thickened to a jam.
Allow to cool and combine with cream cheese.
200 g cream cheese

bakers schedule

This recipe is A two-day process. Ready for brunch.

10 AM Step 1: Levain
2 PM Step 2: Mix main dough for autolyse
2:30 PM Step 2.1: Add salt and barley malt syrup. Knead for 10 minutes. Add blueberries and combine
6:40 PM Step 2.2: Main dough to the fridge

8 AM Step 3: Shape
10-11:30 AM (Approximately) Step 4: Boil & Bake the bagels

Blueberry Sourdough Bagels

Blueberry Sourdough Bagels with Blueberry Cream Cheese

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Homemade Sourdough Bagels