Sourdough Blueberry Bagels

 

Bagels are the name of the game today.  I have had mixed results with bagels, finally figuring out with my sweet potato version that I had previously tended to let them rise too long.  Those were super good, and I'm not even a regular bagel person.  But my kids absolutely love the chewy texture of bagels.  They tend to like the plain and savory versions like Everything bagels and onion, but I like the sweet ones like cinnamon raisin and blueberry.  One of the Bread Baking Babe alumni bakers had a fantastic wild yeast website and I always had superb results with her recipes.  It's no longer operating, so I am trying to preserve some of my favorites from there.  There is a little extra water in this recipe to account for using dried blueberries.

 BTW, even if you do end up overproofing the bagels because your child needed a ride that took an hour round trip, they can still turn out great on the inside!

Over-proofed, and still good!

 Uh, yeah, you might notice that these blueberry bagels are not actually blueberry but are instead cranberry.  That's because I looked at the expiration date on my dried blueberries, and it was 2017.  Yeah, guess I don't use dried blueberries that frequently.  Feel free to use any dried fruit that you like. As long as it is in small pieces.  There is no sugar in this recipe, the only sweetness comes from the dried fruit.  These are great with ricotta, cream cheese, butter, and yes, cinnamon sugar.

Sourdough Blueberry or Cranberry Bagels
makes 6 bagels

233g bread flour
85g cold water
18g nonfat milk powder
11g non-diastatic* malt powder
6.75g (1⅛ tsp) sea salt
200g active 100%-hydration sourdough starter
45g dried blueberries
1 tbsp baking soda for boiling

Early on the day of baking, or the night before baking:

Combine the starter, water, flour, malt, milk powder, and salt in a stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until combined.

Increase speed to medium-low and mix for another two or three minutes. 

Add the blueberries and keep kneading until the dough is very smooth and strong; almost rubbery. 

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and work a few turns by hand.  Gather and pull the dough to form into a smooth ball; pulling until the surface is satiny and tight.

Cover the dough loosely and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces, about 100g each.  Form each piece into a light ball, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
    
Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and dust with semolina.
    
To shape each bagel, roll the dough into a rope about 8-10 inches long without tapering the ends. Flatten one end and connect the ends by wrapping the flattened edges around the other end and giving a little roll to seal.  (Note: if the dough is a little dry, give it a quick spritz of water with a fine spray bottle before shaping. This helps it roll more easily, and the ends stick to each other.)

Place the bagels on the prepared cookie sheets, and cover fully with plastic wrap.  Proof for 2-3 hours at room temperature, until the bagels look and feel a bit puffy.  Then refrigerate them for 4-8 hours or just overnight.
    
Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425ºF and bring a large pot of water to boiling.
    
When the water is almost boiling, place a cooling rack on the counter with paper towels or a dishtowel underneath it. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator, brush the semolina off their bottoms, and place them on the cooling rack.  (If the bagels stick to the parchment, just cut the paper into pieces - they will detach when the bagels are boiled.)
    
When the water has reached a steady, rolling boil, add the baking soda. 

Drop the bagels, two at a time, into the vigorously boiling water for 20 seconds.  They may or may not float right away, but they should float by the time the 20 seconds are up.  If they float right away so the tops are not submerged initially, flip them over about halfway through the boil.
    
Remove the bagels from the water to the cooling rack with a slotted spatula or spider.  Let them drain for about 30 seconds before replacing them back onto the semolina-dusted parchment (or a new dusted piece if they would not detach).
    
Turn the oven down to 400ºF once the bagels are in.  Bake until golden brown, about 24-26 minutes. 

About halfway through baking, open the oven door briefly to vent any steam.
    
Cool the finished bagels on a wire rack.

Bagel dough is fairly stiff!

Mine were about 104g each.

This was how I joined mine.  Gotta make that flap
fairly wide.  You can also just roll the ends together.

Just wrap that flap around like a little handshake.

Plenty of semolina to prevent sticking.

After boiling.

This batch was very over proofed.  Might have been
better without boiling but wouldn't have been bagels!

There we go, proper proofing = wonderful oven
spring after boiling.

Not that different than the over-proofed batch,
but a little lighter overall.

* If you only have diastatic malt powder, you can heat treat it at home to deactivate the enzymes: Spread your diastatic malt powder in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake it at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes. Let it cool completely before using or storing.

Diastatic malt powder contains active enzymes that break starches down into sugars to feed yeast and speed up the rise, while non-diastatic malt powder has no active enzymes and is used purely for malty flavor and color. 

 You can also get away with using malted milk powder if you have that too, it is already heat treated and simply adds milk powder and a little wheat to the malted barley.

Be sure to check out the rest of our bagels this month:

• Bagel Bites: A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Crunch Bagels: Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Easy Homemade Everything Bagel: Cook with Renu
• Gluten Free Onion Bagels: Passion Kneaded 
• Keto Cottage Cheese Bagels: Sneha's Recipe
• Small Batch Sourdough Bagels: Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Blueberry Bagels: A Messy Kitchen 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.