You will love this delicious sourdough blueberry bagel recipe. These chewy bagels not only taste good, but they have the most striking purple color.
There is nothing like fresh bagels in the morning and these homemade sourdough blueberry bagels will be a big hit. Not only are they delicious, but they also have the most beautiful vibrant color.
Dark purple on the outside and bright purple on the inside, the color alone is exciting. Then topped with homemade cream cheese. Seriously delicious.
I tried this recipe so many times to get it just right. This recipe came about as part of the homeschool makers market, where my daughter was selling some homemade sourdough goodies.
We started by using my original recipe for easy sourdough bagels and added blueberries. While it worked well, I felt like it could be better. It still needed tweaking. I found that cooking down fresh or frozen blueberries added so much more of that berry flavor.
Since it’s blueberry season, and you can either pick some blueberries from a local farm or find great deals at the grocery store, I figured this would be the perfect time for this recipe.
Tips:
- This is a stiffer dough. It will come together though. Mix dough until it does.
- If you don’t have your own sourdough starter, you can check out this post, where I show you exactly how to make a starter from scratch.
- Boil a few bagels in the water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
- A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming, but if you do not have one you can knead it with your hands.
- If you are sensitive to the taste of baking soda, you can also get that shiny brown crust with just using sugar.
- For more of a blueberry flavor, add dried blueberries to the dough. It’s double blueberry bagels.
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Why you will love this recipe:
Delicious: The best chewy bagels filled with blueberry goodness are super tasty breakfast treats.
Easy to make: Homemade bagels are way easier to make than you may think! Start the night before and they are ready to shape, rise, boil, and bake the next morning.
Can use fresh or frozen berries: Even when it is not blueberry season you can enjoy this recipe by using frozen berries.
Ingredients:
Active sourdough starter: This is starter that has been fed 4-12 hours before starting the dough. It should be super bubbly and about double in size. To check whether it is ready to make bread you can place it in a little bit of water. If it floats, it is ready to bake.
Water
Honey
Salt
Unbleached all purpose flour
Blueberries – Frozen and fresh blueberries.
Dried blueberries – Optional, but it adds a ton of blueberry flavor.
For boiling the bagels
Water
Baking soda
Brown sugar
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment
Kitchen scale (optional)
Wire rack (optional)
Saucepan
Bench scale
FAQ:
Are sourdough bagels healthier?
Compared to regular bagels, sourdough bagels are a healthier option. Lower in gluten making them easier to digest, lower glycemic index, and more nutritious.
They do still contain mostly carbohydrates, so it is good to pair them with protein (like eggs, or meat) so that way they don’t spike blood sugar as much.
What is a sourdough bagel vs regular bagel?
Sourdough bagels are risen with the wild yeast from the sourdough starter compared to regular bagels which use commercial yeast to give them rise.
Why is sourdough bread good for you?
This is due to the wild yeast and bacteria in the sourdough starter breaking down the phytic acid and gluten in the grains. Not only are the grains more digestible, but also the nutrients in the grains are more bio-available for your body to absorb.
Can I just add blueberries to the bagels?
Technically yes, I have tried this multiple times and while it does work, you may have to adjust the amount of flour in the dough. I prefer using cooked blueberries.
Do you have to boil bagels?
Yes. This will give it that chewy crust on the outside caused by a gel forming from the boiling of the starch in the dough.
How To Make Sourdough Blueberry Bagels
Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. Since this recipe doesn’t include any commercial active dry yeast, you will want your starter to be really nice and active.
Tip: You can tell your starter is active enough to use if it passes the float test. This is when you place a small spoonful of starter into a glass with a few inches of water. If it floats, it is ready. If it sinks, it is either not active enough or has already passed its prime.
Cook Blueberries And Create The Dough
Add the blueberries to a small saucepan over low heat. Once they start to get juicy, turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a light simmer.
Stir constantly, until the liquid has reduced by half. Allow the berries to cool until they are no longer hot. A little higher than room temperature is fine, but you don’t want to kill the yeast in your sourdough starter when adding them to the dough
Add an active sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, cooked blueberries, dried blueberries (optional) and two cups of flour to the bowl of your stand mixer.
Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. This is a stiff dough and can be difficult to incorporate.
Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until the dough ball is smooth and pliable.
Add dried berries if desired.
Place in a large bowl and cover dough with a damp towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
Shape
After fermentation, divide into 8 equal pieces.
Roll the bagel dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and create the center hole in the middle of the dough with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
Place the shaped bagels on a sheet pan or on a clean counter.
Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for 1-4 hours or until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
Using a slotted spoon or spider, add bagels to the boiling water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute on the other side.
Shake off excess water and place boiled bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Slice and serve. I love to serve it with homemade cream cheese.
Storage:
Store the bagels in an airtight container or bag at room temperature. They also freeze really well in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
Make sure the bagels are cooled completely before storing. Storing warm or even slightly warm bagels increases the rate of spoilage.
Don’t store the bagels in the fridge as this can make them go stale quicker.
Baker’s Schedule:
8AM-12PM: Feed sourdough starter and allow to rise for 4-12 hours. This will depend on how warm your kitchen is and how active your starter is.
8 PM: Create dough. Allow to rise overnight with a lid.
6-8 AM the next day. Shape and allow to rise for 1-4 hours.
9 AM: Boil and bake. Enjoy
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Original Homemade Sourdough Bagels – Super versatile recipe. Add cheese, everything but the bagel seasoning, or sesame seeds.
- Sourdough Discard Bagels: This is a twist on the original. Use sourdough discard and commercial yeast to give this rise.
- Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls
- The Best Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls: One of our favorite recipes ever.
- Easy Sourdough Waffles Recipe
- The Best Sourdough Pancakes
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Blueberry Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter, bubbly and active (113 grams)
- 2/3 cup water, 158 grams
- 2 tablespoons honey, 21 grams
- 2 teaspoons salt, 10 grams
- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 560 grams
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, the difference is I am going to cook them first this time, so that way I don't have to adjust the flour/water ratio from the original recipe tis time.
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries, optional
For boiling the bagels
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. Since this recipe doesn't include any commercial active dry yeast, you will want your starter to be really nice and active.
- Add the blueberries to a small saucepan over low heat. Once they start to get juicy, turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a light simmer. Stir constantly, until the liquid has reduced by half. Allow the berries to cool until they are no longer hot. A little warmer than room temperature is fine, but you don’t want to kill the yeast in your sourdough starter when adding them to the dough
- Add an active sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, cooked blueberries, and two cups of flour to the bowl of your stand mixer. Some people have no issue adding all of the flour right away. Others find it easier to add half now and half later.
- Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. This is a stiff dough and can be difficult to incorporate.
- Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until the dough ball is smooth and pliable
- Add dried blueberries if desired and knead in.
- Place in a large bowl and cover dough with a damp towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
- After fermentation, divide into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll the bagel dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and create the center hole in the middle of the dough with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
- Place the shaped bagels on a sheet pan or on a clean counter.
- Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for 1-4 hours or until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
- Using a slotted spoon or spider, add bagels to the boiling water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute on the other side.
- Shake off excess water and place boiled bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Slice and serve. I love to serve it with homemade cream cheese.
Notes
- This is a stiffer dough. It will come together though. Mix dough until it does.
- Boil a few bagels in the water at a time. Don’t overcrowd your pot.
- A stand mixer is much easier and less time consuming, but if you do not have one you can knead it with your hands.
- If you are sensitive to the taste of baking soda, you can also get that shiny brown crust with just using sugar.
- For more of a blueberry flavor, add dried blueberries to the dough. It's double blueberry bagels.
- If you don't have honey, you can substitute it with sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were great. I didn’t have the dried blueberries but I wanted to try it anyways and I just love the purple color. They just tasted like a regular bagel but I plan to make them again with the blueberries this time. Thank you!
The dried blueberries definitely help add more blueberry flavor. Glad you enjoyed them.
Made them’ first attempt at bagel- while they turned out good- texture, and crumb- there was no blueberry flavor. I did not use the freeze dried- just the boiled fresh- so that was disappointing. But overall for my first try- it was easy to follow recipe- and everything else turned out great! Awaiting the cinnamon crunch to come out of the oven now!
The dried blueberries definitely adds a lot more of that blueberry flavor. Glad they still turned out for you.
If you measured your cooked blueberries approx how much would it be? 1 cup?
Yes, around 1 cup.
I made these today, substituted real maple syrup for honey/sugar and eliminated baking soda. They are fabulous!
Great to hear! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
The dough was incredibly sticky and hard to work with, even after adding a little extra flour and letting the mixer run. Any ideas?
I don’t have that issue. Did you add any liquid with the blueberries, maybe?
If I wanted to add a blueberry or cherry preserve in its place, what amount would you recommend and would I need to alter anything else?
I would reduce a little bit of the water, since preserves have a bit of liquid in them.
I have a gluten sensitivity- is there a long fermentation option or is it not needed for bagels?
Your bread was great and I had no issues – just wondering if I put these in the fridge to ferment longer if that would help with gluten? Or ruin the bagel?
I am doing this today, as I also have a gluten sensitivity. In many other recipes I’ve tried, they just say to stick the dough in the fridge after the first rise, so I’m going to try that!
How do you make sourdough starter??
Super yummy! This was my first attempt at sourdough bagels and it worked great. I may add a bit more honey to the dough and a bit more dried blueberries next time but there will certainly be a next time!
I made these per the recipe, only exchanging the option for dried BB for 1/2 cup freeze dried, chopped strawberries. The dough rose beautifully, the second rise only took 1 hr to get to “fluffy”. These are absolutely delicious, and beautiful. Thank you for her another amazing recipe!