This homemade blueberry bagels recipe turns out sweet, chewy bagels that are bursting with fresh blueberry flavor! Gorgeous color, too!
He’s always been a fan of bagels, and making them at home lets us avoid some of the pitfalls of the bakery department - artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, suspiciously long shelf lives, etc.
Besides, making any kind of yeast bread is kind of ... cathartic, don’t you think?
Anyway, I recently decided to make another batch of my delicious blueberry bagels for him, and actually shoot it for the blog!
These bagels are perfect for any blueberry lover - they’re bursting with natural flavour, as the blueberries are pureed, and permeate the entire bagel.
They’re sweet bagels in that they’re not *savory*, but only a medium-sweet. There’s enough sugar to boost the flavour of the blueberries, without veering into dessert territory.
The end result is a good bagel to use as an easy breakfast or snack.
Toast one up, slather it with some cream cheese - and/or a drizzle of honey - and you’re good to go!
Ingredients
This bagel recipe uses just a few simple ingredients that can be found in any local grocery store. A few notes for you:
Blueberries
I just to use frozen blueberries - rather than fresh blueberries or dried blueberries - for a few reasons.
First of all, I wanted these bagels to be PURPLE, and have sweet blueberry flavor throughout them, rather than be a plain bagel with blueberries dotted throughout.
Freezing blueberries breaks down the plant cells in a way that makes them kind of mushy - I’m sure you’ve noticed that previously fresh berries do NOT return to the same texture after freezing.
That makes for a nicer puree, IMHO.
So, I use thawed, previously frozen berries for the puree.
In addition, I DO like to have some dots of berries involved as well. For that, I toss in some still-frozen berries at the end of the kneading.
They’ll break down a bit as they thaw, but hold up long enough *as frozen* to remain whole-ish in the dough. Fresh, juicy blueberries would just mash.
All Purpose Flour
I use all-purpose flour for most of my homemade bread and bagel recipes - and these chewy bagels are no exception.
If you want to use whole wheat flour, I wouldn’t recommend replacing more than half of the white flour with the whole wheat flour, or you may end up with dry, tough bagels.
Granulated Sugar
I like the neutral flavour of white sugar for these homemade bagels,but if you’d like a bit more of a complex / warm flavour, feel free to use the same amount of Brown Sugar- packed.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Coarse sugar / Pearl Sugar (optional)
Active Dry Yeast (or Instant Yeast)
Large Egg
Pure Vanilla Extract
Salt
... I just really don’t have anything else to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!
How to Make Blueberry Bagels
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.
Make the Bagel Dough
Measure out 1 cup of frozen blueberries, return the rest to the freezer. Place blueberries in a microwave safe dish, heat long enough to fully thaw - usually 1-2 minutes.
Puree thawed blueberries in a mini food processor. Measure the puree, add water to bring the total amount to 1 cup. Set aside.
Stir in 2 tablespoon of the sugar, along with the yeast. Allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
Pour in yeast mixture, blueberry mixture, and vanilla extract, stir well to combine.
Alternatively, “knead” it in the bowl of your stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
You want a dough ball that is NOT sticky at this point - usually I aim for slightly sticky, but you’ll be getting a bit more moisture from the addition of whole blueberries in the next step.
If your dough seems sticky, add a bit more flour and knead in until not sticky anymore.
When your dough is nearing the end of the kneading, add the remaining ½ cup of frozen blueberries, and continue kneading to distribute.
You want to finish the kneading process quickly after adding the blueberries, to avoid thawing / pulverizing them!
Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a large oiled bowl (I use a bit of cooking spray), cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour, or until increased in size by about 50%.
Form the Bagels
Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.
We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 12, 10, or 6 equal pieces.
- or
Roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though. Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole.
Personally, I prefer the latter.
Place the shaped bagels on baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.
Boil & Bake The Bagels
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar, stir well, and turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the lightly boiling water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Note: Boiling is what gives the bagels the chewy texture.
You can boil for as little as 30 seconds per side, up to a bit longer than a minute per side. The longer the bagels are boiled, the more chewy they’ll be.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the bagels from the water. Drain well, place boiled bagels on a lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle bagels with a little bit of Pearl Sugar, if desired.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before cutting and serving.
Leftovers
Once cooled to room temperature, extra bagels can be stored in an airtight container or plastic bag on the counter for a few days, or in the fridge for about a week.
Best served reheated.
More Bagel Recipes
Looking for more fantastic bagels to make? Here are some options for great bagels at home!
Banana Nut Bagels
Everything Bagels
Garden Veggie Bagels
Gluten-Free Bagels
How to Make Bagels
Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels
Marble Rye Bagels
Mini Bagels
Montreal Bagels
Pumpernickel Everything Bagels
Rainbow Bagels
Red Velvet Bagels
Roasted Garlic Asiago Bagels
Roasted Red Pepper Bagels
Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
Smoky Cheese Bagels
... and a few seasonal / holiday options, too:
Christmas Bagels
Gingerbread Bagels
Heart Shaped Bagels
Hot Cross Bagels
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Paska Bagels
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
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Blueberry Bagels
Equipment
Ingredients
Bagel Dough
- 1 ½ cups Frozen blueberries divided
- ½ cup Warm - not hot - water
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Assembly
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- Measure out 1 cup of frozen blueberries, return the rest to the freezer. Place blueberries in a microwave safe dish, heat long enough to fully thaw - usually 1-2 minutes.
- Puree thawed blueberries in a mini food processor. Measure the puree, add water to bring the total amount to 1 cup. Set aside.
- Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoon of the sugar, along with the yeast. Allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, blueberry mixture, and vanilla extract, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.You want a dough that is NOT sticky at this point - usually I aim for slightly sticky, but you’ll be getting a bit more moisture from the addition of whole blueberries in the next step. If your dough seems sticky, add a bit more flour and knead in until not sticky anymore.
- When your dough is nearing the end of the kneading, add the remaining ½ cup of frozen blueberries, and continue kneading to distribute. You want to finish the kneading process quickly after adding the blueberries, to avoid thawing / pulverizing them!
- Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until increased in size by about 50%
Form the Bagels:
- Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.
- We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 12, 10, or 6 equal sized pieces.
- There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though. Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
- Once you have all of your bagels formed, place them on baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.
Boil & Bake The Bagels
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- Add sugar to a large pot of water, bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
- 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
- Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet.
- In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash all over the tops and sides of each bagel.
- Bake for 35-37 minutes if you made 8 bagels. Otherwise, aim for 32-35 minutes (small) or 37-40 mins (large), until golden brown.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.
- Once cooled to room temperature, these blueberry bagels can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days, or in the fridge for about a week.
Notes
Nutrition
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