Taking advantage of cold proofing, making bagels never gets easier.
Recently there have been countless posts of different kinds of bagels on my social media. All of them look so yummy and I start to crave bagels. After three weeks of trial and error, I have found the perfect one. Today I’m going to share my favorite recipe for blueberry bagels and different methods of shaping bagels as well.
A little bit about bagels: Bagels are dense and chewy bread that is shaped into a ring form. They are traditionally boiled first in boiling water for a short period and then baked. The boil-then-bake process gives bagels a shining chewy texture. Normally bagel dough doesn’t require long proof time. For me, I need a recipe that works for my busy schedule where I can split the whole process into two days. I found this recipe online and adjusted it accordingly to my preference. I truly hope that this recipe will show you how it is done to fit bread-making tasks into your busy life.
Blueberry bagel recipe – lazy sourdough version
| weight | ingredient | baker’s percentage |
| 500g | baker’s flour (12.5% protein) | 100% |
| 10g | salt | 2% |
| 250g | water | 50% |
| 25g | sugar | 5% |
| 25g (+ extra for boiling water) | honey | 5% |
| 100g | starter | 20% |
| 50g | fresh blueberry | 10% |
| 50g | blueberry/ blackberry jam | 10% |
| total 1160g |
Workflow
| Day1 | Make dough |
| Use a paddle attachment: roughly mix water, sugar, honey and starter together. Add in flour and salt. Mix until a dough forms. Rest for 30 minutes. | |
| Change to a hook attachment: continue mixing the dough on medium speed until it gets smooth. | |
| Add in blueberry or blackberry jam and continue mixing on high speed for about 2 minutes or until jam is incorporated into the dough. | |
| Add fresh blueberries and mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until everything is well combined. | |
| Transfer the dough to a container or a bowl. Proof in room temp for 2 hours. Then transfer the dough into the fridge and leave it overnight. | |
| Day2 | Shape, boil and bake |
| Take the dough out from the fridge. Divide into 8-10 pieces depending on your desired size. Shape into small balls. Rest for 15 minutes. | |
| Shape into a bagel shape. (See the Notes section below for pictures and videos.) | |
| Preheat oven to 220 degrees. | |
| Prepare a pot of boiling water + 30g honey. Once the water is ready, boil bagel dough 30-45 seconds on each side. Scope each bagel dough onto a tray. (add topping at this point if needed) | |
| Bake at 220 degrees for 20-25 minutes. |
Notes
* I have tried using frozen blueberries(thawed before use), dried blueberries (soaked before use) and fresh blueberries for bagels. Personally I like the fresh ones. Dried blueberries hold the shape better but they don’t give that pretty color to the dough. I would double the amount if using dried blueberry.
* The reason I add blueberry/ blackberry jam is to give more sweetness also color to the dough. Can leave without the jam but I would suggest increasing the quantity of sugar or honey for a sweeter flavour.
* There are many ways of shaping bagels. I’m going to share 2 methods here.
shaping method # 1 – labour consuming way
You will need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. This shaping method takes time but it ensures the shape is perfect.
shaping method # 2 – fast and simple way
Make a hole in the middle and use both of your index fingers to stretch the dough.
* Cut the baking paper into squares and leave the shaped bagel dough on it for easy handling the dough during the boiling stage. When boiling the bagel, simply chuck the bagel with paper into boiling water, and peel off the paper before turning the side.
* When boiling bagel dough, the boiling water gelatinizes the starch which gives the shining and chewy exterior instead of crust.
At the end
This recipe may not be the traditional one but it does provide the flexibility. For me, making bread at home should not be a task against the clock. If the recipe delivers not only tasty bagels but also flexibility, why not give it a try? Enjoy the fun of making bagels at home guys.
