Overnight Wild Blueberry Sourdough Bagels

Servings bagels

Calories 328

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 18

Resting Time 16

Total Time 16 58

INGREDIENTS

Feed Your Starter

10 g sourdough starter
50 g water
50 g flour

Main Dough

310 g frozen wild blueberries wild is best!
100 g active sourdough starter that you made from above
175 g water
100 g maple syrup or honey
825 g bread flour
25 g non-diastatic malt powder make sure it's NON-diastatic (optional; see Notes)
15 g sea salt
10 g vanilla extract or paste
1 tbsp lemon zest optional (enhances blueberry flavor)
25 g dried wild blueberries if not wild, see Notes*

For the Boiling Water

2 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar or honey

Before You Begin

Timeline: Feed your starter in the morning. Mix your bagel dough before bed. Shape the bagels in the morning. Boil them mid-day. If your home is warmer than 75°F (24°C), see the Recipe Notes at the end.

Dried blueberries: These are chewy, like raisins. I do not recommend using freeze-dried blueberries as the mixer will smash them during kneading, defeating the purpose of having those little bites of blueberry in the final bagel.

Note: This recipe was developed and is written in metric (grams). Volume measurements (cups & spoons) are automatically converted and untested — use at your own risk. For best results, use a kitchen scale.

Equipment

Scale
Personal blender for blending the blueberries
Microplane for zesting the lemon
Stand mixer with dough hook
Half sheet pan or two quarter sheet trays
Half sheet pan cover A fantastic alternative to plastic wrap!
Parchment squares Dollar Tree has really cheap ones, too!
Large pot for boiling

Instructions

Day 1: Feed Your Starter & Mix Your Dough

Feed your starter: In the morning, feed your starter 10 g sourdough starter, 50 g water, and 50 g flour. This makes slightly more than needed. Skip if your starter is already active and bubbly.
Blend the berries: About 10–12 hours later (before bed), measure 310 g frozen wild blueberries while still frozen; then thaw. I recommend defrosting in the microwave for speed. Once thawed, blend until liquefied.
Tip for the next step: after pouring the blueberry mixture into your bowl, measure the water directly in the blender and swirl to rinse – this captures every last bit of the mixture for accurate measurements.
Mix the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the blended blueberry mixture, 100 g active sourdough starter, 175 g water, 100 g maple syrup, 825 g bread flour, 25 g non-diastatic malt powder, 15 g sea salt, 10 g vanilla extract, 1 tbsp lemon zest, and 25 g dried wild blueberries. See Notes for non-wild blueberry substitution.
Knead on low speed (speed 1–2) for about 5–10 minutes, until smooth. The dough should be stiff and slightly tacky – think playdough.
If your dough is sticky and clings to the sides of the bowl, add flour in 1 tbsp increments until it matches the texture of my dough.
Cover and rest 30–60 minutes. Optional: knead again on low speed (or by hand) for 1–2 minutes.
Bulk ferment: Cover and let bulk ferment on the counter overnight (8–12 hours at 68–75°F/20–24°C). The dough should about double in size.

Day 2: Shape, Boil, & Bake

Shape: The next morning, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 130g each).
Shape each piece into a taut ball and place on individual parchment squares. Lightly flour your fingers if needed – if dough is sticky, reduce water by 10–20g next time.
Poke a hole through the center with your finger. Using both index and middle fingers in the hole, gently stretch and rotate to widen it. Make it twice as large as you want your final bagel hole to be – it'll shrink up during the second proof.
Second proof: Cover the sheet tray with plastic wrap or a sheet tray cover and let rise on the counter for 4–6 hours (68–75°F/20–24°C) until visibly puffed and about 50% increased in size. For me, it took 5.5 hours at 71°F (21.5°C). A warm spot or proofing box will speed this up if desired.
Optional cold proof: Refrigerate shaped bagels for 8–36 hours for tangier flavor/easier digestion. Either refrigerate immediately after shaping (then finish the second proof at room temp before boiling), or complete the second proof first and refrigerate until ready to boil.
Boil: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) conventional [or 425°F (220°C) convection] and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tbsp maple syrup to the boiling water.
Do not add baking soda to the boiling water. It reacts with the blueberry pigment and can turn the bagels greenish.
Working in batches of 4, slide bagels (on parchment squares) into the water. Important: If your bagel sinks to the bottom of the pot, it is not ready for boiling. Put it back on the sheet tray and let it continue proofing.
The parchment will peel off – remove it and set back on the sheet tray. Boil the bagels 1 minute per side, then transfer back to the sheet tray with a slotted spoon.
Note: When you drop the bagels in, the water will adjust from a rolling boil to a simmer. This is normal. You do not need to wait for the water to return to a rolling boil to start the 1-minute per side timer.
Bake: Bake the bagels for 15–20 minutes, or until the tops are starting to brown and the interior temps at 205–210°F (96–99°C).
Storage: I store these bagels in a bread bag on my counter for up to 5 days. Or pre-slice, place parchment between halves, and freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Bread flour: Bread flour works best for bagels – its higher protein content gives them a nice chewiness. I’ve tested this recipe with King Arthur unbleached bread flour (12.7% protein) and Central Milling High Mountain bread flour (13.5% protein). If you use a lower-protein flour, such as Costco’s all-purpose flour (11.5% protein), add 1 tbsp of vital wheat gluten to help it perform like a higher-protein flour, or decrease the water in the dough slightly.

Non-diastatic malt powder: Keeps bagels soft for up to 5 days. Don't have it? You have a few options:

Use diastatic malt powder instead: Toast at 325°F (160°C) for 5 minutes to deactivate the enzymes, then sift after cooling to remove any lumps. Once toasted, use it just like non-diastatic.
Use diastatic malt powder, untoasted: Mix your dough in the morning instead of overnight so you can monitor fermentation – the active enzymes will speed it up.
Omit it entirely: Your bagels will just stale a bit faster.

Frozen wild blueberries: Strongly recommended for best flavor and color. Regular frozen blueberries work but will have less intense berry flavor and a lighter color.

Dried wild blueberries: If using regular dried blueberries (not wild), I recommend increasing the quantity to around 70g (for a batch of 12 bagels).

1 tbsp lemon zest: Optional, but enhances the blueberry flavor. As a rule of thumb, one medium lemon yields about 1 tablespoon of zest.

Warm homes (above 75°F/24°C): If your kitchen is warmer than 75°F (24°C), skip the overnight fermentation and flip the timeline instead. Mix your dough in the morning, monitor the bulk fermentation throughout the day (watching for it to double), then shape and proof in the afternoon/evening. This prevents overproofing.

Quick blueberry cream cheese: mix whipped cream cheese with a little lemon juice, maple syrup, and a couple of thawed frozen blueberries, smashed, to taste.

Nutrition Facts

Overnight Wild Blueberry Sourdough Bagels

Serving Size

1 bagel

Amount per Serving

Calories

328

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

0.3

Polyunsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated Fat

0.2

Cholesterol

Sodium

497

Potassium

152

Carbohydrates

Fiber

Sugar

Protein

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Calcium

Iron

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.