Sourdough Blueberry Bagels

These bagels are extremely soft, airy and chewy. They are probiotic rich and the sourness built during fermentation perfectly complements the tangy and sweet blueberries.

Ingredients:

         Makes 6 Bagels

• 173 g Water (if using tap water, leave a jug of water on the counter for 24 hours prior so that any traces of chlorine can naturally evaporate)

• 50 g Active Sourdough Starter

• 250 g Bread Flour

• 100 g Frozen Blueberries

• 5 g Salt

Method:

• I like to feed my starter the night before or the morning of. If I am feeding my starter the morning of, I will use a 50 g of starter, 50 g of flour and 50 g of water ratio (this will create more than enough active starter). By using this ratio, the starter should peak within 3-4 hours at 76 degrees F.

• Start by mixing the water and the starter. Once mixed, add the bread flour and stir it in. At one point you will need to use your hands, wetting your hands will help prevent the dough from sticking to them as you work all of the flour in. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 1 hour.

• Grab a separate bowl and lightly drizzle some olive oil into it. Add the salt to your dough and work it in generously with wet hands. Once combine, move the dough from its original bowl to the greased bowl let rest for 45 minutes.

• Microwave your blueberries until they are mostly melted but not piping hot, keep an eye on them. Remove from the microwave and lightly mash with a fork (some whole bluberries can remain if you wish). Let cool until the blueberries are mildly warm before spooning 1/3 of the blueberries onto the dough. Perform your first “stretch and fold” (scroll to the bottom of the recipe to watch a video demonstrating how to stretch and fold). Ensure you keep as many blueberries in the dough as possible. Once you have performed you first stretch and fold, cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes is up, you are going to do that process 2 more times : add blueberries, stretch and fold the dough, and rest for 30 minutes. The sequence should look like this :

  Add 1/3 of blueberries to the dough & stretch and fold 

  Rest for 30 min

  Add 2/3 of blueberries to the dough & stretch and fold 

  Rest for 30 min 

  Add the remaining 3/3 of blueberries to the dough & stretch and fold 

• After the last stretch and fold, cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for 4-5 hours.

• Line a separate bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle it with white rice flour. Remove the dough from the original bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Begin to shape and create tension in the dough (scroll to the bottom of the recipe to watch a video demonstrating how to shape your dough). Once your dough is shaped, place it in your tea towel lined bowl (or banneton basket if you have one). Cover the entire bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge over night for a minimum of 12 hours. The longer you proof your dough in the fridge, the more sour and gut healthy it becomes (max 3 days).

• The next morning, invert the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 6 equal sections. Take one of the sections, fold and roll it into a ball (I don’t use a specific method for this, just get it as close to a circular ball as possible without over working the dough). Once a ball/disc is formed, poke your thumb through the middle to create a hole. Remove your thumb from the dough and put your two pointer fingers through the hole, begin to spin them around each other in a circle, this is to stretch and widen the hole in the center of the dough ball. Once a bagel shape is formed, you may place on a parchment lined baking tray and repeat this shaping process with the remaining 5 dough balls.

• Cover the bagels with a tea towel and let rest for a final hour.

• Towards the end of the final rise preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

• Lightly drizzle and rub the bagels with olive oil. Place 1 ice cube under the parchment on all 4 corners of the baking tray - this keeps the bagels light, airy, soft and chewy. Place the baking tray with the bagels in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 14 minutes or until light brown/golden on top.

• Transfer the bagels to a wire rack and let them cool at room temperature for at least 45 min before slicing. Enjoy:)

1) Stretch and Fold video instructions.

2) Shaping the dough video instructions.