Blueberry Bagels are a terrific weekend baking project. Bread and oat flours plus dried blueberries combine for dough that’s easy to handle.
These Blueberry Oat Bagels are my first attempt at homemade bagels and I can assure you that after this first experience I want to make more. Part bread flour, part oat flour – these yeasted bagels are flavored with dried blueberries. Your store-bought and most bakery varieties can’t compare!
I had an urge to knead some dough this morning. I find it to be a very therapeutic activity. I’d pinned a version of these Blueberry Bagels a long time ago because blueberry is my children’s favorite bagel flavor. They’re happy with the kind I can buy at Kroger but homemade is always better.
Why this recipe works
This is a simple dough to mix together. It’s not overly sticky and it is simple to work with, making it an easy recipe for a novice baker. The combination of bread and oat flours give the bagel dough a nice chewy texture and sweet flavor. The dried blueberries really provide the bagels with an intense blueberry flavor.
Ingredients for blueberry bagels
- Instant Yeast – Use one envelope (1/4 ounce) of instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, you need to allow it rehydrate in the water first for about five minutes before mixing it into the flour mixture.
- Bread Flour – Bread flour has a higher protein count than all-purpose flour which leads to more stability, form and rise in the dough, allowing it life and hold shape.
- Oat Flour – Helps give the bagels a chewy texture and a bit more flavor.
- Salt
- Brown Sugar – Light brown sugar helps to flavor both the dough and water for boiling the bagels.
- Water – Water is used in both the bagel dough and to cook the bagels before baking them in the oven.
- Vegetable Oil – This is for oiling the bowl that the bagel dough rises in, so the dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Dried Blueberries – 3 oz of dried blueberries give these bagels a pronounced blueberry flavor without adding water and making the dough too wet.
Instructions for making homemade blueberry bagels
For complete instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the flours, yeast, salt, brown sugar and water. Knead on low speed for about 7 minutes. Add the dried blueberries, then knead for an additional 5 minutes. The dough will be smacking the sides of the bowl.
Allow the dough to rise for about an hour. Deflate and divide the dough into 8 pieces. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes more.
Add remaining brown sugar to 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Shape the bagels and drop three of four at a time into the boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the bagels, rotating the pans halfway through baking time, for 20 – 25 minutes.
Pro tips
- There are several ways to shape a bagel. My favorite is to poke a whole in the middle of each dough ball. Then twirl the dough around the index fingers of your two hands until the middle whole stretches to about two inches wide. They will shrink back up a bit once they are boiled and then bake in the oven.
- Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut your dough into eight equal pieces. If you really want to make them equal, you can weigh each piece of dough on a kitchen scale. But I usually just eyeball it.
- To amp up the blueberry flavor even more, serve these bagels with a smear of this homemade blueberry cream cheese.
Storage directions
If you want to store the bagels for a few days, place the leftovers (still warm or they’ll get soggy) into a plastic bread bag. They’ll keep 2 – 3 days on the counter at room temperature.
If you’d like to freeze your bagels, allow them to cool completely and slice them in half. Place them in a freezer safe, zippered bag. Keep them in the freezer for up to one month. Place them in a toaster on low setting to warm them up.
Kitchen tools
- Use a stand mixer with a dough hook to make these bagels
- Brand of quick rise yeast I like the best
- Bench scraper for dividing the bagel dough
- Kitchen scale for weighing the dough to divide into equal portions
More bagel recipes
Blueberry Bagels
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1/4 oz instant yeast
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 oz dried blueberries
- 8 cups water
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
Instructions
- Combine the instant yeast, bread flour, oat flour, salt, brown sugar and warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment on low speed, knead until the dough is smooth, about 7 minutes. Add the dried blueberries and knead for 5 more minutes. The dough should be stiff and smack the sides of the bowl.
- Coat a large bowl with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and add dough. Roll the dough ball around to coat it in oil. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let the dough sit in a warm place for about 1 hour. The dough should be roughly doubled in size.
- Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a clean cutting board. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, using a bench scraper or a large chef's knife. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and loosely cover the balls with plastic wrap. Allow the dough balls to rise for 30 minutes.
- In a wide, shallow pan, combine the two quarts of water with the remaining three tablespoons of brown sugar. Bring the water to a low boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- To shape the bagels, poke a hole in the middle of each dough ball. Twirl the dough around the index fingers of your two hands until the hole stretches to about 2 inches. Place the shaped bagels on a parchment or Silpat covered baking sheet. Shape the remaining dough balls.
- Drop the bagels, 3 or 4 at a time, into the gently boiling water. Simmer the bagels for 2 minutes and flip over to simmer for another minute. Remove the boiled bagels from the water bath with a large slotted spoon and let cool for a few minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes, or until your bagels are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.
Nutrition
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Ali @ Home & Plate says
I’ve never made my own bagels. Usually I just head to the local bagel shop. I will have to give these a try. They look wonderful and nothing beats homemade.
foodtasticmom says
Let me know if you try them Ali – thanks for stopping by!
Holly- 3 Yummy Tummies says
I would love to try making my own bagels…these look so fluffy and delightful!
foodtasticmom says
They were surprisingly easy – definitely a keeper recipe!
Tracy says
That’s the test of a good bagel, if you can eat it by itself. Sounds like these totally passed! They look fantastic. I love blueberry bagels, and homemade blueberry oat bagels sound even better. 😉
foodtasticmom says
Exactly! Thanks Tracy 🙂
theviewfromGreatIsland says
These are right up my alley, I love oat flour and always have it around — what beautiful swirls, too!
foodtasticmom says
Thanks I hope you try them 🙂
Alex says
Tried this recipe…3x! They’re so good! I love that there is oat flour in them, which makes them denser and filling. My husband eats them plain, I like them plain or with cream cheese. Half of one toasted with cream cheese is the perfect after workout snack. I cut them in half and then freeze them and they’re ready to be pulled and toasted in the mornings. Thank you for the great recipe!
foodtasticmom says
Yay! Love hearing this. So glad you enjoy the recipe!
F Sethman says
Learning to make breads and ready to dive in to make bagels!! Think these look fool proof to me:) I love a good bagel for popeyes (egg in bagel holes)
foodtasticmom says
OK I have made eggs in bagels before but didn’t know they were called popeyes. Love it!
Strawberrieninja says
Thanks for the recipe! I made these and the flavor was great, but I had one problem. The bottom of my bagels burnt. I wonder if you can help me figure out why? I baked them on aluminum foil because I didn’t have parchment paper. I lightly oiled the aluminum because I was worried the bagels would stick. I also brushed them with egg wash because I had seen other recipes call for it. Do you know which of these things if any could have caused them to burn? The top was fine, it was only the bottom that came out charred. Thank you!
foodtasticmom says
What was the position of your oven rack in? Was it in a lower position? I do think that the oiled aluminum played a part. I don’t think the egg wash should have caused it, especially since the tops were fine. I’m glad the flavor was good. Make sure oven rack is in middle position and no to foil are my suggestions!
Jaime says
Hi! I just saw your recipe today; looks delicious, thanks for sharing. Some Qs: can you use fresh blueberries, or would that cause sogginess? Do these freeze well?
Thank you so much for sharing!
foodtasticmom says
I am not an expert level baker by any means. I think the issue with fresh blueberries is that as you are working with the dough, they might be too delicate. I didn’t try freezing these, but I always freeze store bought bagels. Just slice them in half first. Hope you enjoy them!