Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels

Name: Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 155 min
Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 ½ tsp salt; 2 ¼ tsp yeast; 1 cup frozen wild blueberries; 1 cup warm water; 1 cup sourdough discard; 2 tbs honey; 1 tbs baking soda; 1 tbs sugar; 1 egg (for egg wash )

Sourdough Discard Bagels are the gateway bread into all sourdough baking. These bagels are so simple to make and packed with flavor. They are soft, tender, and chewy. The perfect bagel. My kids and my husband love them and just as a bonus, it uses a whole cup of your sourdough discard!

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❤️ Why You’ll Love Discard Blueberry Bagels

Most people who make sourdough discard bagels are usually surprised at how easy they are to make. Bagels, because of how delicious they are, seem complicated, but they really aren’t. They are made in just one bowl and can be enjoyed the same day. My kids love these as a peanut butter and blueberry jelly sandwiches, or with a big smear of cream cheese. There really is no fuss or going wrong with these bagels. I can’t wait for you to try them!

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – Inactive, unfed sourdough starter stored on the counter or straight from the fridge.

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All-purpose flour – We use Costco’s organic, unbleached all-purpose flour in almost all of our recipes.

Yeast – This is the leavening agent for the bagels. Since we are using inactive sourdough starter, the yeast will make the bagels rise.

Salt – We use pink Himalayan salt in our recipes but use what you have.

Wild blueberries – I love frozen wild blueberries in this recipe, they are easy to store and full of flavor. But you can also use fresh blueberries if you like!

Water – Warm, filtered water.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels

In the stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and yeast.

Add in the frozen blueberries and mix until they are all coated with flour.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the water, honey, and sourdough discard until the discard is fully dissolved.

With the stand mixer on low, slowly add in the sourdough discard mixture. Let the stand mixer knead the dough on low for 5 – 10 minutes.

Cover with a tea towel or bowl cover and let the dough rest on the counter for two hours, or until it has doubled in size.

When the dough has doubled, turn it over onto a clean work surface. Using your bench scraper, separate the dough into 8 equal parts. Shape the dough balls into bagels. You can do this by pushing a hole through the middle of a ball, or by rolling the dough pieces into a snake, flattening out the end and connecting the two ends together forming a circle.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add in the baking soda and sugar.

Add 2-3 bagels at a time to the boiling water and boil for 30 – 45 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, flip the bagels over in the water and boil for an additional 30 seconds.

Transfer the boiled bagels to a baking sheet.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk the egg with a splash of water and brush the egg wash on top of each bagel. Bake the bagels at 400 for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

Let cool slightly before slicing, and enjoy with a smear of cream cheese or as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich 🙂

🪄 Tips and Tricks

I find that the bagels turn out a lot more uniform if I roll the dough pieces into a log and then shape them into a bagel, rather than roll them into a ball and poke a hole in the center.
Don’t overcrowd your pot when you are boiling the bagels, and don’t skip this step! Boiling the bagels is essential for the texture, if you skip boiling, you’re just making round bread.
If you want to bake these in the morning, put together your dough the night before. Follow all the steps up until boiling. After your dough is mixed, risen, and shaped – place them on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge overnight. Then first thing in the morning, boil and bake as normal!

🗒 Variations

My sourdough discard bagels are one of my most popular recipes, and for good reason! They are so simple and delicious, they are hard not to love. If you love these check out my bagel bombs recipes!

🗒 Substitutions

You can substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour if you want a chewier texture in the bagel. You can also substitute frozen blueberries for fresh blueberries if that’s what you have on hand.

All-purpose – bread flour.
Frozen blueberries – fresh blueberries.

🗒 Best served with

Cream cheese and coffee for breakfast.
A sandwich at lunch.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the kiddos.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

You can do two things with your leftover bagels; you can either put your leftover bagels in a Ziplock bag and place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Or you can store your leftover bagels in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days.

🤔 Common Questions

What if I don’t have wild blueberries?

That’s okay! I like wild blueberries because of their size and taste. But you can substitute for any frozen blueberries, or even use fresh. I wouldn’t recommend using freeze dried blueberries unless you add it in addition to fresh or frozen berries.

What if I want to bake these first thing in the morning?

No problem! If you want to bake these in the morning, put together your dough the night before. Follow all the steps up until boiling. After your dough is mixed, risen, and shaped – place them on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge overnight. Then first thing in the morning, boil and bake as normal!

4.67 from 21 votes

Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels

Print Recipe

These are the simplest bagels you will ever make! They are made with just a few ingredients, including your sourdough discard. Once you have tried these, it's hard to imagine buying store bought bagels ever again.

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:25

Resting time:2

Total Time:2 35

Equipment

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ¼ tsp yeast
1 cup frozen wild blueberries
1 cup warm water
1 cup sourdough discard
2 tbs honey
1 tbs baking soda
1 tbs sugar
1 egg for egg wash

Instructions

In the stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and yeast.
Add in the frozen blueberries and mix until they are all coated with flour.
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the water, honey, and sourdough discard until the discard is fully dissolved.
With the stand mixer on low, slowly add in the sourdough discard mixture. Let the stand mixer knead the dough on low for 5 – 10 minutes.
Cover with a tea towel or bowl cover and let the dough rest on the counter for two hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
When the dough has doubled, turn it over onto a clean work surface. Using your bench scraper, separate the dough into 8 equal parts. Shape the dough balls into bagels. You can do this by pushing a hole through the middle of a ball, or rolling the dough pieces into a snake, flattening out the end and connecting the two ends together to form a circle.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add in the baking soda and sugar.
Add 2-3 bagels at a time to the boiling water and boil for 30 – 45 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, flip the bagels over in the water and boil for an additional 30 seconds.
Transfer the boiled bagels to a baking sheet.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk the egg with a splash of water and brush the egg wash on top of each bagel. Bake the bagels at 400 for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown on top.
Let cool slightly before slicing, and enjoy with a smear of cream cheese or as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich 🙂

Notes

The frozen blueberries will make the dough a little colder, which gives you wiggle room to use warmer water with the sourdough discard so the dough will still rise nicely.