Blueberry Bagel

Blueberry bagels

Ingredients

• 420g high-gluten flour (3.5 cups)
• 225g water (1 cup)
• 21g mild honey (1 Tbsp)
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt (4.2g)
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 105g frozen blueberries (3/4 cup)

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Place the bowl of a stand mixer on a kitchen scale and tare the weight to zero. Measure in the of the flour and the water, honey, salt, yeast, vanilla and cardamom. Place the bowl back on the mixer and fit it with the dough hook. On low speed, mix the ingredients together until there are no dry patchs of flour showing.
3. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium. Mix until the sides of the bowl are nearly clean, 2 to 3 minutes. The dough may seem dry. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate evenly.
4. Toss the frozen berries with the remaining 2 Tbsp of flour to coat and add them to the bowl. Working quickly, turn the mixer speed back to low and let it work the dough with the berries for 2 to 3 minutes, then stop and scrape the bowl.
5. Alternate running the mixer on medium speed and stopping to fold the dough over the berries by hand until the blueberries are distributed and there are no more pale streaks in the dough, about 2 minutes total. Once the dough forms a ball around the dough hook, let the mixer run on medium speed for 7 full minutes, until the dough is consistently purple, smooth, and satiny and the sides of the bowl are clean.
6. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Working quickly to keep the blueberries frozen, divide the dough into six equal pieces, each weighing 135 g [about 4¾ oz] each. Dust the work surface with more flour only as needed. Shape the bagels using the Poke ’Em method even though they are sticky and difficult. Flour your hands only as needed. Make sure the center hole is large, because the dough will spring back with vigor. As the bagels are shaped, place them on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with cooking spray and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours and no more than 11 hours (Utah).
7. When ready to boil and bake, remove the bagels from the refrigerator and uncover, allowing them to come to room temperature while the oven heats and the water boils. Place a pizza stone, Baking Steel, or inverted baking sheet on the oven’s center rack and turn the oven to its highest temperature 500°F. Heat the oven for at least 30 minutes.
8. In the meantime, fill a 5 qt or larger pot with water and bring it to a hard boil. Place a 9 by 13 in piece of parchment on a pizza peel, large cutting board, or an inverted baking sheet and grease lightly with cooking spray. (You need be able to easily slide the bagel-laden parchment paper from this surface into the oven.)
9. The bagels will be slightly puffed from their overnight rise and the parchment paper will be very damp. Using scissors, cut the parchment into six squares, one around each bagel. Gently lift one bagel-topped square and drop it into the boiling water. The paper will release; use tongs to remove and discard it. Repeat with another one or two “bagels only if they fit in the pot without crowding. Using a slotted spoon or spider, gently flip the bagels over and over in the water until slightly puffed, about 60 seconds and no more than 90 seconds. Small blisters may appear on the surface.
10. Remove the bagels one by one and place right-side up on the parchment paper on the pizza peel. Repeat with the remaining bagels; six bagels will fit snugly on the parchment paper without touching.
11. Lower the oven temperature to 475°F. Slide the parchment paper with bagels directly onto the hot surface in the oven and bake until golden brown and freckled, 12 minutes (Utah). To remove the bagels from the oven, slide the parchment paper right onto the peel. Transfer on the paper to a wire rack to cool.