NY Style Blueberry Bagels

“the perfect breakfast comes in the shape of a bagel with the blueberry flavor”

For the love of breakfast pastry goodies, today we’re cooking the popular NY style bagels with blueberries as the main ingredient. If you’re looking for more ideas along this line, you can also check the delicious faux cronuts recipe I recently posted.

Did you know that the main difference between the bagels in NY and Montreal is that in Montreal the bagels are boiled in water sweetened with honey, while the New Yorkers claim it’s their water quality that makes the bagels so specific?  Now, I thought about which style would be better for my recipe, and although I’ll be making a sweet bagel breakfast recipe I thought the Montreal style would be a bit too much. The more neutral quality of the NY style dough would fit perfectly with the sweet, yet slightly acidic taste of the blueberries. Plus, let’s face it, it’s hard to find someone who has something against the New York bagels. So, for the souls that like their breakfast sweet, let’s make some NY style blueberry bagels.

To make this recipe, you’ll need a large saucepan, one big mixing bowl, and another regular mixing bowl, baking tray, parchment paper, and the ingredients listed below. The total time for making NY style blueberry bagels is around 3 hours because you need to wait for the dough to rise, so organize your time accordingly. You can also make the bagels the night before and eat them the next morning.

The whole recipe is really straightforward and easy-to-follow. The first step is to make the bagel dough. Take a large mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast. As you can see in the ingredients’ list I recommend using instant yeast because you can whisk it directly with the other dry ingredients. However, if you’re using active dry or another type of yeast, follow the instructions on the package. Active dry yeast, for example, needs to be dissolved in water before using it.

Once the ingredients are combined, start adding water slowly. To make a smooth and elastic dough you’ll probably need around 2 cups of water (room temperature), but don’t let the amount of water confuse you. Start with a very low amount of water and add more as you beat the batter, so you can feel and control the consistency. Finally, add the blueberries and continue to beat until they’re mixed within the dough. After this, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 5 to 7 minutes. The final result should be a dense, yet soft and elastic dough. Grease a bowl and place the dough in it. Cover it with foil and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour. During this time it should double its size. However, after an hour if it still hasn’t risen enough, wait for 15 to 30 minutes more.

Once the dough is ready, cut it into 7 to 9 tennis or baseball sized balls. Roll each ball to make a circle and make a hole in the center to form the shape of a bagel. Keep in mind that bagels are usually 3,5 to 4 inches in diameter, so try not to make them too big or thin.

Take a large saucepan and boil water over high heat. Once the water starts bubbling, you can start boiling the bagels. Boil each bagel separately, typically 4 minutes for each bagel.

While the bagels are being boiled, you can preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Another thing you can do while the bagels are being boiled is to line the baking sheet with parchment paper and then grease it with cooking oil or butter.

After you finish boiling the bagels, line them in the baking sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle nutmeg all over them. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

During this time, you can make the filling. Of course, you can totally skip this step and eat the bagels with a glass of warm milk or orange juice, but personally, I believe the strawberry filling is extremely delicious and fits perfectly inside the blueberry bagel. Plus, it’s really easy to make.

First, take 5 strawberries and crush them in a mixing bowl until you get a juicy puree. Then, add the rest of the ingredients for the filling – the cream cheese, sugar, and heavy cream. Whisk until you get a creamy, soft-pink filling. Take the other 5 strawberries, cut them into small pieces, and add them in the filling. Stir one more time, then place the filling in the fridge to cool while the bagels are baking.

When cooking is complete, take the bagels out and let them cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Before serving them cut each bagel horizontally and spread the filling on the inside of each bagel. Stick the two pieces back together and serve with coffee, juice, milk, or fresh fruit, the choice is yours.

Now I know I’ve said multiple times that this NY style blueberry bagel recipe is the perfect breakfast, but you can also make it as a tasty dessert for your friends and family or for any special occasion. You can’t go wrong with the bagels because everyone will lick their fingers and thank you more than once! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ oz instant yeast
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp butter (melted)
• 2 tbsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt

For the filling: 

• 4 oz (115g) cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 10 strawberries
• ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Take a large mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast. When the ingredients are well-combined, start adding a little water. You’ll need around 2 cups of water. Add 1 cup first, and after you make the dough, see how much more you’ll need to get it to be soft and elastic.
• After adding 1 cup of water, fold in the blueberries and beat it until they’re well mixed.
• Place the dough on a board and knead for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and there are no lumps.
• Grease a bowl with butter or cooking oil and place the dough in it. Cover it with foil and let it rest for 1 hour. After one hour, the size should be doubled.
• Take the dough and divide it into 7-9 tennis size balls.
• Roll each ball into a thick circle and make a hole in the middle to form the bagel shape. Make sure you don’t make the circles to big and thin. Bagels are typically 3.5 to 4 inches.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
• Take a large saucepan and boil water over high heat.
• When the water starts bubbling, boil each bagel for 4 minutes, separately.
• Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
• Place the bagels on the baking sheet. Brush each bagel with the melted butter and sprinkle nutmeg.
• Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes.
• While the bagels are baking, make the filling.
• Take 5 strawberries, place them in a larger bowl, and crush them until you get a juicy puree.
• Whisk in the cream cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Mix until you get a creamy soft-pink filling.
• Cut the remaining 5 strawberries into small pieces and add them into the filling. Mix one more time, then place the filling in the fridge.
• When cooking is complete, take the bagels out and let them cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
• Cut each bagel horizontally into two pieces. Spread the filling on the inside of one of the bagel pieces then stick the pieces together.
• Serve and enjoy!