Sourdough Blueberry Bagels (Fermented Overnight)

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These Sourdough Blueberry Bagels are soft, chewy, and bursting with berries.
Long-fermented overnight for rich flavor, they’re everything you love about New York–style bagels—made at home with real sourdough. Dehydrated blueberries keep the crumb light and tender, while delivering the perfect sweet-tart bite in every slice.

A delicious homemade bake for weekend brunch, lunchboxes, or breakfast on the go!
You’ll also love these Overnight Raspberry Sourdough Muffins—another favorite fermented sourdough breakfast recipe.

What Makes Bagels “New York” Style?

That authentic New York bagel flavor starts with a long ferment—an overnight rise that gives the dough incredible, complex flavor. A cold-retard in the fridge for up to two days, builds the signature taste you’d find in a classic bagel shop.

There are two styles of bagels: softer steamed versions, and the iconic chewy bagels that are boiled in alkalized water before baking. New York–style bagels fall firmly in the second camp—dense, chewy, and deeply flavorful.

Many bagel shops use high-gluten flour (up to 14%) and malt syrup or barley syrup for that traditional touch. But don’t worry—this recipe works beautifully with bread flour or even unbleached all-purpose flour. You can also substitute honey or brown sugar if you don’t have malt syrup on hand.

As Peter Reinhart says, “your mission as a bread baker is to evoke the fullness of flavor from the wheat.” And that’s exactly what a slow, cold ferment helps us do.

Why You Should Save This Recipe

• Naturally leavened sourdough blueberry bagels — a fermented sourdough bread recipe with just a small pinch of yeast for extra rise.
• Overnight sourdough bagels — with an extended cold retard (up to 2 days) for maximum flavor and flexible timing.
• Freezer-friendly — slice, freeze, and pop them straight into the toaster for easy, buttery breakfasts anytime.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Simple ingredients — but they come together to make the very best sourdough blueberry bagels.

For the Levain:
This recipe starts with a large levain — about 5 cups of bubbly goodness — which gives the bagels their depth of flavor.

• Sourdough starter: Use active sourdough starter.
• All-purpose flour: Mixed with the starter and water to build the levain.
• Water: Just enough to create a loose, bubbly sponge.

For the Dough:

• Instant yeast: Adds an extra boost of rise alongside the natural fermentation.
• Bread flour: Look for the highest-protein flour you can find. (Tip: local bagel shops often sell their bagel flour if you ask!)
  In a pinch, all-purpose flour will work too.
• Malt powder: Available on Amazon — here’s a link to a great brand I like to use. Anthony’s Diastatic Dry Malt Powder
  No malt? You can sub with honey or brown sugar. The bagels will still turn out beautifully.
• Cornmeal: For dusting your baking sheets — it prevents sticking and gives that signature bakery-style bottom crust.
• Dehydrated blueberries: I highly recommend taking the time to dehydrate fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. It concentrates the flavor and prevents excess moisture in the dough — which means no soggy spots or purple bagels! I love my convection toaster oven/air fryer for this; it’s super fast.
  If you absolutely must use fresh or frozen blueberries, be sure to thaw and drain them first. Just know the results won’t be quite the same — so if your bagels turn out blue, please don’t hold me accountable!

How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Bagels

Here’s a quick step-by-step photo overview of how to make these overnight sourdough bagels; the full instructions and quantities are in the recipe card below.

They come together beautifully with just a little time and a bit of patience — the process is simple once you get started. Let’s walk through it:

1–2. Prepare the levain.
Mix your sourdough starter, water, and flour to create a large, bubbly levain. After it ferments, stir in the instant yeast for a little extra rise insurance.

3–4. Make the dough and add blueberries.
Knead the dough until strong and elastic (look for the windowpane!). Then roll it out, sprinkle with dehydrated blueberries, and roll it back up — this helps distribute the berries evenly.

5–6. Rest and divide the dough.
After resting the dough, divide it into pieces for standard or mini bagels. I usually divide into 12 bagels. You’ll see those beautiful blueberry pockets in every slice.

7. Shape the bagels.
Shape each piece into a classic bagel ring — you can use the thumb poke method or the rope method (see the photos for both options).

8. Proof the bagels.
Let the bagels proof on parchment-lined sheets. Once they pass the float test, transfer them to the fridge to cold proof overnight or up to two days — this is where the magic happens and the flavor deepens.

9–10. Boil the bagels.
Boil each bagel briefly in water alkalized with baking soda — this gives them that signature chewy New York-style crust.

11. Bake.
Bake until puffed and golden. Let cool slightly (the hardest part!), then enjoy.

Tips for Bakery-Style Bagels

• Use an oil sprayer. I highly recommend getting a simple oil sprayer, like this. You can use your own healthy oils and avoid processed sprays with additives. It’s handy for all your sourdough baking—not just these bagels.
• Spray and prep your surfaces. Use your oil sprayer to coat the parchment on your baking sheets lightly. Also, do the tops of the bagels and the side of the plastic wrap that will be touching them to prevent sticking. After boiling, spray the parchment and sprinkle with cornmeal before placing the wet bagels on the tray.
• Always do the float test. After shaping, float a bagel in water before placing the trays in the fridge to cold-proof. This ensures fermentation is active—important because cold temperatures will slow it way down. The added instant yeast helps, too!
• Handle gently. Be gentle when moving and shaping the bagels so you don’t deflate them. They’re sturdy, but a light hand helps them stay nice and plump.

Recipe FAQs

Storage, Freezing & Reheating

• Storing:
  Sourdough blueberry bagels are best enjoyed the day they’re baked, but they keep well! Store leftover bagels at room temperature in a paper bag or bread bag for 1–2 days. For longer storage, freeze.
• Freezing:
  These bagels freeze beautifully. I like to pre-slice the bagels before freezing—this way you can grab one straight from the freezer and pop it right into the toaster or toaster oven. To freeze, cool the bagels completely, slice, and place in a freezer bag with parchment between layers. Freeze for up to 2–3 months.
• Reheating:
  Toast frozen bagels straight from the freezer for the best texture—no need to thaw. For room-temperature bagels, a quick toast will revive that perfect chewy crust and soft interior.

📌 Save this Sourdough Blueberry Bagels recipe to Pinterest so you can find it later! ⬇️

More Sourdough Breakfast Recipes

Check out my entire sourdough breakfast category here for tons of sourdough breakfast recipes!

• Healthy Sourdough Cottage Cheese Pancakes
• 6-Egg Sourdough Dutch Baby (German Pancakes)
• Overnight Sourdough Muffins
• The Best Sourdough Discard Scones

Sourdough Blueberry Bagels (Fermented Overnight)

Alicia Pyle

Soft, chewy sourdough blueberry bagels made with dried blueberries and a long overnight ferment for unbeatable flavor. Perfect for slicing, toasting, and enjoying any time of day!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Fermentation Time (overnight or up to two days) 14 hours hrs

Total Time 16 hours hrs 33 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 bagels

Calories 480 kcal

Equipment

• 2 Baking sheets
• parchment paper
• plastic wrap

Ingredients

  

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For the Dehydrated Blueberries

• 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or 2 cups of dehydrated blueberries (if using store-bought or pre-dried)

Sourdough Starter Levain

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups water

For The Bagel Dough

• 1½ teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2¾ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon of honey or brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda for alkalizing the boiling water
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal for dusting sheets

Instructions

 

Step 1: Dehydrate the blueberries

• Spread frozen blueberries (5 cups) in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet—do not stack. Place in a convection oven or regular oven at 225°F for 2–5 hours. The berries are ready when most juices have evaporated and they feel mostly dry to the touch. This prevents soggy dough and keeps your bagels from turning purple. If you have dehydrated blueberries on hand you can skip this step.

Step 2: Prepare the levain

• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together ½ cup sourdough starter, 2 cups all-purpose flour, and 2 cups water to form the levain. Cover the bowl and let it ferment at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until it is bubbly and active. This large levain (about 5 cups when bubbly) will replace the sponge typically used in non-sourdough bagel recipes—an adaptation inspired by Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice.
• When bubbly, you will proceed to make the dough by adding the remaining ingredients.

Step 3: Make the dough

• Add instant yeast to the levain and stir. Add 3 cups of bread flour, salt, and malt powder (or honey or brown sugar). Mix by hand or on low speed with a dough hook until the ingredients form a cohesive ball. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of flour to stiffen the dough.

Step 4: Knead the dough

• Transfer the dough to a clean counter. If kneading by hand, knead 10–15 minutes until the dough passes the windowpane test (stretch a small piece—if you can stretch it thin enough to see light through without tearing, it’s ready). If using a mixer, knead about 5 minutes. The dough should be pliable and smooth.

Step 5: Add the blueberries

• Press or roll the dough into a flat rectangle. Sprinkle the dehydrated blueberries evenly over the surface. Roll the dough up tightly, as you would for cinnamon rolls. Shape into a ball, cover with a towel, and let rest for about 20 minutes.

Step 6: Divide the dough

• Divide the dough into ~4½-ounce pieces for standard bagels or smaller pieces for mini bagels. Shape each piece into a tight ball. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Step 7: Prepare the baking sheets

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly mist with spray oil. (I like to use an oil sprayer like this one).

Step 8: Shape the bagels

• Choose your shaping method:
• Thumb method: Poke a hole through the center of each ball with your thumb. Rotate to widen the hole to about 2½ inches across, keeping the shape even.
• Rope method (preferred): Roll each ball into an 8-inch rope. If the dough resists, roll partway, rest 3 minutes, and continue. Wrap the rope around your hand to form a circle, overlap the ends by an inch or two, and seal by rocking on the counter.

Step 9: Proof the bagels

• Place the shaped bagels on the prepared baking sheets. Mist lightly with oil. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Step 10: Float test

• Fill a small bowl with cool water. Drop one bagel in: if it floats within 10 seconds, they are ready for cold retard. If not, proof at room temperature for 10–20 more minutes and test again.
• When ready, pat the tester dry and cover the pans loosely with plastic, leaving room for rising. Place in the fridge overnight (or up to 2 days).

Step 11: Prepare to bake

• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 500°F with two racks positioned in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add baking soda.

Step 12: Boil the bagels

• Remove bagels from the fridge. Gently drop them into the boiling water, cooking only as many as fit comfortably. They should float within 10 seconds. Boil for 1 minute per side.
• While bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheets with cornmeal. Transfer boiled bagels to the sheets.

Step 13: Bake the bagels

• Place pans on the middle oven racks. Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate pans (switch racks and rotate 180°). Reduce temperature to 450°F and bake for an additional 10–13 minutes, until bagels are light golden brown.

Step 14: Cool

• Remove pans from the oven and let bagels cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Notes:
For Cinnamon Raisin Bagels:

• Omit blueberries. Increase yeast in final dough to 2 tsp.
• Add 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon + 5 Tbsp granulated sugar to the final dough.
• Rinse 2 cups raisins in warm water and add during the last 2 minutes of mixing.
• After baking, brush bagels with melted butter and dip in cinnamon sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 102gProtein: 10gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 828mgPotassium: 582mgFiber: 10gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.004mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 3mg

Keyword overnight sourdough bagels, sourdough blueberry bagels

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