So, Memphis has a lot of donut places, a lot of stand alone donut shops. Back in Michigan, we had that with bagel shops. There was one shop by us that my family basically kept in business, because we were there multiple times a week. When we all moved away it went out of business and now we’re all incredibly sad when we go back home. But I love bagels, so this week, I made some blackberry bagels.
This is in honor of blackberry season. Seriously, our farmer’s market is full of them right now. So full that blackberries is the new theme of this blog for a little while because I bought two quarts of blackberries.
As a base I used a recipe by Sophisticated Gourmet, and made it full of blackberries, cut the salt, and added just a bit more sugar to bring out the flavor some more.
Now, I’m still a slight novice at properly kneading which is why they have some splits happening, but they are delicious none-the-less. They’re nice and chewy with a soft bready center. And honestly they’re not hard to make.
First you boil a cup and a half of mashed up blackberries (measure them while mashed not while whole). This helps release more of the juices and bring out the flavor.
Then you combine all the ingredients, knead for 10 minutes until it’s all combined and a nice pinky/purple, and you cover and rise it for an hour until double
Then you shape them into bagels (roll the dough into 6 balls, then take your finger and poke a hole and stretch it). Cover them with a damp towel for 10 minutes while you boil water and preheat the oven.
Then you boil them for 90 seconds each side to get that nice chewy bagely texture
Bake for 20 minutes and boom. Suddenly your blackberry bagels are a delightful purple color, full of blackberry flavor and deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup mashed blackberries and their juices (measure them mashed not whole)
- 3 1/2 cup bread flour
- 2 tsp yeast (dry active or instant)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- up to 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- In a sauce pan bring the mashed blackberries to a boil for 1 minute, while stirring, to help release the flavors and juices. Allow to cool until they're just warm to the touch.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the boiled blueberries and mix the dough until it comes together. Then knead for 10 minutes until smooth. If needed, add up to 1/4 cup of water to help the dough soften.
- Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover, allow to rise in a warm place for an hour until doubled in size.
- Begin to bring a large pot of water to a boil, and preheat the oven to 400F.
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces, and roll each into a ball. Gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about 1/3 the diameter of the bagel for each piece. Cover the formed bagels with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Place as many bagels as can comfortably float in the boiling water and boil for 90 seconds. Then flip and allow to boil for another 90 seconds.
- Place the boiled bagels on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until a light crust forms on the top of each bagel. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes then enjoy!
