Classic Homemade Bialys Recipes

CLASSIC HOMEMADE BIALYS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Let the onion cool and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, wheat gluten, if using, salt, yeast, and onion powder. Add all but about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the filling to the flour mixture and stir with a whisk to blend thoroughly.
• Put the remaining onion in a small container; cover and refrigerate.
• Add the water to the dry ingredients and mix with the dough hook for 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust the amount of water as needed. The dough should be slightly sticky. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
• Knead the dough with the dough hook for 8 minutes. Move the dough to a greased bowl; turn to grease all sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator and separate into 8 portions. Each will weigh about 3 3/4 to 4 ounces. Alternatively, separate into ten 3-ounce portions for smaller bialys. Shape the dough pieces into smooth balls and place them on a greased baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise for 1 hour.
• Sprinkle two baking sheets with cornmeal.
• Shape the balls into disks about 5 inches in diameter while pressing the centers firmly where a hole would be in a bagel. But don't make a hole-you just want a good indentation for the filling. Place them on the prepared baking sheets.
• Heat the oven to 450 F.
• Take the onion mixture out of the refrigerator and add the poppy seeds, pepper, and a dash of salt.
• Brush the bialys lightly with the cream or milk (or oil). This helps them brown, but is not essential.
• Fill the indentations with about 1 teaspoon of the filling.
• Bake the bialys for 11 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

BIALYS

Steps:

• Combine bread flour, yeast, salt, and water for dough in a bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon and mix until a very wet, soft, and sticky dough forms. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
• When ready to make the bialys, heat olive oil for filling in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until onion softens, sweetens, and turns golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, green onion, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and cool down until needed.
• Uncover dough; it should be bubbly. Scrape it away from the sides of the bowl with a spatula and transfer onto a floured work surface. Dust a little flour over top and gently press dough with your hands to flatten. Divide it into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball, using a bit of flour as needed. Stretch each ball gently and tuck dough under the bottom; place on a baking sheet lined with generously floured parchment paper or a silicone liner (such as Silpat®). Dust the tops with flour and carefully cover with a dish towel; let proof until just about doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Flour your fingers and pick up one dough ball. Press and pull on the center to form it into a ring shape; the center of the dough will be thin and the edges will be thicker. Make sure the centers are very thin but be careful not to tear them open. Repeat with remaining balls.
• Fill the center of each with no more than a rounded teaspoon of onion-poppy seed filling, then gently press the filling up the sides toward the outer rings. (You will have extra filling.) Spray bialys with some cold water and sprinkle poppy seeds over top.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until puffed and nicely browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

ANA'S NY BIALYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Turn off and keep door closed to retain warmth.
• Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, 7 to 12 minutes.
• Mix all-purpose flour, bread flour, vital wheat gluten, and 2 1/2 teaspoons salt in another bowl; add to yeast mixture. Combine remaining 1 1/4 cup warm water with onion juice; pour over flour and yeast mixture. Stir together until a dough forms.
• Knead dough on a floured work surface until soft and smooth, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it in a lightly-oiled glass or ceramic bowl, turning to oil all sides. Cover with a towel. Place dough in warm oven until it triples in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch dough down and turn it over. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the oven again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes more.
• Punch dough down again and transfer to a floured work surface. Divide into 2 equal cylinders. Slice each cylinder into 8 rounds. Lay them flat and let rest, covered with a towel, about 10 minutes.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in poppy seeds and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let filling cool to room temperature.
• Flatten the dough into rounds about 3 1/2-inches in diameter with a raised middle and thinner edge. Sprinkle cornmeal lightly over 2 baking sheets. Arrange dough rounds on baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until increased by half, about 30 minutes.
• Center oven rack and preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Press the bottom of a greased shot glass in the center of each round to make a deep indentation. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of filling in each indentation. Cover with plastic wrap and let bialys rise until puffy but not doubled, about 15 minutes.
• Bake bialys in the preheated oven until lightly browned, rotating the baking sheets so they brown evenly, about 15 minutes.