Onion Bialys

Bialys came to the United States from Bialystok, Poland, and they are sometimes known as Bialystok Kuchen.  In the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to American and settled in New York City.  They brought with them their taste and recipes for bialys. A bialy is similar to a bagel, in that it is a round, chewy roll.  But it is unlike a bagel in two important ways:  One, it does not have a hole in the middle, but a depression; Two, bagels are boiled and bialys are baked.

Bialys were a specialty of early 20th-century bakeries in Bialystock, Poland. I imagine that they came about the same way that pizza did in Italy. Excess bread dough was pressed into a convenient shape for eating out of hand and topped with the locals' favorite vegetable – onions.

The indentation in the middle of the dough is filled with onion, garlic, or poppy seeds.  And the bialy has a very short shelf like, about 6 hours - it tastes the best when hot out of oven. 

RecipeSource: Gayathriscookspot
Country: Poland

Ingredients:

Flour / maida – 2 cups

Instant Yeast – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 2/3 cup + 2 tsp

Onion -3

Oil – 2 tbs

Method:

• In a bowl mix together flour, salt and yeast.
• Add water and make a smooth dough.
• Transfer to counter and knead the dough for 8 – 10 minutes.
• Place in a well oiled bowl and cover with a cling wrap.
• Allow it to rise for one hour.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
• Roll each portion into a tight ball and place on a tray.
• Cover and set aside for one more hour.
• In a pan, add oil and sauté onions until nicely browned.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and allow it to cool.
• Shape the balls into discs with a thick outer edge.
• Place on a greased baking tray.
• Pinch the dough inside the thick edge with scissors to keep it from puffing.
• Fill the depression with the caramelized onion mixture.
• Cover and set aside for 10 -1 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 250 C.
• Give a milk wash to the bialys and bake in oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
• Serve it hot out of oven.

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