“Bialy”, a Yiddish word short for “Bialystoker Kuchen”, from Białystok, a city in Poland, is a small roll that is a traditional dish in Polish cuisine. A bialy, is a chewy yeast roll a bit like a bagel. Unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, these chewy cousins of the bagel, are simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle they have a depression. Before baking, the depressions are filled with diced onions and other ingredients, including garlic, poppy seeds, coarse salt, bread crumbs, or chopped olives.
The recipe calls for the preparation of a yeast dough with bread flour, yeast, malt extract, vegetable shortening, minced onion and black pepper. Once the dough is ready for baking, you will have to shape it into rounds and flatten the center to create rims. The depressions will be filled with a topping of sautéed onions, poppy seeds and black pepper.
This east European cousin of the bagel is a chewy, oniony delight.
If you happen to own a copy of "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan, you will find the recipe for these delicious Onion Bialys on pages 90-92.
To see an array of Onion Bialys, baked by the other members of the Tuesdays with Dorie group, please click here.
The european cousin of the onion bagel looks amazing dear Andrea!! Served with a little bit of crème fraiche on top, this must be carb heaven :) Love it!!
ReplyDeletexox Amy
Dear Amy , carb heaven indeed - well said! I had never heard of "bialys" only know bagels but the recipe sounded too good not to try and I am glad I did - will certainly try to bake them again soon.
DeleteLiebe Grüße in die Schweiz!
Wow amazing! Its so wonderful to see how the dishes are made in different parts of the world and yet can have the pleasure to bake them at home….
ReplyDeleteThank you very much - this was a fun baking project for the Tuesdays with Dorie group and we really enjoyed the outcome!
DeleteI'm loving these onion bialys, it's a bread that I've never heard of before. The onion and poppy seed filling just elevates them to an entirely different level of deliciousness :) I'm already obsessed with bagels so I can tell that I will love these. Yum! x
ReplyDeleteLaura, these were new to me as well - I have never seen "bialys" sold anywhere around here but they are really nice and flavorful and were well received whne I baked them yesterday.
DeleteOh Andrea, how did you get your depressions to stay so large?!! This is how I would have preferred them to turn out; though they still were delicious. I spread the dough very thin, and pricked several holes, and still they closed up quite a bit. I wonder if it was from using butter instead of shortening. Hmm. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteCathleen, the depression...well, I pricked the heck out of the dough in the middle before baking and while baking - they had puffed up so much in the middle after ten minutes in the oven, that I decided to dock them again and again - that kind of did the trick I guess.
DeleteYour bialys look beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteI only knew bagels before making this recipe, and I don't regret!
Definitely a keeper!!
Absolutely, meli melo, this recipe is a keeper indeed! I had never heard of bialys before either only bagels but we really enjoyed these two and I plan on making them again. Thank you for the nice comment!
DeleteLooks like you really nailed the depression. The bialys look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSunita, thank you very much - the depression, yes, I just pricked and pricked the dough and tried to pull the dough apart as much as possible - it seemed to have worked. In any case, we loved them and I am glad that I prepared this recipe!
DeleteThe lighting looks so warm in Germany! Can't believe you got outdoor photos. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Connecticut, USA, where we are battening down the hatches in preparation for yet another snowstorm tonight...
Dear Tammy, we heard about the extreme weather conditions in the States - hope you are all safe and sound! We did have sunshine and balmy weather on Tuesday - way too warm for this time of year but no one is complaining. Thank you for the comment and stay warm!
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These look incredible! lovely lovely flavors
ReplyDeleteMary x
Thank you very much, Mary! My taste testers were quite pleased with these!
DeleteI love your post Andrea! They look so delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria - not too much energy today, so a short post and no translation but I enjoyed working my way through the recipe!
DeleteBeautiful pics! I always love to see your photos. This was a great recipe, that I will definitely try again.
ReplyDeleteSandra, thank you - I think we all agreed on this one - a recipe that all of us really liked. So nice that you commented on my pictures!
DeleteI've never seen these lush delights before, Andrea.
ReplyDeleteI love coming on your picnics w/ you! Xx
Kim, the weather forecast calls for 17 degrees Celsius and sunshine on Sunday, maybe I should bake some more of these and actually have a picnic - it might be just warm enough for some outdoor dining...thank you for the lovely comment!
DeleteYou did a terrific job with the bialys…they look like they came from a professional kitchen. I hope you are taking it slow, not doing too much and feeling stronger each day.
ReplyDeleteKaren, thank you for your kind words - when I made these, I was glad that the recipe was straightforward and not too difficult or time consuming - these bialys actually tasted wonderful. I am always happy to try out new recipes.
DeleteI have never heard of bialys...but from your description, chewy like bagel, I already know that I will like this...and yes, onion sounds and looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI sure would love to savor this slowly and enjoy every simple bite of it...yum!
Thanks for teaching me something new...hope you are having a fabulous week Andrea :D
Juliana, these were a first for us as well and we were all delighted with the delicious results - the onions and the poppy seeds were a wonderful topping - I certainly hope I will find the time to make these again soon.
DeleteAndrea, these look wonderful. We used to have a little shop called bagels and bialys. It was so good but I haven't even heard of bialys for years. Love the onion filling - very yummy!
ReplyDeleteChris, these bialys were a first for us - no such things to be found at bakeries around here at all - we loved them and I am glad that this recipe worked out so well - worth making again, that´s for sure.
DeleteI don't think I've ever tasted a bialy. Bagels, yes. Yours look delicious, Andrea. You are a professional baker, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteMary, do know about being a professional baker - but these came out nicely, although I had never even seen them before, let alone heard about them!
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