Bialy Recipe and Pictures

Oops! Meant to post the pictures on Monday night. Better late than never!
The bialy's turned out great. Light and airy with just a touch of chewiness to them. We couldn't resist ourselves and split one while it was still warm, slathered on some butter and devoured it.

The remaining ones will be breakfast the rest of the week. It's gonna be a good week.

These are the bialy's before they were baked.

These are the bialy's just after I took them out of the oven. Don't they look good enough to eat?

I did make two changes to the original recipe. First, I reduced the quantity from 2 dozen to 1 dozen. This produced a nice sized bialy. Making 2 dozen made ones that were too small for me. Second, even though it's still listed in the ingredients, I omitted the salt from the topping. I simply didn't care for it as I'm used to just having the onion and poppy seed taste.

The only other thing I would add is that during the step where you make the indentation in the center, be sure you press down firmly. I gave it a nice push but as you can see in the pictures, it puffed back up. You want a nice flat center so the poppy seeds and onion have a little nest to sit in when they are baked.

Now, go make yourself some bialy's.

Bialy recipe - Makes one dozen

Filling:
2 tablespoons onion flakes
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt

Dough:
4½ cups bread or all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package dry yeast
1¾ cups hot water (about 110 degrees F)
1 baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal or covered with parchment paper

To make the filling, soak the onion flakes in water for about 2 hours. Drain and press out the water with a paper towel. If the onion flakes are coarse, mince fine in a food processor or blender. Combine in a bowl with the poppy seeds, oil, and salt, and set aside.

To make the dough, measure 3 cups flour into the mixing or mixer bowl and add the dry ingredients. Stir to blend. Form a well in the flour and pour in the hot water. With a wooden spoon pull the flour from the sides into the middle and beat until a medium batter. If using a mixer, attach the flat beater and, with the machine running, pour in the hot water. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the batter becomes a rough but elastic dough. Attach the dough hook, if using the mixer.

Turn the dough from the mixing bowl and knead with strong push turn-fold strokes; crash the dough down against the work surface occasionally to help develop the gluten. If the dough is sticky, dust with sprinkles of flour. If under the dough hook, the dough will clean the sides of the mixer bowl and form a ball around the hook. If it persists in sticking to the sides, add small portions of flour while the mixer is running. Knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic when stretched.

FIRST RISING: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to double in volume at room temperature, about 1 hour.

SECOND RISING: With your fingers or fist punch down the dough, re-cover, and let double in volume again, about 45 minutes.

SHAPING: Take the dough from the bowl and divide into 4 equal parts. Divide each part into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball under a cupped palm. Let the balls rest for 10 minutes under a length of wax paper or a cloth.

With hard blows of your palm or under a rolling pin, shape each ball into a 4 inch circle, about ½ inch thick. Place on the prepared pan.

THIRD RISING: Cover the circles with wax or parchment paper and put aside to rise to slightly less than double, 30 minutes. A baker would say "three-quarter proof."

FILLING: With care not to deflate the outer part of the bialy, push a deep depression in the center with the thumbs. Stretch the dough uniformly outward until the well is at least 1½ inches across, and thin on the bottom. Place about ½ teaspoon of the onion filling in the well.

FOURTH RISING: Cover the bialys with wax paper and allow them to rise until almost doubled, about 25 minutes.

While the bialy’s are rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F 20 minutes before baking.

BAKING: Place the bialys on the middle shelf of the hot oven and bake until a light brown, about 15 minutes. Place the baked bialys on a metal rack to cool.