# Bialys



## PieSusan (Nov 18, 2008)

Think of these as a Jewish English Muffin. MMMMMMMMM great toasted with cream cheese. They are a bit time consuming because of all the rising but are not really that much work and they bake quickly. My sole issue with them is that if you use all the salt in the recipe, they will be a bit salty for my taste. Bialy's are served toasted with cream cheese.

Bialys
Based upon a recipe From Secrets of a Jewish Baker, George Greenstein 
(George Greenstein really is amazing. I was sorry that his baking book got lost in the shuffle when one publishing company bought out another. He just was too tired to rework the book anymore. He is retired and friends with an e-friend of mine. I hear the nicest things about him.)
Makes 18 bialys

                         BIALYS
Ingredients:
2 Cups warm water
3 Packages active dry yeast
4 Teaspoons sugar
3 Teaspoons salt (or less--I prefer less salt in bread)
6 Cups bread flour -- (6 to 6 1/2)
Flour for dusting (preferably rye flour -- For Added Flavor)
Oil -- for greasing bowl

Topping ingredients:

3 Tablespoons minced onion (use fresh, not dried)
2 Teaspoons poppy seeds (make sure they are not rancid)
1 Teaspoon vegetable oil
1 Pinch salt

Directions:
Combine the minced onion, poppy seeds, vegetable oil, and salt and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water to soften and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the sugar, 6 cups of bread flour, and salt.  Hold back the last half cup of bread flour because you may or may not need it. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until a dough forms and comes away from the sides of the mixing bowl. 

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes. You may have to add small amounts of flour. 

Shape the dough into a large ball and place in a another large bowl that has been oiled and turn the dough to coat it in oil. Cover the dough and allow it rise for half an hour. Then, punch down the dough and press out all of the air with your fingers and allow the dough to rise again until doubled in size. This will take between 20-30 minutes.

Punch down the dough again, divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece out under your palms into ropes. Cut each rope into 6 equal pieces of dough.  Roll each piece into balls. Cover each small dough ball and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out each ball of dough into a 3-1/2" circle. If the dough becomes too stiff or shrinks back, allow it to rest and go on to the next piece. This dough is pretty easy to work with so it shouldn't be a problem.

Evenly space the circles on 2 floured or cornmeal dusted baking pans that have been lined with parchment paper. Cover with flour rubbed cloths and allow the bialys to rise until puffy. Make an indentation from the center outward, leaving a 1-inch rim. I used a shot glass with a 1" bottom to do this and I pressed with a circular motion. Place a bit of the reserved topping into the hole you have just created. Dust lightly with reserved bread flour. Cover with cloths and allow to proof again until puffed up.

Bake without steam in a preheated 450 deg F oven for 15-20 minutes. Make 18 bialys


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## DramaQueen (Nov 18, 2008)

*I LOVE Bialys. When living in the Detroit area my husband and I used to just about live on those things. We had some wonderful Jewish bakeries the the area and they made awesome bialys. Sigh. Vegas just doen't get the Jewish bakery thing. *

*If you can't get them then this recipe is worth making.*


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 18, 2008)

Non-baker that I usually am, I'm not sure if I'll ever be brave enough to try these, but I HAVE wholeheartedly missed Bialys since moving to VA from NY 14 years ago.  We can sort of get fairly decent bagels these days, but Bialys?  Nada.


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## CharlieD (Nov 18, 2008)

Any pictures? Here, not even bagels, well, not kosher bagels.


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## GB (Nov 18, 2008)

Man i love bialys. I have never had a good one outside of NY or NJ. i swear it has something to do with the water there. I even heard of one bagel maker who had a shop in NY. He moved to CA and wanted to open a new bagel shop. He could not make the same bagels or bialys. He started trucking in NY water and that seemed to work for him, but was cost prohibitive so he had to stop. 

Like Breezy, I am no baker so I doubt that I would ever attempt this recipe, but I hope that maybe some people who have never tried a bialy try this recipe and fall in love with them. They are truly amazing. I like mine toasted with butter and en extra bit of butter on the miced onion in the center.


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 18, 2008)

That's exactly my favorite way to enjoy them too GB!


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## PieSusan (Nov 19, 2008)

Sorry no pix but I can assure everyone that although the recipe is a bit time consuming waiting for the rises, bialys are very easy to make and a lot of fun. On a cold snowy day when you are stuck in the house given them a try. They freeze well.


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