Our Daily Bread - Bialys
Incredibly soft tender bread with an aromatic onion center.
Our Daily Bread - Bialys
Makes 10
When I first started working at the bagel store, I’d never seen a bialy before but I was intrigued by the pale bread with a bready rim and thin center filled with rehydrated onions. I was even more intrigued that people would order it with cream cheese like a bagel. In my mind, it was a savory bread which you put butter on not necessarily cream cheese. When I tried one however, I understood. It wasn’t about what kind of bread the topping was spread on, it was about flavor and preference and specifically the creaminess of the cream cheese with the flavor of the onions. My bialys are very similar in flavor to the ones I worked with at the bagel store with a few differences. My onion filling is deeper in flavor to be more in contrast with the bread that surrounds it and my bialys have a thicker center because it is easier to cook that way at home. Serve your bialys with your favorite toppings, my own is toasted with a little butter with a slice of muenster cheese sandwiched in the center.
“Recipe Tips:
*1. I like to add the olive oil for a richer almost buttery hint to the dough however you can also use 30ml (2 T) vegetable oil and omit the olive oil. However, all olive oil is a little too strong for this dough in my opinion.”
Ingredients
Preferment
150ml (0.75 c) water
130g (1 c) whole wheat flour
Small pinch of yeast
Dough
390g (3 c) bread flour
15ml (1 T) vegetable oil
*15ml (1 T) extra virgin olive oil
9g (2.25 t) kosher salt
5g (1.25 t) instant yeast
180-200ml (0.75 c + 2 T - 1 c) water
Onion Filling
50g (0.50 c) fried onions
3g (1 t) black sesame seeds
0.50 t nigella seeds - optional
30ml (2 T) water
20ml (4 t) yondu
Finishing
Semolina or fine corn meal as needed
Method
Day 1
1. In a medium bowl with a lid combine the preferment ingredients mixing until there is no dry flour remaining.
Cover with the lid.
Allow to sit at room temperature overnight, 12 – 18 hours.
Day 2
2. In a large mixing bowl place the bread flour.
Make a well in the dough and add the preferment, salt, yeast, oil and a big splash of the water.
Mix to dissolve the salt and yeast.
Add 75% of the remaining water and mix into a dough.
Add the remaining water as necessary to make a medium-soft dough.
Place onto a clean work surface and knead with the slap and fold method for 7 minutes.
To slap and fold: place your hands at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock on the dough, lift up and turn a quarter turn (your hands will be at 3 and 9) “slap” the bottom of the dough against the work surface. Stretch the dough in your hands toward yourself and “fold” or “throw” the dough over the dough on the table. Quickly remove your hands from the dough and place your hands at 12 and 6 again and repeat for the time period listed.
Cover and ferment for 45 minutes.
Fold.
To fold: wet your dominant hand and loosen the dough from the bowl flipping the ball of dough over. Press out the dough to even out its thickness. Grab a grip of dough across from you, lift and stretch the dough out a few inches (or until you feel tension, you do not want the dough to tear) then fold it over the center. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this process, wetting your hand as necessary to prevent sticking, until you reach the point where you began. The dough should have formed a ball at this point. Flip the ball again, placing the “seams” of the dough on the bottom and tuck the dough together to make a ball.
Do not add flour during the folding.
Ferment for 45 minutes.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Divide the dough into 10 equal portions.
Preshape.
To preshape: similar to the fold, working one portion of dough at a time, place the dough on the board and flatten slightly. Starting at the section of dough across from you lift and bring the dough into center. Repeat bringing the edges into the center to make a ball. Flip the “seams” onto the board and repeat with a second portion of dough. Place a palm over each ball of dough and using a circular motion round the dough balls using your fingers to keep the balls round to make a tight ball.
Place each preshaped dough ball onto a lightly floured section of the surface.
Repeat until all dough has been preshaped.
Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap.
Save this plastic wrap to use later.
Rest for 20 minutes.
4. Place a sheet of parchment paper on two rimmed baking sheets.
Sprinkle with a light coating of semolina or corn meal on each sheet. Set aside until needed.
5. Lightly flour your finger tips.
Working with one portion of dough, lightly flour the top of the dough and press your fingers into the ball turning continually to make a border like when making pizza. Lift the dough into the air and gently pull underneath the border stretching to widen some and thin the center slightly. With the dough on the tips of your fingers gently pull from underneath into an 11.5cm (4.5 in) wide circle with a slightly thinner center.
Place the shaped bialy onto one of the baking sheets.
Repeat with the remaining dough placing 5 per baking sheet 5 - 8cm (2 – 3 in) apart.
Cover with oiled plastic wrap.
Allow to rise for 30 – 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
Continue on to Step 6 while the dough rises.
6. In a small bowl combine the fried onions, sesame seeds and nigella.
Add the yondu and water and stir well to coat.
Allow the onions to hydrate stirring every few minutes until needed.
The onions will absorb all the liquid.
7. Preheat the oven to 220 C / 430 F.
8. Discard the plastic covering the bialys.
Evenly divide the onion mixture placing it in the centers of the bialys and pressing down slightly.
Bake for 10 minutes.
The internal temperature of a cooked bialy when tested with an instant read thermometer should register 94 C / 200 F.
The bialys may not take on much color.
Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.
9. Slice and serve.
