Artisan Bread Baking

Bialys are the “other” traditional Jewish weekend bread. They originated, according to George Greenstein, as Bialystocker bagels, in Bialystock, Poland. I don’t know if this is correct or not. This recipe is loosely based on one from “Secrets of a Jewish Baker,” by George Greenstein. I prefer bialys to bagels, mostly because they are easy to make and taste so good toasted and buttered or with cream cheese.

Those of you who are familiar with bakers percentages will note that bialys are really nothing more than a 60% lean dough with a bit of extra yeast, not too much rise and an interesting shaping and topping. Whatever bialys are, they’re good. You can make bialys with a higher hydration and they will only get better, with bigger holes in the rim and a higher loft. Dan Leader, in his new book, “Simply Great Breads,” works with a hydration of 69%. I’ve tried it, and, as expected, it makes a great bialy. I’ve added a notation to the recipe section below showing the amount of water to add to the final dough to make the 69% bialy.

The original recipe for these bialys is in cups of flour and doesn’t use a pre-ferment. I’ve converted it to weight and added a biga and an autolyse period. I tend to make a lot of rolls when I bake them, since they freeze well and my friends like them, too. This recipe shows me making the bialys using the fountain method. If you make the smaller batch recipe, you can easily use a mixer and save a lot of work. But you’ll miss the fun (?) of using the fountain method.

In Step 10 of the Instructions, you’ll notice that there are two options. If you pierce the rim of the dough with a fork, you will create a fairly thin rim, one that will toast up crisp and crunchy. I think this style is really good when eaten right after baking. If you want a higher, fluffier (if that’s the right word) rim, then pierce only the center of the bialy, the part under the onion-poppy seed topping. This style bialy keeps better and is just as good as the other style, just different. Try both styles, you can’t go wrong with these little jewels.

Recipe For a Full Batch

 Biga 

Dough 

Topping 

Recipe For a Smaller Batch 

Biga 

Dough 

 Topping 

Method

1. Make the biga a day ahead and let it develop in the refrigerator overnight. How to make a Biga
2. Mix all ingredients except salt together, knead the dough for a minute or two. Then set dough to rest for 20 minutes
3. Add salt and knead for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky.
4. Set the dough to ferment for 30 minutes. It may expand enough to almost double.
5. While the dough is rising, cook the topping. (See below)
6. Fold the dough and divide into 3 1/2 ounce / 100 gram pieces.
7. Work the pieces into a circle with a definite rim. You may have to let the pieces relax a bit during the shaping.
8. The doughs should be about 4 inches / 10 cm in diameter and thin in the middle.
9. As you finish shaping a group of bialys, say 6 or 8, spoon a bit of the topping into the center and press it down a bit with a spoon.
10; Here you have a choice of rim style:
10a. For a thinner, crisper, bialy, just before baking, pierce the rim of each bialy with a fork in a lot of places.
10b. For a thicker, softer rim, pierce the center of the bialy. This leaves the rim free to expand.
11. Let the bialys rise for about 10 minutes, or until slightly puffy.
12. Bake on stones in a 450 F / 230 C oven without steam.
13. They should cook in 15-20 minutes.

Topping

1. Cook the onion and poppy seeds in some oil until the onion is cooked but not browned.
2. Add a pinch of salt during the last minute or two of cooking.
3. Let cool.

Here We Go! Send out for the cream cheese!

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