Turn a New York City classic and Hot Bread Kitchen favorite into an at home project. Like most yeasted breads, bialys take time, so start your dough the day before you plan to bake them. Customize your fillings with classic caramelized onions and poppy seeds or go sweet with chopped dates and goat cheese.
Makes 24 (5-inch) bialys
Preferment
Ingredients
- 1 ⅞ cup (221g) All purpose flour
- ⅝ cup (144g) lukewarm water
- ½ teaspoon dry instant yeast
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, use the dough hook attachment to mix the flour, yeast, room temp water, and salt at low speed for 1 minute. Increase to medium speed for 3-5 minutes until dough is well developed (when you pull on dough there should be some resistance, not tear.)
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temp for 45 minutes (giving the yeast a head start on fermenting)
- Refrigerate the covered dough overnight.
Bialys
Ingredients
- 7 ⅔ cup (962g) all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cup (602g) lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon dry instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Prepared preferment dough (yield is approximately 3 cups)
- Cornmeal, for shaping and dusting
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to mix the flour, yeast, water, salt and the pre-fermented dough. Mix all ingredients on low for 1 minute, then on medium for 4-6 min until the dough is well developed (shiny, smooth and when you pull on dough there should be resistance not tearing.)
- Transfer the complete dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature, until doubled in size (about 60—90 minutes.)
- In the meantime, make bialy filling of your choice (see instructions below) and prepare for shaping. Fill a medium sized bowl with cornmeal, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Check your dough: the dough is ready when it does not bounce back when poked with your finger, and bubbles in dough are noticeable. When the dough is ready, lay out dough on a clean lightly floured work surface. Form dough into a square. Using a long sharp knife, cut dough into 4 strips across and 6 strips long, approximately 3 inches wide, to get 24 pieces. Each piece should weigh 80g, but it’s most important that the pieces are uniform.
- Round dough pieces into balls, dip bottom of each ball into cornmeal and place on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Loosely cover dough balls with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise for 90 minutes until each ball has doubled in size, and they feel light.
- Preheat oven to 500 F and set rack in middle of oven. When the dough is ready, shape each ball into a bialy shape by moving around the dough with fingers stretching the center of the dough, creating a depression for filling to sit in (but not a hole). Place shaped bialys back on the parchment paper lined baking tray.
- Fill the bialys with ~2 tablespoons of desired topping, spreading filling to cover the entire bottom.
- Bake for 10-14min, until lightly golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve immediately. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight plastic bag for ~2 days.
BIALY FILLINGS
Ingredients
Savory option: Onion + Poppy Seeds
- 3 large yellow onions, diced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ cup of fine bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sharp cheese, grated (optional)
Sweet option: Goat Cheese + Dates
- 2 cups dried dates, finely chopped
- 8 oz fresh goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Caramelized Onion + Poppy Seed
Caramelized onions can be prepared the night before you plan to fill your bialys.
- Sautee diced yellow onions olive oil for ~8 minutes until they are soft and just starting to color. Store in the refrigerator overnight.
- Mix the prepared caramelized onions with 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, bread crumbs, and up to ½ teaspoon salt to taste.
- If using cheddar: Top each filled bialy with a pinch of onion filling with pinch of grated cheese
Goat Cheese + Dates
- Mix together dates, goat cheese, honey, and a pinch of kosher salt.
Recipe adapted from the Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook
