Bialys

One of the three breads from Hamelman's Bread for July's Mellow Baker's challenge is Bialys. I have made Kossar's Bialys from Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking. I was looking forward to seeing how the recipes differed.

This is an easy recipe. High gluten flour, water, salt and yeast are combined in the mixer. The stiff dough is mixed, fermented, folded after an hour and fermented some more. Glezer's recipe used a food processor, which quickly heated the dough, which then had to be cooled. I prefer Hamelman's method.

Half of the bialys are already gone, they are irresistible. I will make these again but caramelize the onions.

The dough is formed into balls, which rise again. They are then formed into six inch pizza shape with a raised outer lip. Think inflatable kiddie pool. A teaspoon of finely chopped onions, that had visited with some white bread crumbs, is put in the center of the dough.

Here is the big difference. Glezer's recipe called for the same finely chopped onions without the bread crumbs. The onions are mounded and cooked in a 350 degree oven for an hour, caramelizing them before putting them in the bialys. I much preferred the flavor of the caramelized onions.