Today I have a pastry called Bialy or bialystoker kuchen, from the city of Bialystok in Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to America and settled in New York city. They brought these bialys with them. There used to be dozens of bialy bakeries in New York but they have dwindled down in numbers in the recent past. A Bialy is similar to a bagel in that it is a round, chewy roll. But that’s were the similarities end, bialys don’t have a hole in the middle, instead there’s a depression that is filled with onions or cheese (or both). Also bagels are boiled before baking while bialys are only baked. This recipe for Bialy is from ‘The Hot Bread Kitchen’ cookbook. The author Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez says that these bialys have become one of their signature breads and received critical acclaim. So, I had to try these for my bagel loving family.I made the mini onion and cheese bialys. The recipe starts with the making of pâte fermentée about 8~24 hours ahead of time. This extra step extends the fermentation time and allows to achieve a light, flavorful loaf with less yeast. It contains ingredients of simple French bread dough – flour, water, yeast and salt. Unlike other pre-ferments, pâte fermentée does not impart a sour flavor to the bread – instead it adds depth of flavor and extends the shelf life of the bread.These little bialys turned out chewy and delicious. The caramelized onion, cheese and poppy seeds filling tastes delicious. We ate a few warm right out of the oven. The leftovers keep well in an airtight container for up to 2 days. I cut the bialy in half, lightly toasted them and then ate them with some cream cheese – so yummy!! Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 75. [inlinkz_linkup id=693881 mode=1]
