It is unclear whether Steve’s Jewish grandmother, who died several years before he was born, would have been disappointed in him. (Though if Jon Stewart and legions of other Jewish comedians are any guide, she quite possibly could not have helped herself.) But as someone who reportedly kept a kosher home, she would definitely be shocked by these bialys, which feature some of Steve’s home-rendered brown lard.
Steve first met bialys as a boy in New York, where they appeared next to bagels in basically every bakery case. While New York bagels (at least in those days) could be dense, chewy and challenging for a youngster, bialys were softer and (bonus!) sported a stuffing of onions and poppy seeds. Michelle, introduced to bialys later in life, never quite saw what the fuss was all about. But the idea somehow stuck with her, and when she saw a recipe in Lauren Groveman’s The I Love To Cook Book, Michelle decided to take advantage of Steve’s seemingly insatiable interest in baking. Steve, caught recently bemoaning Gourmandistan’s lack of frozen homemade bagels, rose to the challenge, and the bialy baking began.
We must say that Lauren Groveman’s Kitchen is one of Gourmandistan’s go-to basic cookbooks. Good recipes for Sloppy Joes, peanut butter ripple brownies and more offer themselves up clearly and simply. The bialy recipe in Groveman’s sophomore showing, however, not so much. The instructions were somewhat opaque, and resulted in Steve trying to cram an extra cup of bread flour into a stiff dough. In addition to ending up like pizza dough, Groveman’s shaping suggestions (“Turn the outer rim of the round in, toward the center, to form a raised border all around”) were stupid. We ended up with almost a dozen mini pissaladières missing only anchovies and black olives to make them at home in Provence. Needless to say, Gourmandistan’s chickens feasted well that day.
Michelle suggested Steve try some other recipes, but Steve liked several things about Groveman’s version. Adding pan-toasted dehydrated onion to the bialy filling created a flavor matching Steve’s childhood memory. He also liked the addition of black pepper and fat-softened onions to the dough mix. That’s where the brown lard came in, as Steve (certainly non-kosher himself) decided to break free of Judaic law and layer in a little pork flavor. So he went back to Groveman with his eyes wide open and devoted another day to bialys.
As you can see, the second batch came out marvelously.
This time, Steve followed his own instincts on the dough, keeping it soft and hand-shaping instead of rolling. Happily abusing our temporary, injured oven (fully-functioning replacement only weeks away!), Steve popped out peel after peel of wonderfully oniony-scented bialys before Michelle came home from the office. They were tasty just cooled from the oven, but sitting overnight seemed to improve their texture even more, and made them quite heavenly broiled with a bit of butter and salt.
Other than the delightful taste of Jewish sin, we’re not sure the brown lard really added that much flavor to the bialys. But the abomination allowed Steve to use the last of his home-rendered lard, meaning one more pig part had not gone to waste. And wasting good food, at least in the tenets of Gourmandistan, is the real shondah.
BIALYS
(adapted from Lauren Groveman’s The I Love To Cook Book)
For the dough:
- 2 TB vegetable shortening or other fat such as brown lard
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 1 package active dry yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c. warm water with a pinch of sugar
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons barley malt extract or sugar
- 5 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Melted butter for brushing dough and bowl (about 3 tablespoons)
Soften onions with fat in a heavy skillet for about three minutes over medium heat. Let onions cool. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and pinch of sugar, letting it sit until it becomes visibly bubbly (about 5 minutes). Put the yeast mixture in a mixing bowl and add 3 cups of bread flour, the softened onions and fat, sugar, black pepper and 2 cups of warm water. Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, beat on low speed until well combined, then beat on medium speed for a few minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Allow the sponge to rise in the mixing bowl for about 1-1/2 hours.
Uncover the sponge and reattach the bowl to your mixer, fitted with a clean paddle attachment. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and tablespoon of salt, and mix until it forms a shaggy mass. Replace the paddle attachment with a dough hook (or, if you’re more manly than Steve, do it by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic but still a bit sticky.
Grease a large mixing bowl (at least four quarts if not larger), brushing all areas with the melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl and brush it with the remaining melted butter. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.
For the topping:
- 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup minced onion
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1/3 cup dehydrated onion
- Salt & pepper
Toast the dehydrated onion in a pan until lightly browned, then add about 1/3 cup hot water. Heat the oil in a skillet, then add the minced onion and poppy seeds. Sautée until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the reconstituted onions into the onion/poppy seed mixture and allow to cool.
Forming and baking the bialys:
Preheat your oven to 500°, making sure it comes to temperature at least 30 minutes before you’ll bake your bialys.
Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide the dough in half. Put one piece back in the bowl, cover and set aside (or put in refrigerator if you’d like to use it later). Cut the remaining dough into six equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten into a disk and use your fingers to stretch a flat pocket into the center. The ideal shape has high rounded edges of at least one inch. If you push your finger through the flat center, simply repair the dough before filling. With the tines of a fork, prick holes in your bialy, then fill the center with about a tablespoon of the onion mix.
Fill a quarter cup measuring cup with a few ice chunks and enough water to reach the top. Cook the bialys on a parchment-paper topped baking sheet or pizza stone. Immediately after placing the bialys into the oven, throw the ice water into the bottom of the oven, closing the door before the steam escapes. Let the bialys bake about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool thoroughly before storing.
To serve a bialy, cut off the top, spread with butter and broil until brown and toasty. Sprinkle with good salt.
Gourmandistan 
I’ve never “got” the bagel thing at all – on the other hand, those bialys look and sound very good indeed.
I like bagels a lot, when they’re good. Unfortunately, Americans have forgotten what bagels are supposed to be and substituted some awful, gigantic, puffy things in their place. (Steve’s bialys were definitely good, though.)
I’d love to try those 🙂
Pretty impressive!
In my gluten-eating days, bialys held first place in my affection. The ones we could get in New England seemed like bagels missing the doughy center, a decided forward move. Your larded bialys belong in the same country as our holiday meal with kids a couple of months ago, featuring latkes with sour cream and homemade applesauce, a big winter salad and….pork carnitas.
Hooray for multiculturalism!
Haha! Nothing like a traif-filled bialy 🙂 These look amazing!
Can I confess something here? I . . . I . . . prefer bagels from Montréal.
There! I said it in a public forum! They are thinner, and chewier, and smell deliciously of wood smoke!
You’re absolutely right about the Montréal bagels. And that pastrami-like meat they do is also pretty damned good. We need to go back there. It’s been a long time.
Lots of good eating in Montréal! Those bagels! Om nom nom nom nom. There is a place here in the city that trucks them in. Or they used to (I hear that they are trying to make their own Montréal-style bagels here). In any case, can’t be beat with smoked meat 🙂
I like poutine too 🙂
Mmmm….smoked meat. I will betray my NYC roots and say it’s better than pastrami! (I like poutine, too.)
I know. I worry that saying it out loud in this town tags me for public stoning!
Yum. I used to have bialy every day for breakfast at my first job. I liked ’em but I bet these are WAY better.
I would say I like them better than bagels. God knows American bagels—even in NY—have become pretty crappy. (Fond memories of you and me at Ess-a-Bagel aside!) The bad thing for me, though, is that the oniony stuff eliminates the possibility of a sweet addition. A hipster restaurant here in town serves house-made bialys with jam. I just find that strange.
Fabulous concluding paragraph. When in New York, I usually pass over the bialys so I have to admit to never having eaten a bialy. What a shame! These, I would certainly try. (And to the commenter above: I also prefer Montréal bagels over New York Bagels. Yep.)
Oh do try them. They are good. I think the Montréal bagels are better, too. Those huge, puffy things they pass off as bagels these days in the US are an abomination.
“Shondah”, “vergogna” call it what you like. You don’t waste food!
I made bagels once and could not believe how good they were compared to store bought. I can only imagine how much better you bialys must be. Good to hear that they’re better the next day. That’s not what I’ve experienced with bagels. I really have to give these a try. They’ll make a few friends very happy when I deliver the extras. 🙂
Vergogna! I’m gonna have to remember that one.
First time I see something like that, got to try them specially the toppings
As a Jew who eats as treyf as they come, I think this post is HILARIOUS. Poor Bubbe must be rolling in her grave.
I tried to stop him. 🙂
As a native New Yawker, I’m a bit ashamed to admit I’ve never had the pleasure of biting into a bialy. Hopefully that will change soon, thanks to this recipe.
Oh you should try them. Much better than those fluffy things they pass off as bagels these days (even in NY).
maybe it’s just cos I grew up in asia / now in london, but this very american classic bagel has never held much of an appeal to me… or maybe I jut haven’t got the right ones like you said. these bialys however, look awesome. and what with brown lard, can already imagine the wonderful fragrance! yum!