Store-bought pizza dough is one of my favorite bread hacking tools, maybe even my all-time favorite.
The bialy is a popular Jewish yeasted roll,originally from Biaystock, Poland.
The bread has a similar crumb to the bagel, but is made without all that boiling fuss.
Instead, the bialy is shaped, filled with a savory onion and poppy seed mixture, and baked.
Its delicious summer fun.
While you could make your own bialy dough from scratch, packaged pizza dough is a near perfect stand-in.
No mixing, no kneading, no initial proofing.
Lightly flour your work surface, and dump out the dough.
Stretch it into a rough rectangular shape.
Shape each piece of dough into a bread ball.
(Aside from witnessing my obsession with bread, youll see step-by-step shaping.)
This is only the first stretch, and the dough will feel resistant.
Thats okay, youre really just trying to flatten them a bit.
Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cover the baby bialys with a damp tea towel and let the gluten rest and relax for 20-30 minutes.
I did a batch and skipped this step, pricking the center instead to discourage puffing.
The dough basically died laughing in my face.
It completely bounced back and the pricking seemed to make it puff more.
The filling is fantastically simple.
Sauteed onions with a little poppy seed and salt.
Cut a medium-sized onion into a small dice, about 1/4-inch pieces.
I used a sweet onion but any onion will be lovely.
Drop a tablespoon of oil and a smidge of butter into a frying pan to melt over medium-low heat.
Add the onion pieces and stir to coat.
Add salt and continue moving the onions around as they cook.
Scoop them into a bowl to cool and stir in the poppy seeds.
The pizza dough should be very pliable after resting.
The center should be very thinyoull almost be able to see your fingertips through the dough.
Lay it back down on the baking sheet and repeat this with every bialy.
Spread about a tablespoon of the onion mixture into the center of each bialy.
Press the mixture flat so it sits in the dough inner tube.
Bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough lightly browns.
Use two sheet pans if theyre small.
Flour a work surface and place the dough on top.
Cut it into eight even pieces.
Round off into balls and pinch them into disks.
Flour their bottoms and place them on the sheet pan.
Cover them with a damp tea towel and let them rest for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450F.
Add the oil and butter to a frying pan over medium-low heat.
Add the onions and salt, and stir the mixture.
Cook until the onions become soft, translucent and a few of the edges begin to brown.
Turn off the heat and scrape the onions into a bowl.
Stir in the poppy seeds.
After resting, the dough balls should be compliant.
Make the center thin but keep the edges doughy.
The bialys will be 4 to 5-inches wide.
Stretch each one and place it back on the sheet pan.
Use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press the center depression flat for good measure.
Spoon about a tablespoon of onion filling onto each bialy and spread it flat.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450F, or until puffed and browning on the edges.
