Homemade Bialy Recipe - What Jew Wanna Eat (2024)

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If you love bagels (which you do) then you’ll love their rebellious sister the bialy! I bring you a homemade bialy recipe so good you won’t even need a toaster.

Homemade Bialy Recipe - What Jew Wanna Eat (1)

It’s the end of Labor Day aka the unofficial end of summer aka end of bikinis and the start of ALL THE CARBS! Bread lovers rejoice. I’ve made you bagels before (here, here, here and definitely here), and I hope you’ve had the chance to make your own bagels. If you like bagels (which I trust you do) you will LOVE (what’s with the capitals today? I’m just so excited!) their less popular but scrappieryounger sister (according to Irvin), the bialy.

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Even Beau wants a bialy! “Can I haz bialy?” Photo by Veronica Meewes

What is a bialy? I’m so glad you asked. This homemade bialy recipe is even easier to make than a bagel because it doesn’t require boiling prior to baking. They really are quite different than bagels, except for the fact thatthey are a round breakfast breadloved by Jews. Bialys are more or less the best roll you’ve ever had, with an indent filled with naturally sweet onions. They are chewy, in the best way possible. And because I’m rebellious too, I filled mine with some garlic and poppy seeds as well. I do what I want! Within reason of course.

I met my friend Veronica, a super talented food and travel writer and all around fun gal, over a year ago at the BlogHer conference. She isn’t a MOT, but she is from New Jersey, so pretty much the same thing. We have been talking about making bialyspretty much since the moment we discovered our mutual love for deli food. We had met for bagels…

And falafel…

But never made our own. That is, until now.

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Veronica came over my house and we drank mimosas and gossiped and made the best bialys I’ve ever had. And it was glorious. Then we ate said bialys slathered with cream cheese and lox and drank more mimosas and then I took a two hour nap and wondered where my day went and then I ate another bialy for dinner and watched Bachelor in Paradise (not sorry).

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Onto the bialys! I adapted my recipeFood.com, with some changes of course. First, make the dough. Combine 1/2 cup warm water, sugar and yeast. Then sit until foamy. Then add remaining water, salt and flours. Knead for 8 minutes by hand if you’e tough or with a dough hook on an electric mixer until dough is soft and not sticky and roll into a ball. Add a tiny bit of flour if your dough is sticky or water if it seems dry. Place dough in an oiled bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until tripled in size. Punch down and let rise another 45 minutes until doubled in size. On a floured surface, roll dough into a log and cut into eight pieces.

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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and place rounds on the cookie sheets flattening slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make filling by combining onion, poppy seeds, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. With your fingers make 1-inch indentation in each bialy and divide filling amongst bialys.

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Bake for 6-7 minutes and then reversebialys around in the oven from front to back and bake another 5-6 minutes until lightly browned, careful not to overcook.

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Oh yesss. These are best right out of the oven with cream cheese and lox. Or butter. Or both.

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Freeze any extras wrapped in foil and placed in a plastic bag, and toast those before noshing. With lots of garlic and onions,you would think these wouldn’t be a good date food but they are you’d be wrong. Just try to keep the boys away!

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Have you made your own homemade bialys?

Homemade Bialy Recipe - What Jew Wanna Eat (10)

Homemade Bialy Recipe

Amy Kritzer

If you love bagels (which you do) then you'll love their rebellious sister the bialy! I bring you a homemade bialy recipe so good you won't even need a toaster.

4.85 from 13 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine Jewish

Servings 8

Ingredients

  • For bialy dough:
  • 2 cups water warm divided (110 to 115 degrees F)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 packet 7 grams active dry yeast
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 cups bread flour sifted
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • Oil for bowl
  • For filling:
  • 2 tablespoons oil vegetable or olive works well
  • 1 medium onion, minced minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

  • First, make the dough. Combine 1/2 cup warm water, sugar and yeast. Let sit until foamy. Then add remaining water, salt and flours. Knead for 8 minutes by hand if you’e tough or with a dough hook on an electric mixer until dough is soft and not sticky and roll into a ball. Add a tiny bit of flour if your dough is sticky or water if it seems dry.

  • Place dough in an oiled bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until tripled in size. Punch down and let rise another 45 minutes until doubled in size. On a floured surface, roll dough into a log and cut into eight pieces.

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and place pieces on the cookie sheets flattening slightly into rounds. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 30 minutes.

  • Meanwhile, make filling by heating oil in a medium saute pan. over medium heat. Saute onion and salt for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Then add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Combine with poppy seeds and pepper.

  • With your fingers make a 1-inch indentation in each bialy and divide filling amongst bialys.

  • Bake for 6-7 minutes and then reverse bialys around in the oven from front to back and bake another 5-6 minutes until lightly browned, careful not to overcook.

  • Freeze any extras wrapped in foil and placed in a plastic bag, and toast those before noshing.

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Adapted from Food.com

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Homemade Bialy Recipe - What Jew Wanna Eat (2024)

FAQs

What do you eat with a bialy? ›

Bialy fans often enjoy them straight up, fresh from the oven, although you can also top them with a shmear of cream cheese or butter — or cured or smoked fish.

Do you eat a bialy with cream cheese? ›

Bialys can be eaten on their own, without a smear of butter or cream cheese. That said, here are a few more ideas: Halve and toast day-old bialys; then spread with softened butter or cream cheese. Bialy egg sandwich: Broil one half covered with a slice of cheddar; broil the other half naked.

What is a bialy and where does it come from? ›

Named after Bialystok Poland, the bialy is the perfect combination between a bagel and an English muffin. This round, flat baked good has a complex texture. The top has a crunchy crust, and the bottom is heavier with a nice chew.

What's the difference between a bagel and a bialy? ›

bagel: What's the difference? A bialy is a flat roll with a depression in the center typically seasoned with an onion and poppy seed mixture. The more well-known bagel refers is a round roll, typically with a hole in the center. Unlike bialys, bagels are boiled and then baked, giving them a chewier texture.

What do you traditionally eat with bagels? ›

Alternatively, you can go the traditional cream cheese route. Smearing on a generous amount of it (again, to keep you full), topped with veggies like cucumbers or spinach, deli meat, smoked fish like lox or white fish, etc. It's a classic bagel schmear filling combo that many love.

Should I toast a bialy? ›

And unlike the bagel, which loses a reason to live after a few hours, the bialy is practically designed for toasting. It's good plain the next day, and even better when toasted and buttered.

Why is a bialy better than a bagel? ›

Bagels are made with high gluten flour to achieve their signature hard exterior and chewy texture. Bialys' consistency is more bread-like due to their not being boiled; they also contain large air bubbles once baked, making it all the more delightful when butter gets trapped inside the holes.

How do you heat up a bialy? ›

Luckily, bialys reheat quite easily. Simply place on a baking sheet in a preheated, 350 degree oven for 6-8 minutes until the roll is heated through and the crust is slightly crisp. If you wish, serve with some olive or flavored oil and kosher salt for an extra special treat.

Who invented bialy? ›

The Jews from Bialystok, Poland brought their local bread, called (not surprisingly) a “bialy” that they ate with every meal. The word “bialy” is actually a shortened version of “Bialystoker Kuchen” which in Yiddish means “l*ttle bread from Bialystok.”

Why is it called a bialy? ›

Anyway, the Yiddish word bialy is actually a shortened form of the original name bialystoker kuchen. According to the (not always reliable but close enough) Google Translate, this means “Bialystok cake”, named after Białystok, Poland where the Ashkenazi Jews first began making this genius creation.

What does bialy taste like? ›

A good bialy is crisp on the outside, slightly chewy in the middle, and light throughout. The dough should have a deep flavor, like good artisan bread. The filling should be a nice dollop of sweetly sautéed onions and a touch of poppy seeds. That's it.

What is bialys in English? ›

Meaning of bialy in English

a flat bread roll baked with small pieces of onion in a hollow on the top: Unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, a bialy is simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle, it has a depression.

Are bialys less fattening than bagels? ›

"They are smaller so they are less calories," Giniger said with a laugh. "They are less filling too." Because they're thinner, they also make a better base for sandwiches than their bagel counterparts, Gingier said, (plus, their flavored middle means you don't have to add as many condiments).

Are bialys softer than bagels? ›

While bialy bread may lack the sheen of bagels, they are just as dazzling. Plus, bialys are softer, chewier, and lighter than bagels, and the flavor is different because they lack the bagel's sweet malt syrup.

Should bialys be toasted? ›

And unlike the bagel, which loses a reason to live after a few hours, the bialy is practically designed for toasting. It's good plain the next day, and even better when toasted and buttered.

What do New Yorkers eat with their bagels? ›

Yes, traditional toppings and spreads for a New York bagel include plain or flavored cream cheese, smoked salmon (lox), capers, red onion, and tomato.

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