History
The name is short for the Yiddish “bialystoker kuchen”, the Białystok cake. The rolls were baked by family-run Jewish bakeries in Białystok in the 1920s and 1930s, in ovens fired with dry wood. Emigrants took the recipe to the United States, where bialys are still known in Jewish bakeries today. In Białystok the recipe came back after many years, and it joined the list in 2020.
Recipe
Bialys with onion and poppy seeds
Ingredients
- 500 g strong bread flour
- 320 ml lukewarm water
- 10 g fresh yeast (or 4 g dried)
- 10 g salt
- Filling
- 2 onions
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- a pinch of salt
Method
- Mix the flour, water, yeast and salt. Knead for about 10 minutes into a smooth, springy dough. Leave to double in size, 1–1.5 hours.
- Chop the onion finely and soften briefly in the oil without browning. Mix with the poppy seeds and salt and leave to cool.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces, shape into balls and leave for 30 minutes under a tea towel.
- Flatten each ball into a disc about 10 cm across. Press the centre down firmly with your fingers, leaving a thick rim. Dampen the top with water.
- Put a teaspoon of the onion and poppy seed mixture into the hollow.
- Bake at 240°C for 10–12 minutes, until the edges turn lightly golden.
Where to taste and buy
Today bialys are baked by some bakeries and cafés in Białystok, as well as by places serving Jewish cuisine. It is worth asking on the spot, because the offer changes.
Description based on the entry in the Ministry of Agriculture's List of Traditional Products. The quantities in the recipe are our own suggestion for the home kitchen. Product sheet on gov.pl →
Stay in Klejniki
Most of these flavours are within an hour's drive of our house. A kitchen with a wood-fired range is waiting, in case you feel like baking something.
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