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What started out as just another Facebook group with 12 breads to bake for the year,one bread every month,We knead to bake has grown leaps and bounds.It is more of a community now,with more than 80+ members who are ready to help each other with doubts and queries and of course the prime reason so many of us are posing as bread baking experts-Aparna,who thought of this wonderful idea to bake together as a group.
When she mentioned we are baking a bread of which the name starts with B,none of us as much as guessed it would be Bialys.Now come on,I haven't even heard of it before,leave alone guessing it.Bialy,is a round bread with a depression in the middle typically filled with cooked onions and sometimes poppy seeds.A good Bialy should have a springy soft crumb and a chewy,floury crust.
The name Bialy comes from Bialystocker Kuchen which translates as “bread from Bialystok” which is in Poland. Apparently, Bialys are rarely seen or made in Bialystock these days.In the days when there used to be Bialys in Bialystock, it seems the rich Jews ate Bialys with their meals, while the Bialys were the whole meal for the poorer Jews.
Bialys gets its signature chewiness from flour which is high in gluten.If you have access to bread flour,use it or use all purpose flour with wheat gluten mixed in.Aparna says it is ok to go ahead with plain all purpose flour if you find neither which will yield a slightly softer Bialy.I used wheat gluten and I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I took a bite of the Bialy,it was chewy and the flavor of the caramelized onions was fabulous.
Bialys - Chewy Rolls topped with Caramelized Onions
Recipe source Aparna;Original recipe from King Arthur Flour
Yields- 8 largish bialys (or 12 medium ones)
Ingredients
For the dough
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour (use bread flour if you can find it or all-purpose flour + 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten)
1tsp salt
Milk for brushing the dough
For the Onion Filling
1 tbsp oil
3 medium onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds3/4 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
100gm paneer, crumbled (optional) I used around 35 gms of Mozzarella cheese for topping
Method
Make the dough first. If you are using bread flour or vital wheat gluten, then your dough will be tougher to knead so if you have a machine you can use go ahead and use it.
Put the flour+gluten,salt sugar and yeast in the food processor bowl. Pulse a couple of times to mix and then add the warm water in a steady stream. Knead until the dough comes together as a mass and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
I added everything to a mixing bowl and mixed with a fork first and then added water and started kneading.
This will help the dough absorb water. Knead again, adding a little more water or flour (not too much) if you need it, until your dough is smooth and elastic but not sticky.I did not add excess water or flour.
Shape it into a ball and put it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough till it is well coated. Cover and let it rise till about double. This should take about 2 hours.In Chennai heat,it only took me an hour!
If you’re not making the Bialys right away, you can refrigerate the dough overnight at this point. When ready to make them, keep the dough at room temperature for about half an hour and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and place the dough on it. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each one into a roll by flattening it and then pinching the ends together to form a smooth ball.
Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for about one hour (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for refrigerated dough)till pressing with a finger on the top leaves a dent.
While the dough rises, make the filling.
Heat the oil in a pan, and add the cumin seeds. When the crackle, add the onions, and sauté over low to medium heat. Sprinkle a little salt and continue sautéing until they become soft and turn golden brown in colour.
Add the garam masala and stir well. Keep the caramelised onions aside to cool.
Work on one piece at a time, while you keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. When the rolls are ready, pick them up one at a time and using your fingers, form the depression in the middle.
Hold the roll like a steering wheel with your thumbs in the middle and your fingers around the edges. Pinch the dough between your thumb and fingers, rotating as you go and gradually making the depression wider without actually poking a hole through.
Remember not to press on the edges, or they will flatten out. Once shaped, you should have a depression about 3” in diameter with 1” of puffy dough around the edge, so your Bialy should be about 4” in diameter. Prick the centre of the Bialy with a fork so the centre doesn’t rise when baking.
Place the shaped dough on a parchment lined (or greased) baking tray leaving about 2 inches space between them. Place the caramelised onion filling in the depressions of each Bialy. Brush the outer dough circle with milk. If you’re using crumbled paneer, add it to the Bialys in the last 5 minutes of baking or it will get burnt.I added the cheese after 10 minutes of baking.
Bake the Bialys at 230C (450F) for about 15 minutes till they’re golden brown in colour. Cool them on a rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. I found that the Bialys keep well in an airtight container for a day or two and just need to be warmed up slightly before serving.
Yeastspotted
Notes
- I halved the recipe and made 4 largish rolls.You can make 6 medium sized ones too from this amount.
- Keep a close eye on the oven as the rolls as baking since they are baked at a higher temperature than usual(230C).When the rolls are slightly brown and sound hollow when tapped,they are ready.
- Here's a video on how to shape Bialys and here's one which shows you how to eat it!
The only silver lining in this excruciating Chennai summer I would say is,the arrival of mangoes.The king of fruits can make the harshest of summers bearable with its mere name.So as I sat awaiting kilos after kilos of fresh,juicy mangoes,I got a huge bag of raw mangoes from a friends' farm.Now I was confused.
I love to eat raw mangoes as is,smeared with some red chilly powder,salt and coconut oil.I ate it too,till my teeth started shivering at the mere mention of raw mangoes.Then I started thinking of ways to use up the raw ones to make way for the ripe ones.Bottles of Chundo were made,instant pickles were made and bottled up and now what?
As always,amma came to my rescue by not giving one but two recipes for a chutney.Now how could I forget this one?Raw Mango sour chutney which goes perfectly well with a bowl of kanji or even with fluffy idli.I,of course,can eat the chutney as is.
Raw Mango Chutney/Ambuli Chutney/Pacha Manga Chammanthi
Ingredients
Raw Mango - 1/4 cup,peeled and chopped
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Green chilly - 1
Salt to taste
Coconut oil - to drizzle
Method
Grind together coconut,chilly and salt till coarse without adding water.
Mix in the chopped mango and pulse for 10-15 seconds till everything comes together.
Just before serving,drizzle some coconut oil on top.
How many times have you postponed making something you really wanted to try,fearing it may not work well or it may not rise to your expectations?I have and I regret postponing cinnamon-rolls-project for so long.because it is just so delicious and I wonder why I feared it so much.
A while back,I received a Giveaway package from Ria who sent me a delicious batch of Cinnamon rolls.Then and there I decided I should try it out too,in my kitchen but as always,it went deep down in my bookmarked folders and was completely forgotten.Out of the blue one day,I decided I am going to bake a batch and that's it,a fresh,fragrant batch of perfectly risen and browned Cinnamon rolls came out of my oven too,it was time to pat my back for I was worrying unnecessarily about something so simple!
Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe source Ria;Original recipe from Allrecipes
Ingredients
Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp [approximately 30 gms]
All purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Yeast - 2 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Egg - 1
For the filling
Melted butter - 3 tbsp [approximately 45 gms]
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Ground Cinnamon - 3/4 tsp
For the frosting
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Melted butter - 1 1/2 tbsp
Vanilla - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 1 1/2 tbsp
Method
In a saucepan heat milk,water and butter till warm.
Mix together the dry ingredients -
flour,salt,yeast and sugar.
Pour in the warm to touch milk mixture and break the egg into it.
Knead into a smooth dough.It will start out sticky,so knead it for 5-7 minutes till it becomes smooth.
Let the dough rest in an oiled bowl,covered in a cling wrap/kitchen towel until it doubles-about an hour or so.
Punch down the dough and roll it into a rectangle.I started out by rolling it into a 12' square and then rolled it into a rectangular shape keeping the width intact.
Mix together the cinnamon and the sugar.
Pour the melted butter over the rolled out dough and spread it using a pastry brush or even better your fingers.Make sure the butter is spread out evenly.
Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar evenly.
Roll the dough in a swiss roll style from the longer side towards you.Pinch the seams together.Cut the dough into even sized 16 rolls.
Place the rolls in a square/round tray* and let it rest for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C.Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are evenly browned and sound hollow when tapped.
Meanwhile make the frosting.Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the frosting and
pour over the warm rolls and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.
Serve warm.
Yeastspotted
Notes
- I was apprehensive to add the egg mentioned in the recipe but let me assure you,the rolls do not smell eggy at all.I am planning to try the recipe without egg too,will update the post once I try.
- The rolls taste delicious warm,so if you like you can Microwave the rolls for about 10-15 seconds before serving.
- The amount of filling is per one's choice.I always have a jar of cinnamon sugar in the kitchen to sprinkle over buttered toasts so I used that and the pictures are also of that one.I used part white sugar and part brown sugar.
- *I had a smaller tray so I divided the rolls and baked in one square and one round tray.The square tray was baked in the OTG and the round one in the Microwave.
