Sourdough Bialys Recipes

SOURDOUGH STARTER RECIPE (LEVAIN)

Steps:

• In a large plastic container mix together 600 grams of whole wheat flour and 600 grams of water that is 93° to 95° just until combined. Rest uncovered for 2 to 2 ½ hours then cover and keep in a warm place (70° to 90°) for 20 to 24 hours.
• Remove 2/3 to ¾ of the mixture and discard. Add 600 grams of whole wheat flour and 600 grams of water that is 93° to 95° to the young levain and mix just until combined. Rest uncovered for 2 to 2 ½ hours then cover and keep in a warm place (70° to 90°) for 20 to 24 hours.
• Repeat step 2 in its entirety.
• Remove all but 250 grams of the levain and discard. Add 600 grams of whole wheat flour and 600 grams of water that is 93° to 95° to the young levain and mix just until combined. Cover and keep in a warm place (70° to 90°) for 20 to 24 hours.
• Remove all but 150 grams of the levain and discard. Add 480 grams of white flour, 120 grams of whole wheat flour, 480 grams of water that is 90° to 92 and mix until combined. Cover and keep in a warm place (70° to 90°) for 20 to 24 hours and it is ready to use within 8 to 8 1/2 hours.
• Continue feeding every day!

SOURDOUGH BAGELS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Add the sourdough starter, water, flour, honey, and salt to a large bowl. Stir with a spoon to combine.
• Knead the dough with your hands until well mixed, about 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic bag and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Stretch and fold the dough . Rest for another 30 minutes.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment with spray oil.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces weighing approximately 100 grams each.
• To shape the bagels, roll each piece into a rope approximately 12 inches long. Lightly moisten both ends of the rope, and then firmly press them together so the rope forms a closed loop. Make sure to let the ends overlap by about 3 inches so you get a nice strong seam.
• Place the bagels on the parchment and cover them with plastic wrap.
• Allow them to rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes, then put them in the refrigerator and leave overnight.
• Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and let sit for 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the baking soda .
• Add the bagels to the boiling water and poach for 2 minutes, flipping halfway through.
• Remove with a wire spider or slotted spoon and return to the greased, parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with seeds or salt if desired.
• Place in the oven and bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack.

SOURDOUGH BIALYS

Steps:

• The instructions below are for baking bialys fresh in the morning with no refrigeration of the dough. Other schedules are fine too, of course. For example the dough can be mixed in the morning instead of at night, then pre-shaped into balls and refrigerated overnight to shape and bake the next morning. (Retarding the dough like that will make a more sour bialy.) The timing here works for a cool kitchen, 65-70F. If you're making this bread in much hotter ambient temperatures, you can use very cold water in the starter and dough mix; or you can use less starter. For example, halve the starter build components to total 130g ripe starter, and add that missing 65g flour and 65g water to the dough ingredients.
• The Morning Before Baking
• Feed 20g of sourdough starter with 120g flour and 120g water. Leave covered at room temperature to expand throughout the day. By evening it should be somewhere between doubled and tripled. If it's looking sluggish, put it somewhere warmer. My starter took 11 hours at around 70F.
• Making the Filling
• This can be done the night before or during the two-hour final proof the morning you bake.
• Onion Poppyseed Chop the onion and saute in olive oil. When translucent, remove from the heat, add the poppyseeds and a pinch of salt. Mix well and transfer to another container to cool. You may want to mince the cooked onions into smaller pieces after they're cooked.
• Date Goat Cheese Mince the dates (seedless) and mix with chopped rosemary and crumbled goat cheese. Cover and store until ready to use.
• The Night Before Baking
• Mix the ingredients for dough. Let the dough rest for about five minutes and then fold it a bit until it's smooth. Place it in a lightly oiled in a bowl, cover, and let it ferment overnight at temps of 65-70F.
• The Next Morning
• Lightly flour your countertop, scrape the dough out onto the counter, press out the air, and divide the dough 14 pieces (weighing approx 95-100g).
• Roll each piece into a ball and place them next to each other with about 1 inch between.
• Cover the dough balls with a damp tea towel or baking pan, and let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (Replenish the moisture on the towel if it dries out.)
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with rice flour or cornmeal.
• Using a bench knife, scoop up a proofed dough ball and gently stretch it outward into a disc with your fingers thinning out the center of the disc but leaving the edges thick and untouched. Place the shaped dough on the baking sheet, and repeat until all the dough balls are shaped.
• Spoon about a tablespoon of filling into the hollow of each bialy, then brush the exposed dough with water.
• Let the dough rest while you preheat your oven to 475F for about 20 minutes.
• Load the first baking sheet into the oven on the middle shelf.
• Bake the bialys for 10 minutes, followed by 2-3 minutes of broiling still at 475F to caramelize the filling. If 500F is your oven's only broil option, keep a close eye on the bialys.
• Place the baked bialys on a cooling rack and return the oven setting to bake.
• Brush the second baking sheet of bialys with water again, and load them into the oven, following the same instructions above.
• Storage
• Bialys can be kept wrapped at room temperature for 12-24 hours, and then they should be refrigerated. The staling effects of refrigeration are remedied by toasting, which is the ideal way to eat bialys anyway.

BIALYS

Steps:

• Combine bread flour, yeast, salt, and water for dough in a bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon and mix until a very wet, soft, and sticky dough forms. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
• When ready to make the bialys, heat olive oil for filling in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until onion softens, sweetens, and turns golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, green onion, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and cool down until needed.
• Uncover dough; it should be bubbly. Scrape it away from the sides of the bowl with a spatula and transfer onto a floured work surface. Dust a little flour over top and gently press dough with your hands to flatten. Divide it into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball, using a bit of flour as needed. Stretch each ball gently and tuck dough under the bottom; place on a baking sheet lined with generously floured parchment paper or a silicone liner (such as Silpat®). Dust the tops with flour and carefully cover with a dish towel; let proof until just about doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Flour your fingers and pick up one dough ball. Press and pull on the center to form it into a ring shape; the center of the dough will be thin and the edges will be thicker. Make sure the centers are very thin but be careful not to tear them open. Repeat with remaining balls.
• Fill the center of each with no more than a rounded teaspoon of onion-poppy seed filling, then gently press the filling up the sides toward the outer rings. (You will have extra filling.) Spray bialys with some cold water and sprinkle poppy seeds over top.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until puffed and nicely browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for about 20 minutes before serving.