Bialys

  Posted on January 5, 2011  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

I would love to be able to find a bialy in Los Angeles. I happen to love English muffins. Bialys are sort of a cross between an English muffin and a bagel.

Chances are that if you’ve never been to New York, you may not have heard of a bialy. These cousins to the bagel never made it out of New York. You’ll know a bialy from a bagel by sight when you notice that a bialy doesn’t have a hole. It has a depression in the center that can be filled with onion, garlic, poppy seed or any combination of the three. The other main difference between the two is that bialys are not boiled before they’re baked like bagels are. This leaves the bialy with a less shiny outer shell. Bialys came from the Jewish settlers of Bialystok, Poland, many of whom settled in Brooklyn, New York, recipes in hand. Still a favorite of the Jewish population, bialys are enjoyed in delis and bakeries all over New York by those with a desire to buck the bagel.