Expert: Ralph Onesti - 7/19/2011

Question
QUESTION: Back to the bialy recipe -- I tried making bialys at home and the dough is coming out pretty good.  However (1) I think they taste a little bland and would like them to be more flavorful and (2) my raw onions turn pink in the oven.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Marvin:

OK...let's start here:

Be as specific as possible and give me your formula and method for making your bialys.

I would like to know your over all formula, your pre-ferment formula and method, and your final dough formula and of course your method.

Take your time and lay it all out as though you had the perfect formula and you were teaching me how to make bialys.

With regard to the onions...pink...what kind of onion are you using, and what in the dough might contribute to the pink do you think?

Ralph

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ralph,
The following is the additional information you requested for my bialy recipe.  Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Bialy Recipe          
         
Poolish          
         %   Grams         
Flour (HG)          100   700         
Water          100   700         
Yeast (Instant)         0.2   1.4         
         
         
Bialy Recipe          
         %   Grams         
Flour (HG)       100   800         
Water          52   416         
Yeast (Instant)   0.5   4.25         
Salt (Kosher)          1   8.5         
Poolish          12.5   100         
Total          166   1328.75         
         
         
Poolish Preparation          
         
Mix flour, water and yeast.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Poke hole in plastic wraps.          
Let ferment for 6 - 24 hours at room temperature.  Poolish can be left at room          
temperature for a maximum of 48 hours.  Refrigerate after 48 hours.          
         
Bialy Preparation          
         
Dough Temperature          
Dough Temperature should be 78° - 82°          
         
Desired Dough Temperature      80°         
Multiplication Factor      4         
Total Temperature Factor      320°         
Minus Flour Temperature      65°         
Minus Room Temperature      65°         
Minus Poolish Temperature      70°         
Minus Friction Temperature      20°         
Water Temperature      100°         
         
         
Bialy Preparation          
         
1.  Mix flour & salt on 1st speed of mixer for 1 minute.          
     NOTE - Never mix yeast & salt together.          
         
2.  Add water, then yeast & poolish.          
         
3.  Increase mixer to 2nd speed for 6-8 minutes.  Listen for slap sound of dough and          
     look for smoothness.  Stretch Test:  Look for veins when stretching a piece of dough.          
         
4.  Coat a container with oil.  Place dough ball in bowl & coat top of dough with oil.          
     Cover container & place in warm area.          
         
5.  Let dough ferment for 1 hour.          
         
6.  After proofing, dough should be sticky on the bottom.          
         
7.  Cut dough into 2½ oz pieces & roll into a ball.  Place ball on parchment lined baking sheet          
     covered lightly with semolina flour.  Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap lightly          
     coated with pan spray.  Let dough balls proof for 2 hours.          
         
8.  Place a second baking sheet over the covered dough balls.  Apply pressure over the enitre          
     baking sheet to flatten the bialys.  Create a 2-inch depression in the center of each bialy.          
     Stretch the depression to thin it out and make a slit in the center to stop depression          
     from rising.          
         
9.  Fill depression with a ½ teaspoon of onion mixture.          
         
10.  Spray bialys with water.          
         
11.  Bake at 475° for 10 minutes.          
         
Onion Filling Variations:          
         
1.  Fresh ¼" Diced White Onion - turned pink after baking          
2.  Fresh ¼" Diced White Onion w/olive oil - turned pink after baking          
3.  Dehydrated and Freeze Dried Diced Onion - rehydrated; turned pink after baking          
4.  Carmelized White Ground Onions - carmelized with olive oil; retained brown color

Answer
OK...let's see if we can get this all in.

First...a Poolish will be a bit bland. How about trying a biga...30% of the total flour, 60% hydration. Let stand 12-16 hours covered...NO HOLES!!!!!

That dough is really sturdy...try upping your overall hydration to 62%!

I love that you're worried about dough temperature...but...it's rather high for white bread. 76F is much more conducive to good fermentation of white flour formulas. This is fermenting way too fast!

There is NO problem with mixing ALL ingredients together...flour, water, salt, yeast, biga!

Mix all on 1st speed until dough comes together. Then on second speed for 4 minutes. You are over mixing your dough. Let the gluten develop in the stretch and fold steps!

Place dough in a covered container...no oil needed for one hour at 76F.

After one hour, remove dough, and stretch and fold it over itself gently four times...NO punching down. This will gently degas, create gluten, and even the dough temperature.

Put in back in the covered bowl for one more hour.

Step 7 is OK.

At this point, you need to shape the bialys by picking up each ball, and stretch them as you turn them in your hands creating a thin membrane on the bottom and a bit of an edge around the sides. It should look like a child's swimming pool. The finished shape should be about 6 inches in diameter with a good 2+ inches in the middle.

Step 9 is fine...I prefer sweated onions but that's a matter of taste.

NO water! No steam.

Bake the bialys at 480F for 6-8 minutes to a golden brown. You are giving the bialy too much to spring by using water on them. Bake them dry.

I'm not sure why your onions are tuning pink...but I do like the idea of the "caramelized" onions and poppy seeds..

If there is anything I didn't make clear get back to me.

Let me know how you do.

Some hints...the Biga instead of the poolish will impart a bit more tank and take care of the bland problem.

The two hour bulk fermentation will not only allow for less time in the mixer, but more flavor with the extra fermentation time.

Let's see how that goes!

happy baking!