Jemil Gadeas Recipe for Bialy For the starter: (81g)3/4C Bread Flour (36g)1/4C Whole wheat flour

(144g)1/2C, 2T Tepid Water Mix the ingredients together until a smooth paste is formed. There should be no lumps or dry spots. Put into a container and cover loosely so that it can "breathe". Allowing the air to circulate will let the natural yeast in the air to settle and build your starter. Put the container somewhere in your house that is warm 80*F. Leave it to rest for 24 hours. The next day, measure out the same amounts of flour and water but add to this 1T of the paste mixed from the previous day and discard the rest of the day old mixture. Repeat this once a day for 7days. You should start to see some growth after the fourth or fifth day but the more you build the starter, the healthier it will be and the better your results. After it is healthy you will need to switch to using all bread flour,(144g) so that your bialys will not be whole wheat. It will take a few more mixes to rid the starter of whole wheat. As you see the starter double and triple in size more quickly, you may decide to mix it more often to keep a more milder flavor or keep it at once a day to develop more of a sour flavor. Poolish: (200g) 1 1/2C Starter (200g) 14T Water- 80*F (200g) 1 1/3C High Gluten Flour Mix the starter with the water, then add in the high gluten flour. Mix this together carefully until the flour is completely incorporated. Continue to mix for three minutes. Cover the poolish and allow it to rise in a warm place (80-85*F), for 4-6 hours or until tripled. Sponge: (442g) 2/3 batch Poolish (250g) 1C,1T Water- 80*F (250g) 1 3/4C High Gluten Flour 1/2C Minced Chives 1/4C Onion- poppy seed mix Mix as for the poolish. Allow to rise for 4 hours. Onion- poppy seed mix: 2C Diced onions 4T Butter 1T Poppy Seeds 1/4tsp Black Pepper- freshly ground 2 Sprigs Thyme 1/8tsp Salt, or to taste Melt the butter. Add the thyme and poppy seeds. Add in the diced onions, salt and pepper. Sweat the onions over gentle heat in a covered pan. Be very careful not to get any color. Continue to sweat the onions until they are translucent, soft and most of the moisture has evaporated. Allow to cool and remove thyme sprigs before use. This mixture will be used for the sponge as well as the topping. Dough:

1 recipe Sponge (500g) 3 1/2C High Gluten Flour (25g) 1T,2tsp Kosher Salt Using a mixer, with the dough hook attachment, combine all of the ingredients into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until a dough has formed. Mix for 5 minutes in a kitchen aid mixer on speed 2. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 12 equal pieces or scale them to a weight of 120g each. Gently round the pieces of dough into balls. Cover them with plastic and allow them to rest for 20 minutes. Begin shaping the bialys by pressing the dough balls out into the shape of a 4-5 inch pizza with 1/2 inch of thicker dough bordering around the flattened center. I like to do this on a tray lined with poppy seeds so that it helps keep the dough from sticking as well as adding flavor and texture to the final product. WARNING!! DO NOT attempt to do all of the stretching in one round or the dough will tare and it will end up shrinking back on you anyway. It will take a few rounds of stretching and resting the dough. Once you have successfully completed shaping the bialys, it's time to put the onion- poppy seed mix on before a final rise. Place 1T of the onion mix in the center of each and press it down gently. Cover them loosely with plastic and allow them to rise for 10- 12 hours before baking. If you don't want to wait you can go right ahead and bake these without the 10-12 hour rise but the flavor and texture will be a bit lacking. Since you've already put in this much time and effort, you might as well go for it and wait another half day. Baking the bialys: Preheat your oven to 500*F with a baking stone inside. Place a pan of water in the oven as well to keep it humid. This will help with the formation of the proper crust. The oven should be preheated for 1 hour prior to use to ensure proper baking. Once the oven is ready and it's time to bake the bialys, you must first make sure that the centers will still be there after baking. Gently press the centers down and make sure the 1/2 inch border around the outside remains. It may seem to fall a lot but it will come back to the desired size while baking. Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper and salt if you wish. Place them on the baking stone very carefully using your hands. Bake them for 10 minutes at 500*F then remove the water pan from the oven. Adjust the temperature to 425*F and bake an additional 5 minutes or the desired color. Notes: The recipe will yield better results with the use of a digital scale, baking stone or dutch oven. It may be difficult to get the high gluten flour for the dough, but I'm sure it can be made with regular bread flour with reasonably successful results. Also, there will be a lot of waste while preparing the starter.