TWD: Baking with Julia - Onion Bialys

PRETEND THERE IS A REALLY NICE PICTURE HERE OF MY BEAUTIFUL ONION BIALYS

I really did make them, I promise.  In fact, I actually made them early, as the week for posting this recipe changed and I didn't realize it until after I made them!  And I even took pictures.  Truly, I did.  However, between taking the pictures and uploading them to my computer, and sitting down to type this blog post, my computer CRASHED.  As in, it is dead.  As I type, there are computer experts trying to extract all of my data from that darned thing.  Please, please save my photos, I told them.  Because not only are my baking and other creations on that computer, but the photographs of my most important creations are on there as well.  My kids!  Ugh.  In fact, every single photo of the clever baby is on that machine.  Please, please save my photos, oh brilliant computer experts.  Please!  Can we all send up a prayer to the computer gods together, right now?  Okay, on the count of three.... 1...2...3..."Please save those photos!!!"

All right, on to the recipe.  This week's recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie is Onion Bialys.  In case you are like me, and have no idea whatsoever what a bialys might be, let me help out.  It is very similar to a bagel, except it is only baked (not boiled and then baked like a bagel) and instead of having a hole in the middle, it has a depression that is usually filled with chopped onions.  Close your eyes and visualize that with me, since there are no pictures to help out.  Got it?  

My bialys did not actually keep their center depression, they puffed right up anyway.  And I really did prick the heck out of those things with a fork before baking them.  But that is okay with me, because no matter how they looked, they were DELICIOUS.  They were fluffy and savory, very light but with a nice crispy crust on the outside.  And really, they weren't so hard to make.  There were two rising times, but overall the dough went together pretty easily.  I would definitely make these again, and maybe caramelize the onions that go on top....everything is better with caramelized onions, in my opinion!  

The recipe for Onion Bialys can be found on pages 90-92 of Baking with Julia.  Make sure you head to the TWD blog and click on the LYL:Onion Bialys page.  That way you can see what other bakers thought of the bread and maybe even see a photo of how they are supposed to look!  

Ugh.  When computers go down, it is BAD NEWS.

Lesson for me:  Back up data WAY more frequently.  Maybe I can find some way that it can automatically happen, because these days I feel like I can't remember to do anything regularly that is outside of human necessities.