I struggled with a name for these. While it is true that red onions and walnuts are two main ingredients in the filling, I feel like the three other main ingredients should also be highlighted. But Red Onion Walnut Anchovies Aleppo Red Pepper Flakes and Golden Raisin Bialys sounds way too long, am I right?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy with the red onions and walnuts, it’s just that the combo of the anchovies with the Aleppo pepper flakes and the raisins really adds so much dimension to these!! I got the idea for this filling from a recipe from Bon Appétit HERE. And as soon as I tasted the walnut dressing in the recipe, it immediately got my wheels turning trying to come up with a recipe that could showcase this combo! Why are these ingredients so goos together? I think I’ve always been a fan of anchovies, but it really plays nicely with the golden raisins and the Aleppo red pepper flakes. And Bon Appétit suggests that you can use a similar mild red pepper if you don’t have Aleppo, but I think Aleppo red pepper flakes are so much better than other red chili flakes, IMO.

Purists might say that this is not a true bialy; that bialys should only have onions, and maybe poppy o sesame seeds, but I say go crazy with the variety and top them with whatever you fancy!

I froze these bad boys (or are they bad girls?) and whenever we needed a fast treat, we’d pop a couple of them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, and they tasted as good as the first day I made them! This recipe only makes 8 bialys so next time I may make a double batch and freeze them.

Red Onion Walnut Bialys (with Anchovies, Aleppo Red Pepper Flakes and Golden Raisin) recipe for homemade bialys taken from the Kitchn

ingredients

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

A pinch of granulated sugar

1 and 1/4 cup water

3 cups bread flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup milk for brushing on before baking

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup diced red onions

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons water

2-3 anchovies

1 clove minced garlic

Aleppo pepper flakes, about a Tablespoon or to taste

3 Tablespoons golden raisins, previously soaked and drained in warm water

method

Combine the yeast and the pinch of sugar with the water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes until the water looks cloudy or bubbly.

Add the flour and salt and stir until the dough forms a shaggy mass.

Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl for about 5 minutes, then let sit for about 10 minutes to help the water get absorbed into the dough.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Continue to knead for an additional 10-15 minutes. Dough will become smoother and elastic and springy.

Oil bowl with olive oil, or other vegetable oil and place ball of dough into bowl, turning once to coat the ball of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit undisturbed until dough is doubled in size, about 2 hours.

After doubling in size, punch the dough down and either cover the bowl back and place in the refrigerator, to make the bialys in the morning, or you can make the bialys right away.

After the dough has been sitting overnight, take it out of the refrigerator to warm up about 30 minutes, or after punching down, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, with a knife or dough scraper.

Shape each piece into rolls. Place plastic wrap over all the rolls and let them sit on parchment-lined baking sheets for about an hour.

While rolls are sitting, make the bialy filling:

Toast the chopped walnuts by placing in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring fairly often for about 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove walnuts from pan and set aside for later.

Lower heat to medium. Add the oil and water into the pan and add the red onions, garlic, and anchovies. Saute until anchovies dissolve into the oil and onions are soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the walnuts, raisins, and Aleppo pepper flakes and stir lightly to combine.

When rolls are ready to be shaped into bialys and baked, take each roll and make an indentation in the center by holding each roll with both hands and using your thumbs to press in the center. Form a ring by holding it like a steering wheel and rotating each piece of dough with your fingers on the edges and using your thumbs in the center of each dough to make a depression in the center that is about 3 inches in diameter.

Lay each dough on parchment-lined baking sheets and prick the center depressions several times to help them stay flat while being baked.

Brush each bialy around the edges with milk or cream. If you don’t have a brush, use a clean finger. I then spooned about 3 Tablespoons of the filling to each bialy center and baked for about 15-20 minutes, or until sufficiently golden brown around the bialy. You can also bake them unfilled, but I rather like how the filling seems to stay more secure when added to the bialy prior to baking. The only thing to watch out for is that the golden raisins may turn black. They weren’t burned, but I ended up turning them over and nobody was the wiser!