Is A Bialy Just Another Kind Of Bagel?

I was first introduced to bialy's on my honeymoon in New York City, home of the best pizza in the world. As my husband and I ventured out into the Big Apple on our first morning there, we came across a coffee cart right outside of our hotel. We grabbed coffee and what I thought was a bagel with onions on it. It turned out, we had bialys in our hand. And, no, this bialy and the bagel I expected were not the same.

Upon closer inspection, there were some obvious differences between these bialys and what I knew of traditional bagels. The outside of the bialy wasn't shiny, it was flatter than a bagel, and it didn't have a hole in the middle of it, but rather, was marked by an indentation, which served as the perfect spot to hold its stash of caramelized onions. I'd asked for mine to be sliced in half and slathered with butter, and biting into this mystery bread was so memorable and delicious that my new spouse and I feasted on bialys and coffee every morning of our trip.

Bialys and bagels do share some similarities. For instance, they are both made with similar ingredients and came to New York in the 19th century with Jewish immigrants from Poland. But the preparation process for each is quite different, resulting in two unique types of bread.

New York City's Kossar's bakery has been producing bagels and bialys since 1936. The business is especially known for the latter, as it is the oldest operating bialy bakery in the country. Co-owner, Evan Giniger, told MIC, "A bialy is actually more closely related to an English muffin than a bagel." You can see this when you split a bialy in half and notice the numerous air pockets throughout. Many agree that a bialy is best described as a type of bread roll, a description not typically associated with bagels. Bialys are made by mixing a yeasted dough, letting it rest and rise, portioning the dough into individual rolls, proofing them (by the way, you don't need a fancy proofer for this step), shaping them with their signature indentation, filling them with onions, garlic, poppy seeds, or a combination of these flavorings, and baking them. That may sound like a lot of steps, but bagels are a bit more complicated.

Bagels also start with a yeasted dough, but one that contains some type of sugar. When it comes to New York bagels, many believe it's the city's tap water that makes them superior. When the dough comes together, it rests and is then rolled out into bagel sizes and shapes (with that signature hole in the middle). These are proofed before being boiled. It's the boiling step that gives bagels their chew, stiff shell, and shiny exterior. Bagels are typically fully coated in their flavorings (like everything seasoning or sesame seeds) and finally baked. While bagels' appeal and availability has spread far and wide from their American origin point of New York City, the demand for bialys has largely stayed within the confines of the metropolis. It's hard to find them anywhere else, save for communities with large Jewish populations.