Bialy (Yiddish: ביאלי), a Yiddish word short for biały or bialystoker kuchen (Yiddish: ביאליסטאקער קוכען), from the city of Białystok in Poland, is a small roll that is a traditional dish in Polish and Polish Ashkenazi cuisine. A traditional bialy, or cebularz as it is known in Poland, has a diameter of up to 15 cm (6 inches) and is a chewy yeast roll similar to a bagel. Unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, a bialy is simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle it has a depression. Before baking, this depression is filled with diced onions and other ingredients, including (depending on the recipe) garlic, poppy seeds, or bread crumbs.[1]
In 2000, former New York Times food writer Mimi Sheraton wrote a book dedicated to the bialy, called The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World.[2]
