This Parisian version of a Bialystokertsibele(onion)pletzel, also called onionzemmel, onionpampalik, or onion board, is very similar to an Italianfocaccia. Try this flat bread sprinkled with rosemary, and you will see how very close it is.
Ingredients
Makes 8
Step 1
Mix the water with the yeast in a large glass bowl. Add 4 cups of the flour, the eggs, 1/4 cup of the oil, the sugar, and the salt to the yeast mixture. Stir well, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until smooth, adding more flour if necessary. Let the dough rise, covered with a towel, for 1 hour in a greased bowl. You can also leave the dough in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 375° and grease 2 cookie sheets.
Step 3
Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll or flatten them into rounds about 5 inches in diameter. Place 4pletzelon each cookie sheet and gently press down the centers. Brush with water and sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons diced onions leaving a 1/2-inch border. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over the onions and sprinkle with the poppy seeds and some kosher salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Step 4
Bake thepletzelsfor 20 minutes, switching from top to middle rack after 10 minutes, or do them in 2 shifts on the middle rack. Then stick them under the broiler for 1 minute, keeping a sharp eye on them, to brown the onions. If you don't have a broiler, raise the heat to 550° and put each sheet on the top rack for 2 minutes or so.
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Reviews (3)
Back to TopThese were fantastic - a fast, easy, and forgiving dough, and a tasty balance of chewy and tender. I forgot the second batch in the oven and left them in there ten minutes too long, and they were still amazing - a bit crisper, of course, almost like a large cracker, which went perfectly with a pre-dinner glass of wine. The softer ones were also yummy, and could be split to make a nice sandwich. Will be making these again and often, plus experimenting with other toppings.
snickerdoodles1
Paris, France
8/5/2011
There is nothing Parisian about this recipe that awakened childhood taste memories of my paternal grandmother's 'tsibele kuchen' - onion rolls that looked and tasted exactly these - which she baked every weekend. My only adjustment was to lightly saute the onions in the 2 tbsp oil. Other than that, followed the recipe exactly, and enjoyed an onion roll I hadn't had since 1964. These would make excellent sandwich or burger buns, but for that I'd fold the dough over the onions to keep them from falling off, and then maybe sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.
rjordan
Hanover, MA
4/19/2010
This isn't really like focaccia because of the eggs in the dough (or, at least, I've never made focccia with eggs in the dough). But, it is delicious. I ended up using it s buns for some grilled portabellas and it withstood the juiciness of the mushroom.
sma32
芝加哥,
1/28/2007
