Parisian Pletzl
On a recent visit to the Marais, I stopped in at Florence Finkelsztajn’s Traiteur Delicatessen, as I always do. The quarter has two Finkelsztajn delicatessens, one trimmed in yellow (Florence’s ex-husband’s) and one in blue (Florence’s—now renamed Kahn). According to Gilles Pudlowski, the gastronomic critic of Polish Jewish origin who writes the popular Pudlo restaurant guides, Florence’s store is the best place to satisfy a nostalgic craving for eastern European cooking. In addition to Central European Yiddish specialties, like herring, chopped liver, and pastrami, Florence also sells Pudlo, baked in the back of the shop. I have made her recipe, which she gave me a few years ago, and I can assure you it is delicious. Pletzl, short for Bialystoker tsibele pletzl, refers to a circular eastern European flat onion bread, often studded with poppy seeds, that came from the city of Bialystok, Poland. The bread is known in America in a smaller version as the bialy. Try it as a snack hot from the oven, or make a “big pletzl sandwich,” as Florence does. Her fillings vary as much as the different ethnicities of Jews living in Paris today: Alsatian pickelfleisch (corned beef), Romanian pastrami, Russian eggplant caviar (see page 34), North African roasted peppers, and French tomato and lettuce.
Recipe information
Yield
12 pletzlach
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour 1 cup lukewarm water into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and the sugar until dissolved. Add 4 cups flour, the eggs, 1/4 cup of the oil, and the salt. Mix well, and knead for about 10 minutes, or until smooth, adding more flour if necessary. Or use a food processor or a standing mixer with a dough hook. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, and let rise, covered, for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and grease two cookie sheets.
Step 2
Divide the dough into twelve balls, and roll or flatten them out into rounds about 6 inches in diameter. Put the rounds on the cookie sheets, and make thumbprints in the centers. Brush the dough with cold water, and sprinkle about 1/4 cup of onion in each indentation. Brush the rounds with the remaining vegetable oil, and sprinkle the poppy seeds on top. Let sit for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Step 3
Bake for 20 minutes. Then, if you like, slip the pletzlach under the broiler for a minute, to brown the onions. Serve lukewarm, as is or in a big pletzl sandwich.
