Finding the exact winning formula for breaking my fast after the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av, the long summer fasts in which we commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem and the First and Second Temples, has been a source of a lot of culinary trial and error. Striking the right balance can mean the difference between a sound night’s sleep post-fast or wondering if it would have been smarter to have just eaten a bowl of cornflakes before turning in. But you won’t have any regrets after a light meal that includes this version of Ratner’s freshly baked, fluffy onion pockets.
Onion Pockets
For years, Jews living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side made a regular pilgrimage to Ratner’s for its home-style pierogi, blintzes, gefilte fish, matzoh brei, and bottomless baskets of warm onion rolls served with a small bowl of sweet butter, that accompanied every meal. At the restaurant’s peak up to 3,000 onion rolls were baked and served every day. It was the demise of the iconic restaurant in 2002 that prompted baker and cookbook author Stanley Ginsburg to help write the cookbook, Inside the Jewish Bakery, offering his version of Ratner’s onion pockets. Made with the challah dough of your choice, caramelized onions and a sprinkle of poppyseeds are folded carefully into the lightly sweetened, enriched dough. After a brief rise, the onion rolls are baked until light golden in color. Enjoyed with brunch, or a light supper at the end of a long summer day, these onion pockets are classics that will create memories for your family.
Assemble your ingredients. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a portion of your favorite challah dough recipe to make this recipe. Onion pockets are made with two 18 ounce portions of dough. It is best to weigh out the pieces of dough, but if you don’t have a scale, this is the equivalent of challah dough made with 4 cups of flour. Use a large sweet onion to make the filling or 2 medium onions (8 ounces or 225 grams each).
To make the onion filling: Chop the onion into a medium-small dice. Add the oil to a frying pan and heat it on medium until it sizzles when a small piece of chopped onion is added to it. Add the onion and salt and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry gently, stirring from time to time until the onions are a rich golden brown (don’t burn the onions!). Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of poppy seeds. Allow the mixture to cool. Divide the caramelized onions into three portions (you can eyeball it).
Divide your challah dough into two 18 ounce pieces. Using one 18 ounce piece of challah dough, roll it into a thick sausage shape and stretch it until it is 12 inches wide. Cover the dough with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. This will facilitate rolling out the dough.
Spray the rolling surface with nonstick cooking spray. Spray your rolling pin as well. (You can flour your rolling surface if you prefer.) Using your rolling pin, roll the dough from side to side until it is 18 inches wide. Roll it lengthwise (away from you) until it measure about 10 inches. You should have a rectangle about 18 inches wide by 10 inches deep and 1/4-inch thick (a little thinner in some places). Add a little flour to your rolling surface if the dough is sticking. I find that the cooking spray prevents it from sticking to the rolling surface and no extra flour is needed most of the time.
Brush the top of the dough with 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Leave a 1/2 inch at the top edge unoiled. Spread 1/3 of the onion filling across the upper 2/3 of the dough rectangle. Starting at the edge closest to you, with the help of a dough scraper or bench knife to lift the dough, fold the bottom (no onion filling) third of dough, letter style over the middle third of dough. Fold the top third down and over the folded dough (see picture above). Seal the upper edges together by pressing down on the dough gently with the heel of your hand. You will now have a filled strip of dough about 18 inches long and approximately 3 inches wide. Set it aside and repeat the whole process for the second piece of dough.
Spread the remaining third of the filling onto your work surface or onto a piece of parchment paper that is as wide as the filled dough strips. Flip each dough strip over and press the top of the dough strip into the filling firmly so that it adheres to the dough. Turn the dough strips over and cut each strip into 6 pieces.
Place each piece on the prepared parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with a large piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Allow the rolls to rise for 1 hour. They will double in size.
During the last half of the rising period, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes. Remove the pan to a cooking rack and allow the rolls to cool for 15 minutes (or longer).
Onion Pockets
Lightly sweetened, enriched dough filled with caramelized onions and a sprinkle of poppyseeds
Ingredients
- 2- 18 ounce pieces of challah dough (that's just over 1 pound for each portion)
- 2 medium yellow onions, or 1 large sweet onion, (Vidalia, Spanish), chopped in a medium-small dice
- 2 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Instructions
To make the onion filling:
Chop the onion into a medium-small dice. Add the oil to a frying pan and heat it on medium until it sizzles when a small piece of chopped onion is added to it. Add the onion and salt and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry gently, stirring from time to time until the onions are a rich golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of poppy seeds. Allow the mixture to cool. Divide the caramelized onions into three portions (you can eyeball it).
Weigh out two 18 ounce portions of challah dough. Using one 18 ounce piece of challah dough, roll it into a thick sausage shape and stretch it until it is 12 inches wide. Cover the dough with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. This will facilitate rolling out the dough.
Spray your rolling surface with nonstick cooking spray. Spray your rolling pin as well. Using your rolling pin, roll the dough from side to side until it is 18 inches wide. Roll it lengthwise (away from you) until it measure about 10 inches. You should have a rectangle about 18 inches wide by 10 inches deep and 1/4-inch thick (a little thinner in some places). Add a little flour to your rolling surface if the dough is sticking. I find that the cooking spray prevents it from sticking to the rolling surface and no extra flour is needed most of the time.
Brush the top of the dough with 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Leave a 1/2 inch at the top edge unoiled. Spread 1/3 of the onion filling across the upper 2/3 of the dough rectangle. Starting at the edge closest to you, with the help of a dough scraper or bench knife to lift the edge of the dough, fold the bottom (no onion filling) third of dough, letter style over the middle third of dough. Fold the top third down and over the folded dough (see picture above). Seal the upper edges together by pressing down on the dough gently with the heel of your hand. You will now have a filled strip of dough about 18 inches long and 3 inches wide. Set it aside and repeat the whole process for the second piece of dough.
Spread the remaining third of the filling onto your work surface or onto a piece of parchment paper that is as wide as the filled dough strips. Flip each dough strip over and press the top of the dough strip into the filling firmly, so that it adheres to the dough. Turn the dough strips over and cut each strip into 6 pieces.
Place each piece on the prepared parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with a large piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Allow the rolls to rise for 1 hour. They will double in size and your finger will leave an indentation when pressing gently into the dough.
During the last half of the rising period, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes on the center oven rack. Remove the pan to a cooking rack and allow the rolls to cool for at least 15 minutes. Individually wrapped, these onion pockets freeze very well.
Notes
I use the challah dough recipe posted on this blog for the onion buns: https://nancooksthebooks.com/challah/. This recipe will produce 2 medium challahs and 12 onion buns. A smaller challah recipe that calls for 4 cups of flour will yield 12 onion buns.
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