Grandma Eva's Onion Board (Pletzel)

An old Eastern European recipe that can sometimes be found in NY bakeries. This is my grandmother's recipe where my sister painstakingly forced my grandmother to place her handfuls of flour into measuring cups for proper measurements. The recipe is exactly as she made it and far better then any I've had from a bakery shelf. Note: Preparation time doesn't include 1 hour and 15 minutes for rising this yeast dough.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Yields: 2 sheets

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons  yeast
• 1⁄2 cup warm water
• 4  cups flour, plus
• 1  cup flour
• 3  beaten eggs (reserve 1/4 of them for glazing)
• 1  cup warm water
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄3 cup  oil
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 3  medium onions, sauteed lightly in good quality olive oil
• 1⁄8 cup poppy seed, to taste

Directions

1. Make a paste with 1/2 cup warm water and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Place yeast mixture into 4 cup of flour combine with the salt in a large bowl and mix together.
3. In a separate bowl mix sugar, oil, additional 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup of flour, and 3/4s of the beaten eggs (reserving 1/4 of them for glazing the top of the pletzel).
4. Add the sugar/oil/flour/egg mixture to the flour/yeast mixture and mix together with hands (great tools!).
5. Place on floured surface and knead slightly until dough comes together.
6. Place in clean oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
7. Punch down and knead again, place back in bowl and allow to rise for 15 minutes.
8. Grease two sheet pans (cookie sheets with raised sides or jelly roll pans).
9. Cut dough in half and pat each 1/2 into a sheet pan with the dough slightly raised around the sides.
10. Brush each with remaining egg, sprinkle each with half of the sauteed onions with the olive oil remaining (patting into the dough), and sprinkle each with half of the poppy seeds.
11. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
12. Can be served immediately as is or with butter and salt.