En anglais, on s’appelle le quartier Juif “le Pletzel” [In English, the Jewish Quarter is called “the Pletzel”]
– Florence Kahn, “Bagels, cheesecakes et autres recettes Yiddish: Delicatessen” [Yiddish Cuisine : Authentic and Delicious Jewish Recipes]
Bread Baking Babes (BBB): Pletzel (Onion Board)
This month, Karen’s choice for the BBBs is pletzel. Please note that is NOT a typo. It really is an “l” rather than an “r” in the name.
Onion and Poppy Seed Pletzel is a European flatbread similar to Focaccia. It is commonly referred to as the Onion Bread Board and can be found in bakeries in NYC.
– Sandhya Ramakrishnan, My Cooking Journey | Onion And Poppy Seed Pletzel | Onion Bread Board
You don’t hear much about the pletzel these days. On one hand, it’s an Ashkenazi Jewish flatbread covered with raw onions and poppy seeds. On the other hand, it’s a neighborhood in Paris.
The name comes from the Yiddish for “little square,” as in a little area within a city. (Technically, the Yiddish spelling of the neighborhood is “פּלעצל,” which transliterates to “pletzl.” The flatbread, on the other hand, is more commonly spelled “pletzel.”) The Pletzl in Paris sits in the Marais neighborhood of the Fourth Arrondissement.
– Joe Baur, food52 | This Bread Is Beloved in Paris—& a Relic of Jewish History
A few years ago, the editor of a food magazine called and said he was writing an article on pletzel, which he called “Jewish focaccia.” I thought this was a bit of a stretch—but not entirely. I love it and was delighted recently to show my son David how to make it.
Bialystoken tzible pletzel kuchen is originally from Bialystok in northeast Poland. Many years ago, the Yiddish Film Archives sent me a clip from the 1930s of a woman proudly holding a freshly baked pie-shaped flatbread topped with onions and poppy seeds. I have never forgotten her or her bread.
Called “onion board” by many immigrants to New York, pletzel is made in this country with leftover sweet challah and sometimes with the stiffer bialy dough.
– Joan Nathan, Tablet | The Pleasure of Pletzel
