Pletzel is a flat roll, of which there were about 18 varieties in Poland according to Der Oytser Fun der Yidisher Shprakh (Thesaurus of the Yiddish Language) by Nahum Stutchkoff, published by the Yivo Institute in 1950. Like the bialy, a form of pletzel from Bialystok, her tzibele pletzel (onion pletzel) is studded with onions and poppy seeds, but it is flatter than the bialy and made from a sweet dough formed into a round, rolled out very thin and then pricked with a fork.

A larger pletzel, called an onion board in this country, can be bought at stores like Kossar's and Zabar's in New York. Often slathered with goose fat, pletzlach (the plural) were a specialty of Jewish bakers in Zamosc and other cities, sold hot from pushcarts with bagels.