Lipioshka
Hi all,
A friend of mine is originally from Ferghana, and he told me about a bread they used to eat there when he was a kid, called "Lipioshka". I understand it is a rather traditional Uzbek bread. It is a little like a large bialy in shape: a round disc, thick around the edges and very thin in the center. The center is stamped with a special tool (or simply pricked with a fork) to prevent rising. Traditionally, it is baked in a Tandr, an Uzbek oven not unlike a Tandoor.
I attempted to make it from a similar sounding recipe in Maggie Glezer's "A Blessing of Bread". I've written about it extensively here: http://foldingpain.blogspot.com/2008/02/lipioshka.html
However, I am interested to know if you had heard of it, or of similar breads. Do you have recipes you can share? This is a fascinating bread to me, and I am surprised at how little information I was able to find about it.
Lipioshka
Comments
bshuval,
I read your blog entry about it, and now I really want to try it. I often make flat breads when I make Hommus and Felafel and Txadziki, and I think this would be a perfect accompanyment. :)
I may just make a batch today to see how they are.
Thanks for posting this!
I made a sweetened version (with sifted wholewheat) as you mentioned on your website and they are great! I love them! A little too dark though. I had to turn the oven down to 200 degrees celcius and then again to 190. I think the syrup caused them to brown too much.
I can definitely see them being eaten for breakfast, warmed with some fruit fresh or compote-and natural yoghurt sweetened with a little honey and cinnamon. :)
YUM!
Thanks for sharing bshuval, I think these guys will become a regular in our household. sweet or savory. The crumb is so soft and yet are full of holes!
I had to ferment it longer than you said so, as it just wasnt growing. I think I went an extra 2 hours with 2 folds during.
I also dont have scales so I had to try to estimate the percentage. I went something like 3 cups of flour (after sifting), 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast and to sweeten, 1 heaped tablespoon of golden syrup. (tastes like clear toffee)
Thanks again! They are sooo good!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I, too, was surprised at how tasty this bread is, with so few ingredients.
My bread blog: http://foldingpain.blogspot.com
If I remember it correctly lipioshki (or rather lepioshki) is a generic Russian word for flatbreads, and, for that matter, pretty much anything that's flat and soft. A friend of mine recently baked some Uzbek flatbreads, uy-non, she calls them, if you're interested I'll look up the recipe.
Thanks!
My bread blog: http://foldingpain.blogspot.com
I was kindly allowed by mariana to post her recipe here. But before I start - here's a link - http://gurman.tv/?a=full&id=153 That's how it's done by Uzbeks. So
Baker's percents
100 flour
1.5 fresh yeast
1.2 salt
65-70 water
3-3.5 old dough
Make straight dough using old dough and let it ferment for 3 h at 90F. Punch down every 40 min.
or
Make prefement out of 30% of total flour at 85-90% hydration. Let it ferment for 4 h at 90F. Mix in the remaining ingredients (I don't think old dough is in this variation), knead, and let ferment 1 hour at 90 F.
Scale (7 or 14 oz), preshape and let rest for 30 min. Shape the flatbreads, and puncture the center of the bread. Proof for 20-25 minutes. To bake - preheat the oven with the stone in it to 575F/300C. Spray the breads with water, place them on the stone and switch to broiler. Bake 8 min for 7 oz bread, 10 min for 14 oz bread. Spray with water. Let cool down.
I was just reading about this bread tonight and it sounds so interesting.
Apparently the most common kind of flat cake is the Obi-Non and it gets its flavor from the special ferment. From the article at http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=1577
"Making dough for Obi-Non, bakers use the special ferment bought in advance or make it with their own hands. Chopped onions and sour milk (this latter is made with its own special yeast) are added in thick meat broth with which dough is made. The dough is left alone then and diluted with warm water 16 hours later. All of it is left alone for between 4 and 6 hours again. Water is then added with some flour and the mass is permitted to ferment for another 40-minute period. It is only after this last fermentation period that cakes as such are formed by hand. Some of the ferment is left for later use. (Hamir-Kutush or a piece of dough is often used for the purpose.)"
I also really liked this part:
"Uzbeks treat ferments with utmost respect. Ferments are stored in some secluded nook. People never sit with their legs stretched out in its direction and never step over it. Some recipes are kept a secret to be passed down the line from the baker to his apprentice."
So pretty!
*pic from http://uzbekistan.neweurasia.net/?p=120
Thanks,
Sara