Turkish bread
This soft and pillowy Turkish bread has a hint of sweetness on the crust from honey and tons of sesame and nigella seeds. The no-knead, super tender, fluffy, and delicious Turkish flatbread recipe is an adaptation of the Ramazan pidesi that you don’t want to miss.
Ingredients
Ingredients for making Turkish bread
- 360 g bread flour (slightly more than 2 ½ cups)
- 152 g water (slightly less than ⅔ cup)
- 100 g whole milk (⅔ cup)
- 8 g sugar (2 tsp)
- 10 g salt (2tsp)
- 7 g instant dry yeast (1 pack)
Ingredients for topping the Turkish bread
- 3 tablespoon heavy cream
- 3 teaspoon Honey
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon Nigella seeds
Instructions
Step 1 Make the dough
- In a large bowl combine the flour with all the dry ingredients viz. salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Use a whisk to combine them evenly.
- Now add water and milk. Use the back of a ladle to combine and form a dough ball.
- Now use clean hands to combine until no dry patch of flour is left.
- Then clean the sides of a bowl and cover the bowl with a cling wrap or kitchen towel. Let the dough rest and ferment while undergoing autolyse.
- After 45 minutes go in with wet hands and stretch and fold the dough while deflating any air build-up. Turn the bowl 45 degree and repeat. Keep repeating until you have done enough stretching and folding to tighten the dough and form a dough ball. Then lift the dough by placing your hand under it and flip.
Step 2 Bulk proof the dough
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let the dough bulk-proof for 1 hour or until it becomes double in volume. If you are using instant dry yeast, this would not take longer than that.
- Always go by the bulk and volume increase in the dough and not the timeline.
Step 3 Dividing the dough and Shaping
- When the dough becomes fuller and almost doubled up in volume, transfer it onto a flour-dusted work surface.
- Gather the edges to form a round. Then divide it into two equal parts using a bench scraper. You can simply eyeball it or use a weighing machine to divide them into two equal parts.
- Then roll them into individual rounds and cover them.
- Let them rest for 20 minutes while keeping them covered with a kitchen towel.
- Then take one round and use your fingers to press and spread the dough to create a round-shaped flatbread.
- Lift it and place it on a parchment-lined baking tray. Also dust it with some cornmeal.
- Repeat the process with the second round. When it is rolled into a disk of about one-fourth of an inch thickness, gently lift it and place it on the baking tray.
Step 4 Proofing and Topping
- Now cover the shaped Turkish bread with a kitchen towel and let them proof for 40 minutes or until they become fuller in volume and puff up a bit. ( If using instant dry yeast see recipe notes)
- Then you go in with your fingers and press it down around its corners marking a circular periphery. Then make the internal pattern of your choice. I made 4 parallel lines and then made 4 more parallel lines placed diagonally to the previous lines so that diamond shapes are formed on the Turkish bread.
- You can make whatever design you like. The key purpose is to deflate the dough and get rid of any excess air build-up in the bread.
- Now in a bowl combine room-temperature heavy cream and honey. Mix well and brush on the top of the Turkish bread. It gives the crust a shine and allows the toppings to adhere well to the bread.
- Now, for toppings, sprinkle sesame seeds and nigella seeds.
Step 5 Baking the Turkish bread
- Preheat the oven to 400 oF and place a small empty baking pan on the lower shelf.
- When it is ready, add 3-4 ice cubes to the tray and place the baking sheet with Turkish bread on the upper shelf.
- Bake them for 18-20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Remove them from the oven and brush the top with butter to keep the crust soft for longer. Serve warm as your heart desires.
Notes
- Make sure the milk is at room temperature.
- You can substitute bread flour with all-purpose flour but reduce the hydration percentage to 65 percent.
- Bulk fermentation is highly temperature-dependent, and the total time required for bulk proofing will depend on the ambient temperature in the kitchen. To speed up the fermentation on a cold day, place dough in a warm corner of your kitchen (in an oven with lights turned on).
- You can divide the dough into three equal parts and make three small Turkish bread.
- To make this recipe into a Ramazan pidesi reduce the proofing time and switch to all-purpose flour. Also, skip the honey and simply use milk wash.
- Make sure to deflate the proofed dough while pinching the pattern on it, or else it will fully puff up like pita bread.
- Make sure that the cream is at room temperature else it will not mix well with the honey. You can substitute it with whole milk.
- Sesame seeds and nigella seeds are the conventional toppings, but you can use literally anything that you like.
- To keep it soft, do not forget to brush it with some butter as it comes out of the oven.
- Instant dry yeast: If you are using instant dry yeast the timelines will vary. It will take double the time to bulk fermentation and proofing. So, be patient and observe the increase in the volume of the dough.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition
Calories: 700kcal
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