I love Turkish breads. And everytime I plan to make one, my excitement levels increase multi-folds. There's something very endearing about Turkish breads. They are soft, chewy, fluffy and super delicious. The ease with which one can make them is also one of the reasons, that boosts my confidence and happiness. To top it all, my family loves to gorge on them.
Bazlama is what I'm trying today.
Almost Naan like, made with simple pantry ingredients, these are breakfast breads mostly eaten either by spreading butter on them or dunking in herbs infused olive oil. But I intend to have them for my meal along side my home-made gravy rich "matar-chole" ( recipe coming soon).
Such versatile are these flatbreads that one could have them as sandwiches by filling the hollow center with one's favorite stuffings.
Here's how these are made.
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
500 gms Plain Flour
11 grams active dry yeast
150 ml warm water. I microwave the water for 45 seconds.
200 ml room temperature milk. (Often milk is replaced by greek yogurt or sour cream)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
For the Garnish:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 crushed garlic
1 teaspoon of red chilli flakes
2-4 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves
Method:
Microwave 150 ml of water in a heat proof bowl for about 45 seconds.
Add instant yeast and sugar and stir.
Leave it in a warm place for about 10 minutes until the yeast starts acting.
Let mixture stand until yeast begins to foam vigorously.
In a separate bowl, add flour, salt and combine together.
Add the foamy yeast mixture to the flour along with milk and olive oil and knead into a smooth textured dough.
Gather the dough and cover it and let it rest until it doubles (60 minutes).
Knead and fold the dough and divide it into 4 pieces, further dividing into 8 pieces.
Take one of the pieces and cover the others.
Roll one portion into 2 cms thick and 5-6 cms round in diameter with a rolling pin on the floured counter and rest for 10 minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan on the stove and place the rolled dough on the pan and cook both sides until golden brown. It took about 2-3 minutes on medium flame to cook the bazlama, constantly circling making sure it is cooked evenly.
While one is cooking, roll and rest the other pieces and cook right after the first one.
Around the same time, in a small bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned in the Garnish section. Combined well.
Once the bazlamas are done, with the help of a basting brush, glaze the garnish onto each bazlama and serve hot.
And voila!!!! There you go. The Bazlama is ready to be devoured.
Love you all loads!!!