Lepinja (Serbian Flatbread)

I had a Croatian coworker who would bake this anytime we had a celebration at work. I finally got her to share her recipe with me. I’ve had to tweak it quite a bit because some ingredients she doesn’t measure and of those she does, she uses metrics.

Step: 1

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk in a small bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. Stir the warm water and sugar into the yeast mixture.

Step: 2

Stir the flour and salt together in a separate bowl; add all but about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture to the yeast mixture; mix with your hands until a soft dough forms, adding the last of the flour mixture a little at a time until it clears the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a light cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Step: 3

Deflate, or ‘punch down,’ the dough and turn out onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour; knead for about 5 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover again with a light cloth, and allow the dough to again rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes more.

Step: 4

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Step: 5

Deflate the dough and turn turn out onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour; knead lightly. Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet; shape into an oval about 1/2-inch thick. Set aside to rise a third time for about 30 minutes.

Step: 6

Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned and hollow sounding when thumped, 20 to 25 minutes.

Per Serving: 96 calories; protein 2.8g; carbohydrates 19.9g; fat 0.3g; cholesterol 0.2mg; sodium 196.2mg.

The quality of the flour could make a real difference to your bread. Different brands do vary. Extra-strong or Canadian flours, which are bet higher in gluten, may give you a best rise than standard dough flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal bread , which not always rise as well as white bread.

To made this in a breadmaker , add all the menus to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A bread first rising can be done in the fridge overnight . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can start it night before , then clear it off the next day.