Ekmek is a delicious Turkish bread that is baked in huge ovens and sold on the streets as fast food. You can make it in an ordinary kitchen from the simplest ingredients. Also try etli ekmek, thin flatbreads with a flavored meat filling.
Home ekmek
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. flour;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 tsp salt;
- 100 g sour cream;
- 4 tablespoons sesame or vegetable oil.
Sesame oil, or rather, an approximate alternative, you can prepare yourself. To do this, crush the sesame seeds, fry them well in vegetable oil and leave in it for 24 hours, then strain.
Pour room temperature water into a deep bowl and stir the salt in it until the grains are completely dissolved. Pour flour there in small portions, gently stirring it into the liquid. Knead a tight dough, form a lump out of it, cover with a clean, slightly damp towel and leave for half an hour. Then roll a thick sausage out of it and cut it into 8-10 equal pieces.
Sprinkle flour on the table and roll the dough pieces into very thin cakes no more than 2 mm thick. If they are not quite round, correct the shape with a suitable size of the plate, cutting off the irregularities along its contour. Brush half of the circles with sour cream and cover in pairs with clean flat cakes.
Fry ekmek in heated sesame or vegetable oil until golden brown over medium heat. You can eat it just like that or wrap a variety of fillings in it: stewed or fresh vegetables, meat, fish, etc.
Etli ekmek: delicious Turkish food recipe
Ingredients:
For the test:
- 3 tbsp. flour;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 tsp dry yeast;
- 0.5 tsp Sahara;
- 1 tsp salt;
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil;
For filling:
- 300 g of beef;
- 1 onion;
- 2 tomatoes;
- 2 green bell peppers;
- 1/3 tsp each ground black pepper, paprika and cumin;
- a pinch of red hot pepper;
- salt.
Heat the water a little to 30-35oC, mix it with dry yeast, sugar, salt, vegetable oil and gradually add flour. Knead the tough dough and let it rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.
If your kitchen is too cold or draughty, place the dough in an oven preheated to 35-40oC.
Wash the meat, chop it into cubes, and turn it with the onion quarters in a meat grinder or food processor. Grind peeled tomatoes and peeled green peppers in a blender until smooth and combine with ground beef, season and salt to taste.
Divide the dough into 60-70g pieces and roll them into long, very thin ovals. Cover them evenly with a hearty filling, place in a well-heated oven and bake until golden brown and crisp at 230-250oC for 10-15 minutes. Cut the etli ekmek into pieces and serve as a hot dish.
