Chorek

Ingredients

Dough

• 700 gstrong white flour
• 1.5 tspinstant yeast, or 150 g mature sourdough starter
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 430 mlwarm water
• 2 tbspmelted butter or oil (optional, for a softer crumb)

To finish

• 3 tbspmilk or water, for brushing
• 2 tbspsesame seeds or nigella seeds
• Flour, for the peel

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar, add the warm water and knead 10–12 minutes to a smooth, moderately firm dough – stiffer than a pizza dough, so the loaf holds its round shape on a hot wall.
2. Cover and prove 1.5–2 hours at room temperature until doubled. Knock back, divide into 4, shape into tight balls and rest 20 minutes under a cloth.
3. Flatten each ball into a disc 20–22 cm across, pressing from the centre outwards and leaving a raised rim about 2 cm wide. The middle should be noticeably thinner than the edge.
4. Brush the surface with milk and scatter over sesame or nigella seeds. In a tamdyr the loaves are slapped onto the clay wall above the embers and bake in 6–8 minutes.
5. Cool on a cloth, wrapped, so the crust softens slightly, and tear rather than cut to serve.

Technique

• Bread is treated as sacred in Turkmenistan. Chorek is never placed upside down, never thrown away and never cut with a knife at the table – it is torn by hand, and stale pieces are dried and reused rather than binned.
• The tamdyr is a clay oven fired with saxaul wood; the loaf sticks to the hot wall and bakes by radiant heat, which is what gives the dry, blistered crust. A baking stone at maximum oven heat is the closest home version.
• Do not skip the docking. Without it the centre balloons into a hollow pocket instead of staying a flat, sturdy base for scooping.

Substitutions

• A long slow prove in the fridge overnight, or a sourdough starter in place of yeast, gives the faintly sour depth of village chorek made without commercial yeast.
• Half wholemeal flour gives a heavier, nuttier loaf closer to rural bread.

Variations

• Kulche, smaller and thicker rolls baked the same way.
• A festival chorek enriched with milk and butter, made for weddings and holidays.

History

Round tandyr bread central to Turkmen hospitality; it is never placed upside down or thrown away.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chorek?

Chorek is a bread & pastry from Turkmenistan: round tamdyr bread, sacred daily staple. Round tandyr bread central to Turkmen hospitality; it is never placed upside down or thrown away.

How long does Chorek take to make?

Chorek takes 30 min of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 flatbreads. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chorek?

Yes, within limits. A long slow prove in the fridge overnight, or a sourdough starter in place of yeast, gives the faintly sour depth of village chorek made without commercial yeast. Half wholemeal flour gives a heavier, nuttier loaf closer to rural bread.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chorek?

Cool on a cloth, wrapped, so the crust softens slightly, and tear rather than cut to serve.