Baursak

Ingredients

Dough

• 700 gplain flour, plus extra for the bench
• 250 mlwhole milk, warmed to 35°C (95°F)
• 100 mlwater
• 2large eggs
• 60 gbutter, melted and cooled
• 9 gdried yeast, or 25 g fresh
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1.5 tspfine salt

To fry and serve

• 1.5 litressunflower oil, for the kazan
• kaimak or thick sour cream, honey and butter, to serve
• black tea with milk (shai)

Directions

1. Whisk the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and water and leave 10 minutes until it foams.
2. Beat in the eggs, melted butter and salt, then work in the flour to a soft, smooth dough. Knead 8–10 minutes; it should be tacky rather than stiff, softer than a bread dough.
3. Cover and prove in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until doubled and full of air.
4. Knock back gently, then roll out to 1 cm thick on a floured bench. Do not roll it thin: baursak puff by a factor of three.
5. Cut into 3 cm squares or diamonds with a knife or a wheel. Kazakh cooks cut squares or diamonds; Kyrgyz cooks often cut rounds.
6. Cover the cut pieces with a cloth and let them rest 20–25 minutes so they wake up again. Skipping this second rise gives heavy, dense baursak.
7. Heat the oil in a kazan or deep heavy pot to 175–180°C (350–350°F). Test with one piece: it should sink briefly, then rise and start to swell within 5 seconds.
8. Fry in small batches, never crowding, turning constantly with a slotted spoon so they colour evenly, 2–3 minutes until deep gold and hollow-sounding. They should balloon, not stay flat.
9. Lift onto a cloth or a rack and pile them, still hot, into a wide bowl or straight onto the dastarkhan cloth.
10. Serve hot with kaimak, honey and butter and endless bowls of milky tea.

Technique

• Baursak is celebration food and ritual food at once: it is piled on the table for weddings and Nauryz, and the smell of frying is said to honour the ancestors, so it is also made for memorial days.
• Oil temperature is everything. Too cool and they drink oil and stay pale; too hot and they brown before the middle cooks and they collapse when cooled.
• The second rest after cutting is what makes them balloon. Kazakh grandmothers cut, cover with a cloth, then drink a cup of tea before frying.
• They are best within an hour. Day-old baursak get split and toasted, or dunked in tea.

Substitutions

• No fresh milk: use water plus 3 tbsp of milk powder, or kefir, which gives a slightly tangier crumb.
• For an eggless version common in Ramadan, replace the eggs with 100 ml more milk; the crumb is a little denser.

Variations

• Kyrgyz boorsok, usually cut smaller and rounder, served at every jailoo table.
• Sweet baursak, tossed in sugar syrup or served with honey, closer to Tatar chak-chak.
• A flat unyeasted version made quickly with kefir and baking soda when guests arrive unannounced.

History

Fried dough pieces heaped on the table at every celebration and funeral; the smell of frying is said to honour ancestors.

Frequently asked questions

What is Baursak?

Baursak is a bread & pastry from Kazakhstan: puffed fried dough scattered across every celebration table. Fried dough pieces heaped on the table at every celebration and funeral; the smell of frying is said to honour ancestors.

How long does Baursak take to make?

Baursak takes 30 min of preparation and 2 hr rising and frying of cooking. The recipe makes about 60 pieces, for 8 people. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Baursak?

Yes, within limits. No fresh milk: use water plus 3 tbsp of milk powder, or kefir, which gives a slightly tangier crumb. For an eggless version common in Ramadan, replace the eggs with 100 ml more milk; the crumb is a little denser.

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

Beat in the eggs, melted butter and salt, then work in the flour to a soft, smooth dough. Knead 8–10 minutes; it should be tacky rather than stiff, softer than a bread dough.