Shelpek

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 1egg
• 50 gbutter, melted
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 5 gyeast, or 1 tsp baking powder

Optional

• 3 tbspsour cream
• 1 tbspoil in the dough

To fry

• oil, for shallow frying

To serve

• hot, with tea
• with butter or honey
• with kaymak

Directions

1. Warm the milk to blood heat and mix in the yeast and sugar if you are using yeast. Blood heat only, because hotter milk kills the yeast.
2. Mix the flour and salt, then work in the milk, egg and melted butter. Bring it to a soft, pliable dough and knead 8 minutes until smooth. Keep it soft rather than firm, because a stiff dough gives hard, dry shelpek.
3. Rest it for 30 minutes covered, or prove for an hour if using yeast. That rest relaxes the gluten so the rounds can be rolled thin without springing back. Divide the dough into seven pieces and roll each into a ball. Rest the balls 10 minutes, then roll each into a round of about 20 cm and 3 mm thick.
4. Roll them thin and evenly. Thick shelpek stay doughy in the middle while the outside browns. Prick each round several times with a fork. Docking stops them ballooning into a hollow sphere in the oil, which they otherwise do.
5. Heat about 1.5 cm of oil in a wide pan to 180°C (355°F). Test the temperature with a scrap of dough: it should rise and bubble immediately without browning instantly.
6. Fry each round for about a minute a side until golden with brown blisters. Press them down gently with a spoon as they fry, which helps them cook evenly.
7. Lift them out and drain them on a rack or on paper. Stack them under a cloth as they come out, which keeps them soft. Serve them warm with tea, and with butter, honey or kaymak.

Technique

• The odd number, usually seven, is traditional and observed.
• Baking powder versions are quicker and just as common as yeasted ones.
• Similar fried breads are made across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tatarstan.

Substitutions

• Baking powder in place of yeast, skipping the rise.
• Water in place of milk, which gives a plainer bread.

Variations

• Made with sour cream in the dough, which is richer.
• Baursak, the puffed fried dough balls.
• Made larger and thinner.

History

Fried flatbread made in odd numbers for remembrance meals honouring the dead.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shelpek?

Shelpek is a bread & pastry from Kazakhstan: thin fried flatbreads made for Fridays and remembrance. Fried flatbread made in odd numbers for remembrance meals honouring the dead.

How long does Shelpek take to make?

Shelpek takes 20 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 7 breads. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Shelpek?

Yes, within limits. Baking powder in place of yeast, skipping the rise. Water in place of milk, which gives a plainer bread.

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

Mix the flour and salt, then work in the milk, egg and melted butter. Bring it to a soft, pliable dough and knead 8 minutes until smooth. Keep it soft rather than firm, because a stiff dough gives hard, dry shelpek.