Ingredients
Dough
- 700 gstrong white flour
- 480 mlwarm water
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 14 gsalt
- 1 tspsugar
- 2 tbspoil
To finish
- a little water or oil, for brushing
- nigella seeds, optional
Equipment
- a baking stone or heavy tray
- a peel
To serve
- at iftar, with soup
- filled with ćevapi
- torn, with everything
Directions
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar, keeping salt and yeast apart until the water goes in. Add the water and oil and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough. A wet dough is what gives somun its light open crumb, and a stiff one bakes into a dense disc.
- Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, or use a series of folds if it is too wet to handle. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until well risen and bubbly. Every bubble in the dough becomes a hole in the finished bread, so do not knock it about. Rest the balls 20 minutes on a floured board.
- Heat the oven as hot as it will go, at least 250°C (480°F), with a stone or heavy tray inside for a full hour. An hour of preheating with a stone, not ten minutes with a tray.
- Press it out with your fingertips rather than rolling it, which would drive out the gas you have spent two hours making. Leave the edges slightly thicker than the middle.
- Press a grid or a spiral pattern into the surface with your fingertips or the edge of your hand, going most of the way through. Brush the tops with water and scatter nigella seeds if you want. Prove them a final 15 minutes. Now slide them onto the hot stone.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes until puffed and lightly golden. They should balloon considerably in the oven and then settle as they cool.
- Serve them warm, torn by hand. At iftar they are eaten first with a bowl of begova čorba or another soup, and a bakery somun is bought within the hour before sunset.
Technique
- Ramadan somun is a Bosnian institution and bakeries advertise their baking times.
- Lepinja is a closely related bread and the names are sometimes used interchangeably.
- It freezes well and is refreshed in a hot oven.
Substitutions
- A heavy tray preheated as long as possible in place of a stone.
- Strong bread flour, which the recipe assumes.
Variations
- With nigella or sesame seeds.
- Made larger, as one sharing bread.
- Lepinja, the closely related Serbian and Bosnian bread.
History
Leavened flatbread baked especially during Ramadan, when bakeries sell it fresh for iftar; it also holds ćevapi.
Frequently asked questions
What is Somun?
Somun is a bread & pastry from Bosnia and Herzegovina: puffy Ottoman flatbread, beloved during Ramadan. Leavened flatbread baked especially during Ramadan, when bakeries sell it fresh for iftar; it also holds ćevapi.
How long does Somun take to make?
Somun takes 25 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 12 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 breads. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Somun?
Yes, within limits. A heavy tray preheated as long as possible in place of a stone. Strong bread flour, which the recipe assumes.
What is the most important thing to get right in Somun?
Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, or use a series of folds if it is too wet to handle. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until well risen and bubbly. Every bubble in the dough becomes a hole in the finished bread, so do not knock it about. Rest the balls 20 minutes on a floured board.
