Kazakh Shelpek: Easy, Soft Flatbread

Ruddy, soft, simple, very tasty and inexpensive. The dough for Kazakh shelpek — flatbreads — is kneaded with flour and milk without adding eggs. These flatbreads can be made unleavened, as in the recipe, or you can add a little sugar. You can serve such pastries with first courses, instead of bread, and with tea.
cook time: 1h
Zoe Kendrick
Kazakh Shelpek: Easy, Soft Flatbread

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

344
Calories
18g
Fat
38g
Carbs
7g
Protein

Ingredients (8 portions)

Basic:

Salt (pinch) 0.2 g
Butter 30 g
Milk 200 ml
Vegetable oil (approximately) 100 ml
Soda (pinch) 0.2 g
Apple vinegar 1 tsp
Flour (approximately) 400 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to fry Kazakh shelpek — flat cakes? Very simple and fast. First, prepare the necessary ingredients. Use premium flour. If you wish, you can add a little sugar to the dough. You can replace soda with the same amount of baking powder. There is no need to extinguish it with vinegar. You can replace apple cider vinegar with regular table vinegar. You can also replace vinegar with lemon juice.

Step 2

Step 2
Pour milk into a saucepan, add butter and heat everything together until the butter dissolves. The milk should be warm, but not hot.

Step 3

Step 3
Sift about 350 g of flour along with salt into a bowl. Thanks to sifting, it will be saturated with oxygen, and the finished cakes will turn out more tender.

Step 4

Step 4
Make a well in the flour. Pour baking soda into it, pour in vinegar and immediately stir quickly. We are used to extinguishing soda in a spoon and only then adding it to the dough. However, the reaction with the release of carbon dioxide takes place outside the dough, which means it does not loosen it. Therefore, it is better to carry out the reaction directly in the test. Make a well in the flour again.

Step 5

Step 5
Pour warm milk and butter into the flour. If necessary, adding the remaining flour, knead a homogeneous elastic dough.

Step 6

Step 6
Wrap the finished dough in a bag or cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes. During this time, gluten will develop in the flour, and the finished dough will be more elastic and pliable.

Step 7

Step 7
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

Step 8

Step 8
Roll out each piece on a floured surface into thin cakes.

Step 9

Step 9
It’s better to roll out all the cakes at once and stack them on top of each other, placing them with napkins so that they don’t stick together. It is better to shake off excess flour before frying, otherwise it will burn in the pan.

Step 10

Step 10
Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan with a thick bottom. The oil should completely cover the bottom of the pan. Place the helpek and use a spatula to turn it clockwise for a few seconds until golden brown. Then turn over and continue frying until air bubbles appear.

Step 11

Step 11
Place the finished milk-based shelpeks on paper napkins to absorb excess fat, then serve. Bon appetit!

Additional rubrics

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