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Parlenka
Parlenka (пърленка): griddled flatbread brushed with garlic butter and topped with cheese
Grill houses all over Bulgaria, and especially the seaside ones at Burgas and Varna, bring parlenka to the table straight off the coals: a puffy, char-marked flatbread brushed with garlic butter, sprinkled with savory and dusted with white cheese or grated kashkaval. It is torn and shared with salads, grilled vegetables or a plate of lyutenitsa. Bakeries use a yeast dough; this quick home version raises it with yogurt and a little bicarbonate, so it is ready in half an hour on a griddle pan. Both sirene and kashkaval are traditionally made with animal rennet, so use vegetarian white or hard cheese. The common pitfall is a pan that is not hot enough: the bread must hit smoking-hot iron to puff and blister rather than dry out. Chef's tip: brush the butter on the moment the bread leaves the pan, while the surface is still crackling, so it soaks right in.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flourplus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 7 oz plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
For the topping
- 1 ¾ oz butter
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tsp dried summer savory
- 2 tbsp parsleychopped
- 3 ½ oz vegetarian Bulgarian white cheese (sirene)finely crumbled, or grated vegetarian hard cheese
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, add 7 oz plain yogurt and 1 tbsp sunflower oil and knead briefly into a soft dough that no longer sticks. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
12 minStep 2: Melt 1 ¾ oz butter with 2 cloves garlic in a small pan over a low heat for 2 minutes until fragrant, then stir in 1 tsp dried summer savory and 2 tbsp parsley.
3 minStep 3: Divide the dough into 4 and roll or stretch each piece into an oval about 5 mm thick.
4 minStep 4: Heat a ridged griddle pan or heavy frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Cook the breads one at a time for 1½–2 minutes a side, until puffed, char-striped and cooked through.
8 minStep 5: Brush each one at once with the garlic butter and scatter with 3 ½ oz vegetarian Bulgarian white cheese (sirene). Cut into strips and serve hot.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does parlenka take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
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