AI-generated image
Zelňák
Zelňák: Moravian flat yeast pie topped with caraway sauerkraut, golden onion and sour cream
CzechOut in the Moravian wine villages, when bread was baked in the communal oven, the last of the dough went into zelňák: a flat yeast base spread with sour cabbage and fried onion and baked until the edges blister. It is still sold in bakeries around Brno and Hodonín and eaten warm in slices with a glass of buttermilk or new wine. Old recipes fry the onion in lard or add crackling; this version uses oil and butter and is vegetarian. The topping is tangy, sweet from the onion and scented with caraway, over a soft, bready base. Where it often goes wrong is using wet sauerkraut straight from the jar, which turns the base soggy. Squeeze it well and fry it first. Chef's tip: a thin layer of sour cream under the cabbage keeps the base moist and stops the topping drying out.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 3 tbsp sunflower oilplus extra for the tray
For the topping
- 1 ⅓ lb sauerkrautdrained and squeezed
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- ⅔ oz butter
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 1 ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 5 ½ oz sour cream
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt, then add 1 cup lukewarm milk and 3 tbsp sunflower oil and knead for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave somewhere warm for 60 minutes, until doubled.
68 minStep 2: Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil and ⅔ oz butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry 2 onions for 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
10 minStep 3: Chop 1 ⅓ lb sauerkraut roughly, add it to the onions with 1 ½ tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp black pepper, and fry for 10 minutes, stirring, until it is dry and just starting to colour. Leave to cool.
10 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) and oil a 30 x 40 cm baking tray. Press and roll the dough into the tray, about 5 mm thick, pushing it into the corners.
5 minStep 5: Spread 5 ½ oz sour cream thinly over the dough, then the sauerkraut and onion, leaving a 1 cm border. Leave to rise for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 6: Bake on the middle shelf for 25–30 minutes, until the edges are deep golden, the base sounds hollow when tapped and the tips of the cabbage are browned.
30 minStep 7: Cool for 10 minutes on the tray, then cut into squares. Eat warm or at room temperature.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zelňák take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 90 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 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 fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moist banana bread
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.
American
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.
Tarte au sucre lilloise
In Lille and across the Nord, a sugar tart is not pastry at all but a flat round of soft brioche dough, dimpled and covered with brown cassonade sugar, butter and a little egg and cream, which bakes into a sticky, caramelised top over a fluffy base. Families buy it from the boulangerie for Sunday breakfast and goûter, or bake one when guests come for coffee. The Nord's own beet sugar, vergeoise, gives it a deep, almost molasses flavour; soft dark brown sugar is the closest swap. Chef's tip: press deep dimples into the risen dough with your fingertips before adding the topping; the sugar and cream collect in them and bake into little pools of caramel.
French