Chilpek
Description
Homemade baked goods for tea. There are several ways to prepare this dish. The dough can be either rich or plain. I suggest making chelpik from plain milk dough with the addition of butter. You can try making the flatbreads slightly sweetened. I am confident that in any version they will certainly please your palate. They cook fairly quickly and can be served both with morning tea and as an accompaniment to main dishes throughout the day.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
In a deep bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- 3
Step 3
Add melted butter and milk.
- 4
Step 4
Knead an elastic dough. Gather it into a ball, cover it, and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- 5
Step 5
Then divide the dough into 7 parts. Roll each part into a circle.
- 6
Step 6
Chelepik fries in hot oil very quickly, so it’s best to roll out all the dough at once. Lay the rolled flatbreads on paper towels to prevent them from drying out and sticking together.
- 7
Step 7
In a kazan or any heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil. You can test the oil’s readiness with a small ball of dough. If the ball floats and begins to sizzle characteristically, the oil is ready and you can start frying. Carefully place the chelpik onto the surface of the hot oil. Using a fork, spin the flatbread clockwise for just a few seconds.
- 8
Step 8
Then flip it over and continue frying. The finished chélpék should have an airy structure and a golden color.
- 9
Step 9
To remove excess oil, line the flatbreads with paper towels.
- 10
Step 10
There is a version where such flatbreads are dusted with powdered sugar and served sweetened with tea; in this presentation they very much resemble khvorost in taste. I served unsweetened flatbreads with hot dishes as an alternative to bread. Light, crispy, and very tasty flatbreads are good in any form.