Bream baked in dough
Description
The recipe won’t take long. Bream is quite a fatty fish, but also quite bony, so be sure to remove even the smallest bones. That’s probably the hardest and most time-consuming step. If you like, you can add chopped herbs inside along with the onion and sprinkle on your favorite spices. If the bottom starts to burn, set a bowl of water under the baking tray; if the top does, cover the pie with foil or baking paper.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients you need to cook bream in batter.
- 2
Step 2
Pour warm water into a deep bowl, add salt and sugar, crack in an egg, crumble the yeast, and pour in vegetable oil. Mix everything thoroughly until the crystals dissolve and the mixture is smooth and uniform.
- 3
Step 3
Add a pinch of baking powder to the flour and sift it into the liquid in portions. Knead a soft, non-sticky dough. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for 40–60 minutes to rise.
- 4
Step 4
While the dough is rising, prepare the bream. Scale the fish, remove the innards, and cut off the head. Carefully open it along the backbone into two fillets without cutting them fully apart. Remove even the smallest bones very thoroughly. Season the fillets with salt and pepper.
- 5
Step 5
Slice the onion into half-moons and spread half of it onto one half of the fish; salt lightly. Cover the onion with the other half of the fish.
- 6
Step 6
The dough has risen.
- 7
Step 7
Roll the dough out on a flour-dusted work surface into a rectangle twice the size of the fish. Spread the remaining onion in the centre and place the bream on top. On both sides, make the same number of lengthwise cuts.
- 8
Step 8
Starting from the head end, braid the dough (like a plait), covering the fish and shaping the pie. Transfer the dough-wrapped bream to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.
- 9
Step 9
Brush the bream baked in pastry with beaten egg and place in a hot oven. Bake the pie for 45–55 minutes at 180 degrees until done. Remove the cooked bream in pastry from the oven, brush with vegetable oil, and cover with a towel. Let the pie rest for 10 minutes, then serve.
- 10
Step 10
Done. Serve at the table.