Ramadan Pidesi

Purim is during Ramadan this year and I'm having a Turkish theme, so I decided to give this bread a try.  It isn't vegan, but neither am I.  I just do a vegan Purim (aside from the hamantaschen) as a way to honor Esther's choices.  Some traditions encourage you to eat meat on the holiday.  It's a variable observance.

These fall somewhere between naan and focaccia.  It's a no-knead bread that can be used as a side or sliced open for sandwiches.  It can be made large, about 10" across, or individual size.  I'm making a half batch into four single servings that are kind of on the small side.  I hate dividing an egg in half.

I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of no-knead bread, but this one has a shorter fermentation time than the kind that has to rest overnight.  After reading several, I settled on Unicorns in the Kitchen's recipe, with some adaptations in ingredients and technique from other versions.  The only big deviation I've made is that I'm out of sesame seeds and have never bought nigella seeds.  Substituted poppy, which is very much not authentic.

1/4 C 100ºF milk
1/4 C 100ºF water
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
1 egg, beaten
1-1/2 C bread flour, plus more as needed
1 Tb plain yogurt
1 tsp water
sesame and/or nigella seeds for decorating

1.  Stir together milk, water, oil, sugar, and yeast.  Allow to rest until foamy, about 5 minutes.  Reserve 1 Tb of beaten egg for the egg wash and add the rest to the wet mixture.

2.  Stir together flour and salt.  Add wet mixture and stir together into a shaggy dough, about 3-4 minutes.  It's going to be more like a thick batter than bread dough.  Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

3.  Wet hands and pull at the edges of the dough.  Fold into the middle.  Pull and fold 8-12 times to build a little gluten structure.  If it is still a puddle, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and pull-and-fold again.  Divide into 4 pieces by weight, round into balls, and let rest on a floured surface for 20 minutes.

4.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or by scattering cornmeal on it.  Or both.  Pat down each dough ball into a circle 1/2" thick and set on the baking sheet.  Mix together remaining egg, yogurt, and water into a thick glaze.

5.  Dip your fingers into the glaze.  To make the classic design, press down with the fingertips to make a rim around the edges.  Then make lines across the surface to indent the diamond pattern.  The egg wash should be all over the pides.

6.  Sprinkle the breads with seeds and allow to rest and rise while you preheat the oven to 425º.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  Start checking after 12, since every oven is different.  After ten, I set my timer for another 8, and they came out too dark.  My oven is probably best for 15.  They should be golden and puffed, with the indented pattern visible.  They will be soft and pliable.

7.  Allow to cool on a rack.  Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

Difficulty rating  :-0