Baursak

Ingredients

• 500 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 250 ml warm milk
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 50 g butter, melted
• 1 litre sunflower oil for frying
• honey or kaymak, to serve

Before you cook

• Warm the milk until it feels barely warm on the inside of your wrist, no hotter.
• Whisk the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and leave it for 10 minutes until a foam forms on top.
• Beat the egg and melt the butter, then let the butter cool a little.

Steps

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Pour in the foamy milk, the beaten egg and the melted butter and bring it together into a soft dough.
3. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8 minutes until it is smooth and springs back when pressed.
4. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until doubled.
5. Knock the dough back gently and roll it out to about 1 cm thick.
6. Cut the sheet into 3 cm diamonds or squares with a knife.
7. Lay the pieces on a floured tray, cover them with a cloth and let them rest for 15 minutes.
8. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 175C, or until a scrap of dough rises and browns in about a minute.
9. Lower in a handful of pieces, giving them space to swell.
10. Fry for 3 minutes, turning them once, until they are puffed and evenly deep gold.
11. Lift the baursak out with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper.
12. Fry the rest in batches, letting the oil come back up to temperature between them.
13. Pile the baursak into a bowl and serve them hot with tea, honey and kaymak.