How to make lepinje – Croatian flatbread for ćevapi 

Lepinje (Photo: Croatian Savoury Baking)

In the new cookbook Croatian Savoury Baking, Andrea Pisac unveils a delectable collection of 50 recipes, offering a tasty journey through the art of crafting bread, burek, pies, and pastries. 

Today we are going to share with you a recipe from the book – the beloved lepinje.

Croatian cookbook that celebrates bread, burek, pies and pastries released

This popular Croatian flatbread ideally complements another favourite – ćevapi – and now you can give it a go at home.

Prep: 45 mins
Proof: 1 hr 15 mins
Bake: 13 mins x 2
Total: 2.5 hrs
Yields: 4 flatbreads
Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the dough:

500 g (4 cups) bread (strong) flour, plus more for dusting and shaping
5 g (1 tsp) sugar
7 g (2 tsp) barley malt
7 g (2 ¼ tsp) dry yeast
375 ml (1 ½ cups) water, lukewarm
20 ml (1 ½ tbsp) sunflower/canola oil
10 g (1 2/3 tsp) salt

method

I highly recommend kneading lepinje in a stand mixer. This high-hydration dough will stick to your hands, so it’s best handled as little as possible.

Sift the flour into a mixer bowl. Add the sugar, barley malt and dry yeast, and whisk to blend evenly.

Mix water and oil and pour this mixture into the dry ingredients.

Attach the dough hook and work the dough at low speed. Add the salt once the dough has loosely come together. Continue at medium-low speed for 10 minutes and watch how the dough develops thin strands from the hook to the sides of the bowl.

Increase the speed to high and work the dough for 5 minutes. This time, look for a more compact dough shape, although it will never form a ball. When done, the dough should be incredibly silky. And if you touch it with wet hands, it won’t stick.

Leave the dough in the same bowl and let it proof for 45 minutes in a warm place. Generously dust the kitchen surface.

Moisten your hand and release the proofed dough from the sides of the bowl. Then transfer it to the floured surface. Dust the top with more flour so the dough is dusted on all sides. Using a pastry cutter, divide the dough into 4 parts.

Shape each piece into a ball by pulling the ends and bringing them into the centre while rotating the dough.

Turn the dough ball seam-side down and wipe away excess flour. Now, slide the dough ball against the kitchen counter, using friction to build tension on the surface of the dough. Continue until you shape all 4 pieces into nice, plump dough balls.

Sprinkle the dough balls with more flour, cover them with the kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Place 2 dough balls on each baking sheet with plenty of room between them.

Flatten the dough balls by pushing them down with your fingers. You will now have dough shaped into disks. Deflate any bubbles as you do so.

Cut a shallow lattice pattern on top of each dough disk. Dust them with a bit more flour, cover them with kitchen towels and let them stand for the final 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 230 °C (450 °F) with the fan on. If your oven has the steam bake program, use that. Otherwise, place an oven-proof dish filled with about 200 ml (1 cup) water on the bottom of the oven.

Bake the lepinje for 12-13 minutes. When done, they must remain quite pale with only hints of gold around the edges.

Let them cool to room temperature before cutting them.

To get more great Croatian savoury recipes you can buy the cookbook, which is published in English, HERE.