Somun
In Sarajevo ćevapi are almost always served in somun. It is a round, puffy yeast bread with a thin, pale crust and a soft, holey crumb, which, slit at the side, makes a pocket for meat, onion and kajmak. The secret lies in two things: a very soft, wet dough and a short bake in an oven turned up to maximum. Once out, the somun is wrapped in a cloth so the crust stays soft.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Kneading 20 min
- Rising 60 min
- Shaping 10 min
- Proving 30 min
- Baking 20 min
- Resting in a cloth 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMix the ingredients
Mix the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt, then pour in the water and oil. Bring together with a spoon into a sticky, shaggy dough.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Knead a soft dough
Knead 10–15 minutes by hand or 8 minutes in a mixer, until smooth and elastic but still soft and slightly sticky. Do not add flour — the moisture makes the fluffy crumb.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Soft and slightly sticky — no extra flour.Leave to rise
Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm an hour, until doubled.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Divide and shape
Divide the dough into 4, shape into balls and flatten each by hand into a round about 18 cm across and about 1 cm thick. Lay them on baking paper.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
About a centimetre thick — it will puff up in the oven.Prove and heat the oven
Cover the rounds with a cloth and leave 30 minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 250°C with a baking stone or upturned tray inside. A stone takes about 45 minutes to heat, so if you use one, switch the oven on before dividing the dough.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Brush with water
Gently brush the rounds with water — the crust will be thin and pale rather than hard.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Bake at maximum heat
Slide the rounds on their paper onto the hot stone, two at a time, and bake 8–10 minutes until puffed and lightly golden. Do not bake them dark — somun should be pale and soft. Bake the second batch — about 20 minutes in all.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Pale gold — not dark and not crisp.Wrap in a cloth
Wrap the hot somuns in a clean cloth at once for 10 minutes — the steam softens the crust. Slit at the side to make a pocket and fill with ćevapi, chopped onion and kajmak.
Ingredients: 500 g strong white bread flour · 350 ml lukewarm water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt · 2 tbsp oil
Before you start
Kajmak
Kajmak is a thick, slightly salty clotted cream skimmed from milk. Mascarpone mashed with a little feta makes a good substitute.
Best fresh
Somun is best on the day it is baked. Next day, refresh it by sprinkling with water and warming 3 minutes in an oven heated to 200°C.
Making ahead
Freeze the baked, cooled rounds in bags. Once thawed, refresh them in a hot oven — they taste almost freshly baked.
