Palyanitsa ukrainian

Palyanitsa is Ukrainian bread that we will prepare today according to a simple recipe. It is made on the basis of wheat flour, and the composition of this baking is more than modest. But the result will definitely please you: a crispy and rather dense crust, and under it there is a delicate and very pleasant crumb. Ukrainian pastry is a versatile bread: it can be served both with first courses and as a base for sandwiches.

In shape, the lobe is distinguished by a rounded, flattened appearance, as well as a characteristic peak from the crust, which is formed by cutting the workpiece before baking. This bread got its name due to the fact that earlier in Ukraine it was customary to string freshly baked loaves on a special stake (in Ukrainian palya), which was used to remove the palyanitsa from the hearth. This bread was rightfully considered a decoration of the festive table, because mainly for everyday use, bakery products were prepared on rye flour.

From the specified amount of ingredients used, a very large loaf of bread is obtained (a little over 1 kilogram), so you can safely divide everything by two if you do not need so much. We use wheat flour of the highest grade, and instead of fast-acting yeast, you can take pressed (15 grams). Vegetable oil is not included in the dough, but is used only to lubricate the bowl during the fermentation of yeast dough.

Ingredients

• Dough:
• Wheat flour of the highest grade (315 grams)
• Water (160 milliliters)
• Fast acting yeast (1.5 teaspoon)
• Yeast dough:
• Wheat flour of the highest grade (385 grams)
• Water (210 milliliters)
• Salt (9 grams)

Directions

1. To prepare the dough for the Ukrainian palyanitsa, we take premium wheat flour, water, salt, fast-acting yeast and refined vegetable (in my case, sunflower) oil to grease the bowl.
2. So, first of all, let's make a dough. Perhaps you are asking what the dough is and what it is for. I will not write for a long time, that the point is that this is a semi-finished product that is used for baking bread and other bakery products and increases the plasticity of the dough. In other words, this mixture of flour, water and yeast helps to achieve a softer and more porous crumb, as well as richer taste and aroma of baked goods. We will make a thick dough, for which we sift 315 grams of wheat flour into a bowl, add one and a half teaspoons of fast-acting yeast. Mix everything thoroughly with a spoon or directly by hand so that all dry ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the mixture.
3. We make a depression in the flour and pour 160 milliliters of warm (slightly warmer than body temperature) water there. If you use too hot water, the yeast will die and the baked goods will not rise. In cold water, the dough will ferment longer. It is possible that you need a little more or less liquid, depending on the moisture content of the wheat flour.
4. Knead the dough for dough with your hands or using a kneader (bread machine) until relatively smooth. There is absolutely no need to knead for a long time. The texture of the dough turns out to be a rather thick and not sticky dough, but it should not be too tight and dense. We send the dough to heat for 2.5-4 hours - the fermentation time of the dough will depend on the freshness of the yeast and the temperature in the room. Where is the best dough (and yeast dough itself) to ferment and what does a warm place mean? There are several options. First of all, in the oven with the light on (it turns out about 28-30 degrees - the ideal temperature for fermenting yeast dough). Then we tighten the bowl with the dough with cling film or cover with a towel made of natural fabric (linen is best suited) so that the surface does not wind up and does not become covered with a crust. You can also let the dough ferment in the microwave, in which we first bring a glass of water to a boil. The dough will rise with the door closed, and the glass will stand in the same place. Then the bowl does not need to be closed with anything, since the water will evaporate, thereby maintaining the necessary humidity. Just make sure that no one accidentally turns on the microwave, otherwise the dough will disappear and there will be no more bread.
5. A sign that the dough has fermented will be its appearance. First of all, the initially rather thick dough will noticeably liquefy, increase greatly in volume, it will all be permeated with bubbles and begin to settle.
6. We make a hole in the dough and pour 210 milliliters of warm water into it, in which you first need to dissolve 9 grams of salt.
7. We mix everything so that the dough becomes thinner.
8. Now, in portions, we begin to mix in the sifted wheat flour, kneading the dough. It may well be that you do not need all 385 grams, so be guided by the appearance of the kolobok.
9. The yeast dough for the Ukrainian palyanitsa should be completely homogeneous and smooth, it is not liquid and not to say that it is soft. Closer to tight, but not tight. We round the dough into a ball and put it in a bowl, which we grease with a small amount (literally a teaspoon) of vegetable oil so that it does not stick to the dishes during fermentation. We send the dough to heat for fermentation for an hour and a half or two.
10. Although the reference point will not be the time, but the appearance of the yeast dough - it should grow at least 3 times.
11. Sprinkle a small amount of wheat flour on the work surface (the weight in the ingredients is not indicated) and carefully lay out the dough.
12. Using your hands, lightly powdered with flour, gently knead the dough to remove large air bubbles from it. Do not torment the dough too much!
13. Now we collect the layer into a ball, folding the edges towards the center to get a smooth surface on the outside.
14. You can distribute the dough either directly on the baking sheet (my version) or in a bowl (then put the ball with the seam up). Transfer the bun to a baking sheet lined with baking paper and lightly sprinkled with flour. We turn the workpiece over to the seam, lightly wipe the surface with flour. Cover with foil or a towel so that the dough does not become crusty.
15. Leave it warm for about 1 hour.
16. All that remains is to make an incision before baking the bread. The best way to do this is to use a blade or a very sharp, thin-bladed knife. The incision (about 2 cm deep) is made with sharp, precise movements at an angle of 3/4 of the entire circumference.
17. We bake the Ukrainian pancake on a baking sheet (that is, on a baking sheet) in a preheated oven at 200 degrees with steam for about 45-60 minutes. In other words, this wheat bread needs to be baked at a relatively high temperature and high humidity. Steam can be created in two ways. Firstly, just throw a few large ice cubes into an already heated oven at the very bottom. Or put a bowl of water on the bottom of the oven in advance. In the process of baking this lean bread, steam will rise to the top, thereby helping the product to rise and the cut to open. In addition, steamed baked goods contribute to the fact that the finished bread does not have a very coarse and tough crust.
18. You can cut this fragrant and very tasty homemade bread no earlier than an hour later. But then you can fully enjoy its crispy crust and delicious crumb. Bon appetit, friends!