Azerbaijani Sweet Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek)

This Azerbaijani Sweet Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek) is traditionally made for the New Year (Nowruz) or for Ramadan, and gets its golden color from turmeric.

I have been blogging since 2008. I still remember how it was a this no-man’s land of blogs and websites. And look at the blogging world today: blogs of every subject are EVERYWHERE and bloggers connecting with each other at conferences and through social media.

One of the first blogs I discovered when I began blogging in 2008 was AZ Cookbook, by Feride Buyuran, who shares recipes from Azerbaijan and Turkey. Azerbaijan is a small country nestled northwest of Iran, east of Turkey and Armenia, south of Georgia and Russia, and west of the Caspian Sea.

I knew that Iran and Azerbaijan shared many similar recipes, and I enjoyed reading Feride’s blog and learning more about her beautiful culture.

Azarbaijani cookbook

Feride, like many other talented food bloggers, had a dream about sharing her recipes with the world and wanted to publish a cookbook. She decided to self publish her cookbook, Pomegranates and Saffron.

And what a cookbook it is! Feride has won several awards: 2014 Winner of Gourmand Best in the World Award, U.S. Winner of Gourmand World Cookbook Award (Eastern European Cookbooks category), Living Now Book Award – Silver Medalist (Ethnic Cookbooks category), and National Indie Excellence Award Winner (International Cookbooks Category).

Pomegranates and Saffron includes over 200 recipes for appetizers and salads, soups and stews, pasta, meat, vegetable and egg dishes, breads, saffron rice pilafs, aromatic drinks, and desserts. And many of the recipes featured are exclusively Azerbaijani, and not originally from another country.

Ingredients you need

• Yeast: You can use active dry yeast (which needs to bloom in warm liquid) or instant yeast, which does not require a warm liquid to bloom.
• Milk: I used whole full fat milk.
• Turmeric powder: The golden color of this bread is from turmeric powder. There really isn’t a substitute for this spice. You can now find turmeric in stores and online.
• Eggs: For baking, I always use large eggs.
• Unsalted butter: If you use salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
• Poppy seeds: If you don’t have poppy seeds, you can use sesame or chia seeds.
• Pantry staples: All purpose flour, sugar, salt.

Step-by-step directions

1. Bloom the yeast. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk and let it stand for 5 minutes. Then add this to a bowl containing flour, turmeric, eggs and melted butter.
2. Knead the dough. The dough end up with at first is very sticky. Knead it on a flat surface until elastic and smooth. Working this bread dough is just like kneading and working regular bread dough. It requires some patience and a little bit of muscle. But, like all freshly baked bread, the work is well worth it!
3. Let the dough rise. Once the dough is smooth and not sticky, it is time to let it rise. My oven has a proof temperature and it has been a game changer for my bread baking. Just find a warm spot for your bread to rise until double in size.
4. Second rise. Once the dough has risen, you can divide them into two smalls to make 2 small disks of bread, or make one giant flat bread. Form the flattened bread disks and place on a baking sheet. Cover the bread again and let it rise again.
5. Bake the bread. Brush with bread disks with an egg wash and trace out a cross-hatch pattern onto the dough. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Working with yeast can be tricky, especially if you are making bread in a cold kitchen. Look for a sunny window or a warm room for your bread to proof. I have left bread dough to proof in my bedroom because that was the warmest room I could find that day!

If you like this recipe, you should try some of my other yeast bread recipes like my olive bread with rosemary or the soft pretzel dough I use to make my whole wheat pretzel dogs.

Azerbaijani Sweet Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek)

Feride Buyuran

This Azerbaijani Sweet Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek) is traditionally made for the New Year (Nowruz) or for Ramadan, and gets its golden color from turmeric.

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Additional Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Course Muffins & Scones

Cuisine Persian

Servings 30

Calories 206 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm milk divided
• 6 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 large eggs
• 7 oz unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

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Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, combine yeast and 1 cup warm milk. Let it stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and turmeric.
• Make a well in the center and pour in milk-yeast mixture along with 1 cup warm milk, 1 egg, and melted butter.
• Using your hands, mix until a sticky ball forms.
• Transfer the dough onto a flat surface and knead until elastic. In the beginning, the dough will very sticky in the beginning, but it will become less sticky as you continue kneading it.
• The final dough should be fluffy and not very tight, so resist the temptation to add more flour unless the dough is remains sticky after continuously kneading it.
• Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 ½-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Punch the dough down and divide it into 2 equal pieces and shape them into balls.
• Place the balls onto your work surface and flatten with your hands to form into disks 9 inches in diameter and ½ inch (1.2 cm).
• Transfer the disks onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Cover the bread again with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise again for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
• Right before baking, whisk 1 egg in a small bowl.
• Brush the tops of the breads with egg mixture.
• Using the back of a fork, press across the top of the bed creating a cross hatch pattern.
• Scatter poppy seeds over the top.
• Bake in the center of the oven until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. If you can’t fit two baking sheets on one rack, place one sheet on the lower rack, and another on the top rack, bake for 15 minutes, then switch and bake until ready.
• Remove from the oven. Allow to cool completely, then cut into pieces and serve.

Notes

TO STORE: Cover any leftover bread in foil or transfer to an airtight container. It can sit on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days or you can refrigerate for up to 5 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1wedgeCalories: 206kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 31mgPotassium: 64mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 207IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg

Keyword azerbaijan bread, chorek, chorek recipe, shirin chorek, sweet milk bread

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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Disclosure: I was provided a cookbook to review, but no additional compensation. I paid for the cookbook that I am giving away.The opinions I expressed here are my own. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about it!