Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread

Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread, is a crusty bread with a lovely crumb that is perfect to be served with any dish.
It is a great bread to soak up any flavor that we serve it with.

Doing the A to Z International flatbread has been such a big exposure to baking breads. Just the basic flour, yeast and water can be of such a different flavor depending on the method we use to proof it and bake it. Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread, is one such flatbread that I had so much fun baking. The Lepinja bread had the most beautiful crumb and it was so airy and porous.

This Lepinja bread went through a 3 rise cycle instead of the regular 2 rise. This allowed the bread to have a beautiful flavor and also gave it the wonderful texture. I also used steam when baking. Using steam when baking has become one of my personal favorite method to bake breads. It is so simple to attain that rustic crust when using steam.

Lepinja bread which is also called as Somun, is a popular street food in the Balkans region, especially Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. The bread can be served with any kind of dishes as it can absorb any flavor it is served with.

Lepinja bread is baked at a very high temperature that gives it the amazing rise, somewhat like a pita bread. My son thought it was great bread to slice in between and make it as a sandwich bread. So, the options are unlimited as to how you want to serve the Lepinja bread. Use it for a sandwich or serve with soups and stew to soak up all the flavor.

My Other recipes in the A-Z International Flatbread Series –

A for Aish Baladi
B for Boulanee Katchalu
C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca
D for Dhal Puri
E for Emirati Khameer
F for Fruit Focaccia
G for Gozleme
H for Himbasha
I for Indian Fry Bread
J for Janta Roti
K for Ka’ak

Preparation time – 15 minutes plus about 3 to 4 hours of rising time
Baking time – About 6 to 8 minutes per batch
Difficulty level – Intermediate
Recipe adapted from – A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients to make Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread – Makes 6

• Bread Flour – 3 cups
• Active Dry yeast – 1 1/2 tsp
• Sugar – 1 TBSP
• Milk – 1/3 cup
• Warm water – 1 cup (may need more or less)
• Salt – 1 1/4 tsp

Procedure to make Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread –

Making the Dough –

• In a small bowl, add the warm milk along with sugar and yeast. Mix well and let the mixture proof for about 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the mixture will appear frothy and bubbly.

• In a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, add the yeast mixture, 1/2 cup of warm water and salt. Add the flour and start kneading.
• Add more water to make a very soft dough. The dough will be quite sticky. Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes and then let it rise for about an hour or until doubled in volume. I love using the proof setting in my oven to rise the dough.
• Once the dough has risen, bring it out and punch it down gently. Now using the stand mixer or your hands knead the dough for coupe of more minutes and then let it rise again until doubled in volume. This time it took me only about 45 minutes for the dough to rise.

Shaping and Baking the Lepinja –

• Once the dough has risen for the second time, place the dough on a heavily floured surface.
• Using well floured hands, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make a ball out of each piece of dough and Place it on the prepared sheet.
• Press down on each ball to flatten it and let the dough rise again for 20 to 30 minutes or until slightly puffy.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 550 F. Place a tray filled with water in the bottom most shelf of the oven when it is preheating.
• Once the dough has risen for the 3rd time, place it in the oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until the Lepinja bread is golden brown.

• Remove from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely.

5 from 7 votes

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Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread

Lepinja Bread | Croatian Flatbread, is a crusty bread with a lovely crumb that is perfect to be served with any dish.

It is a great bread to soak up any flavor that we serve it with.

Course Baking, Flatbread, Street Food

Cuisine Balkans, Croatian

Keyword Baking, balkans flatbread, Croatian flatbread, flatbread, Street food

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes

Resting time 3 hours

Total Time 21 minutes

Servings 6 Bread

Ingredients

• Bread Flour - 3 cups
• Active Dry yeast - 1 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 TBSP
• Milk - 1/3 cup
• Warm water - 1 cup may need more or less
• Salt - 1 1/4 tsp

Instructions

Making the Dough -

1. In a small bowl, add the warm milk along with sugar and yeast. Mix well and let the mixture proof for about 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the mixture will appear frothy and bubbly.
2. In a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, add the yeast mixture, 1/2 cup of warm water and salt. Add the flour and start kneading.
3. Add more water to make a very soft dough. The dough will be quite sticky. Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes and then let it rise for about an hour or until doubled in volume. I love using the proof setting in my oven to rise the dough.
4. Once the dough has risen, bring it out and punch it down gently. Now using the stand mixer or your hands knead the dough for coupe of more minutes and then let it rise again until doubled in volume. This time it took me only about 45 minutes for the dough to rise.

Shaping and Baking the Lepinja -

1. Once the dough has risen for the second time, place the dough on a heavily floured surface.
2. Using well floured hands, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Make a ball out of each piece of dough and Place it on the prepared sheet.
5. Press down on each ball to flatten it and let the dough rise again for 20 to 30 minutes or until slightly puffy.
6. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 550 F. Place a tray filled with water in the bottom most shelf of the oven when it is preheating.
7. Once the dough has risen for the 3rd time, place it in the oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until the Lepinja bread is golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely.