Bulla (Hellimli Zeytinli)
The flavour and aroma of Kıbrıs in one loaf of bread - full recipe in my first cookbook, Meliz’s Kitchen and video here. Please make it 🫶🏼
RECIPE:
Makes 2 large loaves
For the dough:
225 ml (8 fl oz) lukewarm water
100 ml (3½ fl oz) lukewarm milk
½ tsp caster sugar
7 g (¼ oz) fast-action dried yeast
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
For the filling:
50 g (1¾ oz) fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
10g (1 oz) fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tsp dried mint
2 spring onions, finely chopped
100 g (3½ oz) pitted dry black olives, roughly chopped
250 g (9 oz) halloumi cheese, cut into 2½-cm (1-inch) cubes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
METHOD
In a heatproof jug, mix the water and milk, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the yeast, give it a gentle stir and leave to one side for 5-10 minutes until it's activated. The liquid will rise and turn frothy when ready.
Meanwhile, sift the flour into a large bowl, stir in the salt, then make a well in the centre. Pour the activated yeast mixture into the well.
Combine together with your hands to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a clean surface (add a little extra flour for dusting if necessary) and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth (or knead in a standing mixer using the dough hook attachment). Tuck the dough under to form a nice ball, then place in a large bowl greased with a little olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic film and leave somewhere warm and cosy to prove for an hour.
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While the dough is proving, prepare the filling. Add the coriander, mint, spring onions and olives to a large bowl. Pat the hellim cubes dry with kitchen paper and add to the other ingredients.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and reduce the heat a little so that the onion slowly softens and caramelises. Cook the onion for around 15-20 minutes until translucent and a lovely light golden colour. Add the entire intents of the frying pan, including any remaining oil, to the bo filling ingredients and stir everything togethe
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl, place it on a clean surface and gently punch it down for a few seconds.
Divide the dough equally into two pieces, and put one of the pieces to the side for later. Using your hands, stretch and open out the dough section in front of you so that you have a flat base, around 20 cm (8 inches) square to place the filling into. Put half of the filling into the centre of the dough and fold over the edges so that the filling is encased within it like a parcel. Place the filled dough back into the bowl and, with your hands, squeeze and work the dough so that all the filling ingredients become fully mixed into it. The mixture will be sticky, but the dough and the filling will be fully combined. Lightly flour the surface and turn out the sticky dough on to it. Dust the top of the dough with a little more flour and, using the palm of your hand, shape into a slightly flattened circular loaf measuring around 15-17 cm (6-7 inches) in diameter.
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and place the circular loaf on it. Repeat the whole process with the second piece of dough that you had set to the side.
Place 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water into a glass, and as you place the baking sheet on to the middle shelf of the oven, throw the water (not the glass) into the bottom of the oven and quickly close the door. Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes until beautifully golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.
