Sweet Turmeric Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek)

Today’s post is doing double duty for Eat the World and Sunday Funday.  Eat the World is heading to Azerbaijan, a country in Eastern Europe, bordering Georgia, Armenia, Iran, and Russia, and therefore taking cuisine influences from each.

Since I am also hosting Sunday Funday, I was thinking of broader categories as I searched through recipes.  Not surprisingly, I found myself drawn to bread, and this one certainly looked unique with the bright yellow color, due to the turmeric.  Once I found my bread, I broadened the Sunday Funday theme to yeast bread!

I ended up halving the original recipe and still ended up with 2 decent sized loaves.

After I cut the bread and had my first taste, I was immediately reminded of my Grandma’s Easter Bread.  Grandma’s bread gets its lovely yellow hue from saffron, but the rest of the sweet enriched dough is much the same.  In fact, I was shocked that the bread was so similar once I toasted it slathered in butter (so so good!).

I mentioned the similarity to Hubs (who agreed) and we got to thinking...

Before coming to the US in 1900, my grandma’s family originally immigrated from Germany to the Odessa region of Russia (modern day Ukraine), which is where I believe the Easter Bread recipe originated.

Looking at a map, Odessa, Ukraine is a fair distance from Azerbaijan, but it seems a very similar bread originated there as well, only using turmeric due to influences from neighboring countries.  And since my research mentioned that in the past the bread was baked as a celebration bread, I had to wonder if that celebration was Easter?

I am so happy Azerbaijan was chosen this month - it was a fascinating culinary journey to take!

Sunday Funday

Yeast Bread

• Basil Garlic Bread by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Buckwheat Dinner Rolls (Gluten-Free) by Cook with Renu
• Cinnamon Raisin Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Keto Eggless Almond Four Yeasted Bread by Sneha's Recipe
• No Knead Ciabatta Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shirin Chorek by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Turmeric Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek) by Amy's Cooking Adventures

Eat the World

Azerbaijan

• Pandemonium Noshery: Lamb Piti
• Sneha's Recipe: Qutab / Kutab – Azerbaijan Stuffed Flatbread
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Shirin Chorek
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Sweet Turmeric Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek)
• Culinary Cam: Üç Bacı (Three Sisters) - Azerbaijani Dolma

Sweet Turmeric Milk Bread (Shirin Chorek)

Adapted from AZ Cookbook

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F), divided

1 ⅛ teaspoons active dry yeast

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, whisked & divided

7 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 ¼ cups flour

¾ teaspoon turmeric powder

⅛ teaspoon salt

Pinch of poppy seeds

Place half the milk, the yeast, and a pinch of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Set aside until yeast is foamy.

Add the remaining milk and sugar and half of the whisked egg (about 2 tablespoons).  Place the paddle attachment onto the mixer and add the butter, flour, turmeric, and salt.  Mix until combined, then switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth.

The dough will be very soft and loose (but not sticky).  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise for 1 ½ hours.

Split the dough in two, form into balls, and place on a baking baking sheet.  Cover and allow to rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Brush the loaves with the remaining egg, then take the tines of a fork to make a design.  Sprinkle with a pinch of poppy seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.  Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.