''SUNFLOWER'' BULGARIAN BREAD

Chefs and cooks are artists,aren't they?But we all become artists as soon as we walk behind the kitchen door, using the ingredients as the tools to create our own MASTERPIECE!Food is simply beautiful and beautiful are the souls that create it.

This bread is what I call a WORK OF ART.You will ''OCH'' and ''ACH'' just looking at it.It's one of those foods which is too beautiful to eat.But you will eat it eventually ;) And when you do you will be even more amazed how great the recipe is!

I discovered the recipe at www.mojewypieki.com ages ago and I'm so glad I did!

RECIPE:

for one bread

INGREDIENTS:

330g white bread flour
150 ml tepid milk 
1 large free range egg
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1,5 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
15g fresh yeast

ADDITIONALLY
60 g butter, melted
1 egg yolk

1.Crumble the yeast in a small bowl,add 1/2 tbsp sugar,mix together then add 50 ml tepid milk and 1 tbsp flour and mix again.Cover with cotton tea towel and leave for around 10-15 minutes until it gets foamy.

2.Beat the egg in a large bowl, add the rest of the tepid milk,salt,sugar,oil and slowly sift the flower over it, add lemon juice and yeast mixture.Mix it all with a wooden spoon graduating to kneading with your hands.Knead until smooth and elastic adding more flour if it's still to sticky.Cover with a cloth and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.

3.Grease 23cm round baking tray with butter and sprinkle with semolina.

4.Punch out the risen dough and turn onto floured board.Divide in half, knead each half for couple of minutes and divide each half into four.(you should end up with four small dough balls). Roll out each one quite thin,sprinkling it with flour.Stack them on the side(but flour each one so they don't stick together). And now the FUN BEGINS ;) Put your first layer ( pancake - how I call them ;)) on the side and brush it with butter, then stack another one on the top and do the same until you get to the fourth one.When you have all four, buttered and stacked on top of each other roll them and leave on the side.Repeat with the other four.You have got 2 rolls now which you are going to cut into thick triangles.Place them on a baking tray in a shape of sunshine.If you have any ''off cuts'' press the ends together into a ball and place on the top of triangles.Let it raise for half an hour.

5.Preheat the oven 200 C/180 fan/Gas 6.Brush the bread with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.Bake for 35 minutes(cover with aluminium foil after around 10-15 minutes). Try if it's ready with bamboo skewers.If you prick the bread with it and it comes out clean it's READY!

MY VERSION WITH A TWIST: Garlic bread.Simply add 6 garlic cloves(crushed) to the melted butter you brush over the layers.