Raina’s recipe, Jivko ‘s interpretation, Anna’s dip
Kneading is very matrimonial. Working the dough is like a sacred ritual to make the yeast alive. Raina making a pitka is depicted inJivko’s movie Lecedra. It is about Lesidren, a village in the Balkan mountains in Bulgaria.
kg flour (8 c)
1/2 c olive oil
1 ts sugar
2 packets of dry yeast- 1/2 oz
1 ts salt
1/2 c water
1 egg yolk -whisk with
1 tbs of water to prepare egg wash
1 tbs butter
Annas dip
1 cup of walnuts, lightly toasted and grounded
10 garlic cloves minced
1 tbs honey
1 tbs vinegar
1/2 c hot water
Combine all the ingredients. Add more water if needed to achieve a consistency of thick dip.
Mix the yeast with the sugar and half a cup warm water to activate the yeast. It should start bubbling in a few minutes.
In a big bowl, sift the flour. Make a little well in the middle and put in the yeast, salt, sugar, oil and water. Mix well and knead to make soft dough. Cover the dough with a towel, keep warm for an hour until it almost doubles.
Break small pieces and shape them like a ping-pong-sized balls and place them in a oiled round pan, forming a circle and place one in the center like a sun. Now is the time to hide a cleaned coin in one of the pieces. Cover with a towel and let it proof for about thirty minutes, until the dough fills the pan. Brush with yogurt or egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at
375° F
You will know when it is done, the “sun” will rise, the aroma from the oven will wake you up. Rub with a little butter.
The oldest person on the table is to break the pita and hand everybody a piece. Lucky is the one who gets the coin.