I have been here in Kuterevo/Croatia in 6 months and I´m from Sweden. And of course I was curious about culture here in Croatia. And specialy baking, baking bread cockies is one of my hobbies. Have baked a lot of bread in Postaja (volunteers station) for volunteers. I am so happy I had the opportunity to learn to bake Croatia bread.  I would like to share my experience with you!

Kuterevo bread / Croatian bread

• 25gram yeast
• 1 liter water
• 1 table spoon oil
• 1 table spoon sea salt
• 15 dl flour (about 1 kg)

Boil water in a separately pot. In a another pot heat up 1 liter water to finger temperature. Mix yeast ,salt, oil.

Bring a big bowl. Put the flour in the bowl, in the middle of the flour made a hole. Put water mix in the bowl. And work it from inside with a spoon to outside. Then use your hands and work with the dough is not necessary to use all flour, the dough shall be a bit sticky.
Take a new smaller bowl and put oil in it before you put the dough in it. Then after that you put the whole bowl over the bowl that you had boiled first. Cover the dough bowl with towel. Let it ferment totally in 1 hour. But when you see that the dough starts to rise you take it with your fingers from side to inside like you are wrapping the dough (after 15min ) repeat this thing twice.

Then after totally 1 hour ferment, you can bake the bread it two ways in oven or on fire.

Fire

Take away all fire so it will be a big circle of hot coal. And in the middle of the circle you put a lid (baking lid, round) and heat it up.

When it’s hot, realy hot lid, you take it away and put cabbage leaves in the middle of the circle and then the dough on the cabbage leaves, and then the hot lid on it. Around the lid you put hot coal.

Let it be like this in 45 min. But don’t forget to change the bread on the side (therefore the cabbage leaves) so it will not get burned. Change it 3 times during this 45 min.

Woodstove

You put oil in a big form, oven form and carefully put the dough inside. Dip your hands in water and make a mark with your hands so it will be two loafs. Let it ferment about 30 min over the hot bowl.

Then put the bread in oven in 200 degrees, about 45 min, but don’t forget to switch the form sides in the oven.

Swedish traditional bread/ classic white bread

It could be shaped as loafs or round bolls as you like to.

• 50 gram yeast
• 1 liter finger hot water
• 1 table spoon oil
• Little salt.
• About 14 dl flour

Put oven on 225 degrees.

Mix the yeast in the finger hot water together in a bowl. Put in flour. Last you put in salt. Work to a smooth dough about 30 min with hands. Then put a towel over. Let it ferment 30 min.

Then you form the bread. Put baking paper on a oven form. Then you put the bread in the oven form. You can make small slice with a knife over the bread like a pattern (useable because then the bread will not “ crack in oven”).

Before you put in the oven you put some water or oil on top of the bread and maybe some seeds or graham flour.

The water or oil is so the bread will have a nice surface (crunchy)

One advice put water in a safe little oven form besides the bread so it will have a cracked surface from the steam of the water in the oven.

Then you bake it in the oven. If you have shaped loafs it will take about 30-45 min in oven. But if you have formed the bread to smaller round bread it will take quickly and be finish faster about 15 min. The temp of the bread have to be 96-98 degrees, then it’s finished.

Helena D.