Hi lovelies!
Happy summer to those of you in northern hemisphere! My fellow Persian bloggers and I are celebrating this year’s start of summer by hosting a “picnic”! We are all spread out across a world, so unfortunately we can not celebrate summer together, but this has not stopped us by not making this celebration virtual! 😀 Each of us is sharing a Persian recipe that we could take on a picnic in nice warm summer weather to share with each other!
CHALOOS ROAD TO NORTHERN IRAN IN SUMMER (Photo by @masoud_jaberi via Insatgram, Click here for more beautiful pictures)
Picnic in Northern Iran! Aromatic tea served with a bag of cubed sugar
Northern Iranian women dancing in their traditional costumes (Photo by @Inja.guilan)
I have made a traditional “Shirmaal Bread”, which is a milk-based bread (“shir” means milk in Farsi :D). It is softened with oil in the dough and ginger and saffron add such a delicate yet beautiful taste and aroma to it. It was my first time making this bread, and I’m happy with how it has turned out! 🙂
Hope you like this bread too. Compared to other breads I have shared with you before, this one is the least messy 😀 Meaning, you can knead the dough in the mixing bowl and because of the slightly higher oil content, the hand kneading is sufficient to yield a nice smooth dough. So, you can easily make this too, even if you are a beginner in baking breads!
Also, don’t forget to check out other wonderful recipes from my friends!
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups plain flour (more for dusting)
1 teaspoon instant active dry yeast
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon saffron (brewed, method here)
1/2 cup oil (canola or light olive oil)
1/2 cup milk (heated, but not boiling)
sesame seeds
Method:
1- Combine yeast and 1 tablespoon of caster sugar in a jar. Then add 1/2 cup of warm water and stir until mixed well. Then let sit for 5 minutes.
2- In a large bowl, beat 1 egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar, until pale in colour and sugar has dissolved a bit.
3- Add warm milk to the mixture and continue whisking. Then, add salt, ginger powder, and oil. Stir well (e.g. with a wooden spoon) to combine.
4- Add the yeast mixture to the bowl, then stir to combine the ingredients.
5- Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing each time until the flour is incorporated in the mixture.
6-After the last addition, you’ll have a rough dough. Knead this dough by hand for 7 minutes, until smooth.
7- Then, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour.
8a- Preheat oven to 175º C. Put baking paper on a large baking tray and sprinkle flour on it. Then divide the dough into three equal portions. Shape each portion into an oval shape.
8b- Mix the brewed saffron with the remaining egg yolk. Then, brush the breads with it and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
9- Bake shirmals for 30 minutes (I used a fan-assisted mode on my oven), until golden brown on top!
~~~~Enjoy with honey or cheese !!!
Parisa's Kitchen 
Parisa joon, this is so lovely and great step by step instruction 🙂 lately, I’ve been into bread baking and I will try your recipe. Happy Summer xoxo
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I’m so happy you liked my post Fariba joon! Your baking always inspires me ! 🙂 Enjoy your lovely summer, its freezing here in Melbourne! xx
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Parisa jan, This is a beautiful post, with stunning photos, packed with nostalgia. I love shirmaal bread, and thank you for this step-by-step recipe and tutorial. Your creation looks perfect! 😋
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Fae joon thanks so much !! The pictures made me crave Shomal weather! Hope you have a wonderful summer xx
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Dear Parisa, a lovely and mouthwatering post. I love naan-e shirmaal. Thank you for sharing and Happy Summer!
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Thank you Naz jan! i’m really glad you liked my shirmaal! Always follow your wonderful posts 🙂 enjoy summer xx
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I love any kind of bread but this one is my absolute favorite. I’ll have a loaf of your shirmaal with tea :). I buy shirmaal from the the Persian market but I’m sure yours is far tastier, sure looks it. Great recipe and photos, thank you!
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Thanks for your lovely comment! Comments like yours make me want to post more recipes and keep blogging 🙂 wish u a wonderful summer (if you’re in northern hemisphere 😉 )
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Awww! I sure hope you do continue to post more recipes regardless. It makes me happy to see your generation cook. I was wondering why your posts weren’t appearing in my reader and found out the follow box was accidentally unchecked hmm. Now I get to see your posts. Happy cooking and have a great summer yourself 🙂
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Hello Parisa, your recipe looks so tasty so I tried it. The taste was there (so delicios) but mine turned out really stodgy. It also didn’t rise much. What could it be?
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Hi Jehan! I’m so happy you liked the taste!… About the texture, I think not rising enough can be due to either not kneading enough, not letting it rise enough or the yeast that you used. … Was it still very sticky after kneading? What kind of yeast did you use?
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Thank you for replying Parisa. I had packet yeast (gold star – local brand here in SA). To be honest I baked about 2 weeks ago so the half packet yeast had been open in my cupboard since then, maybe it was no good?! The shirmaal was devoured within minutes, needless to say that I will definitely be making it again. Will let you know how goes.
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