Contents:
Why tokoch does not have one recipe
Kyrgyz explanatory and bilingual dictionaries define tokoch as home-baked bread and list several varieties. The description “a 200-250 gram flatbread from a tandyr” is therefore too narrow. Such bread exists in Central Asia but does not exhaust the meaning of the Kyrgyz word.
Tokoch may be yeast-raised or unleavened, thin or thick, baked or fried. The ingredients also change: basic dough uses flour, water and salt, while enriched versions may contain milk, egg and butter.
Main types of tokoch
Kattama tokoch is a small, rich, layered flatbread. Separate kattama is shaped into a log and spiral, often with butter and onion.
Japkan tokoch is a small, thick flatbread. Kömkörmö tokoch is made from fermented dough and baked in a kazan by attaching it to the inside surface and covering the coals with the pot.
Jupka tokoch is a thin unleavened flatbread similar in shape to lavash. Mai tokoch is fried in fat, with the traditional round piece cut in the centre. Related names include choimo tokoch, which resembles strips of fried pastry, and kuimak tokoch, or pancakes.
How to understand the name on a menu
If a menu says only tokoch, ask how it was made. The word does not tell you whether the bread is thin, layered, fried or baked. Homemade bread in southern Kyrgyzstan is often associated with the tandyr, but tandyr nan describes that specific baking method more precisely.
Wheat flour means gluten. Milk, egg, butter and animal fat depend on the variation. Even a plain-looking bread should not be assumed to be vegan without checking the ingredients.
Mai tokoch
One particular type of tokoch: four large yeast-raised flatbreads with slits, fried in a pan. They are served in place of bread with soup or tea.
Cuisine: Kyrgyz. Total preparation time:
Ingredients:
- 450 g wheat flour
- 250 ml warm milk
- 1 egg
- 5 g dried yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil for the dough
- clarified butter or vegetable oil for frying
Method:
Step 1. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Leave for 5-10 minutes.
Step 2. Add the egg, salt and one tablespoon of oil. Gradually add the flour and knead into a soft dough.
Step 3. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour. Knock back and allow to rise once more.
Step 4. Divide into four. Roll into round flatbreads about 1 cm thick.
Step 5. Make two or three short parallel slits in the centre of each flatbread.
Step 6. Heat a layer of oil in a frying pan. Fry the mai tokoch over a medium heat on both sides until golden and cooked through.
Step 7. Transfer to a rack or paper towels. Serve warm.
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