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Healthy Tibetan Bread- Balep Korkun (Monastery Bread)

I lived amongst Tibetans in Nepal for many years. Every morning we would get up and make a homemade kneaded bread called Balep. I used to do a lot of solitary meditation retreat there and this was the easiest an fastest thing to make on a one burner hotplate. Balep is a very traditional native fire bread, originating in central Tibet, that can be made with the most simple of ingredients and cooked over an open fire as was traditional in their originally nomadic culture. It's eaten most every morning by Tibetans, and also the primary breakfast staple in all of the monasteries. It's kind of like in-between a homemade tortilla and an English muffin; it's thicker than a tortilla, and people will make them in different ways. I made a denser, heavier and more complex, protein and flax infused version, but the simple, original flour, water and baking powder one works just as well! This recipe makes bread for four people.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups cups of Paleo flour or rice flour
  • 1/2 cup organic white flour
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 2 T ground flax meal
  • 1 T whey powder
  • 1/2 t of salt
  • 1 cup soy milk or water more or less depending on altitude/ dryness
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  • Preparing the Dough:
  • Firstly, you mix ingredients and a little milk very well by hand and keep adding milk until you can make a smooth ball of dough. Do not over-wet, the dough should stay drier, sticky and ready to knead.
  • Then knead the dough very well until the dough is flexible.
  • When you have finished kneading the dough, separate it into six pieces and roll them into balls.
  • After that, place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin, making a flat, round shape about 1/2″ high x 6"d.
  • Repeat with all your dough.
  • Cooking:
  • I cook my Tibetan bread in a medium cast iron pan with a little bit of olive oil.
  • First, heat up your frying pan on high until it gets hot.
  • Turn down the heat to medium low and place one bread there.
  • Cook each for 5 minutes on medium low heat.
  • Turn over the bread after five minutes, to slowly cook both sides without burning. Repeat and add more oil.

Notes

For a variation: If you like, you can add a sweetener like honey or maple syrup, blueberries or raisins into your mix or on top- get creative! I serve mine with strawberry jam, butter and homemade Tibetan Hot Sauce!