A round, flat Tibetan quick bread, today usually of wheat flour (traditionally barley or whole wheat), leavened with baking soda or baking powder and cooked in a dry frying pan. It is the everyday central-Tibetan bread, torn and eaten with butter tea, soup or stew.
Balep korkun is the everyday bread of central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) — a thick, soft round cooked in a pan rather than an oven, resembling a chewy naan. Once made from barley or whole wheat, it is now almost always white wheat bread, sold plain or sweet in Lhasa. It is the plain daily bread of the plateau, from morning meals to the staple ration of monasteries, eaten with butter tea and stew.
Warm and soft inside with a lightly toasted, freckled crust and a gentle barley nuttiness. Plain and comforting, it is made for soaking up buttery tea or a spoonful of brothy curry.
Baking powder gives a quick chemical rise so the bread puffs without yeast or waiting. Cooking in a dry pan toasts the surface and sets a soft, tender crumb in minutes.
Variations
made with tsampa (barley) or wheat flour, thinner crisp version, oil-fried for richness, served with sepen or curry
On the Palate
Where Balep Korkun sits in the Tibetan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 12 min
Mix flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
- 25 min
Add water gradually and bring together into a soft, pliable dough.
Watch outAdd water bit by bit until the dough just comes together soft and slightly tacky — too much and it won't pat into a disc, too dry and it cracks.
- 310 min
Knead briefly until smooth, then rest for about ten minutes.
- 44 min
Divide the dough and pat each piece into a round, flat disc.
- 53 min
Heat a heavy dry frying pan over medium heat.
- 64 min
Cook each disc until browned spots appear on the underside.
Watch outWait for scattered brown spots on the underside before flipping — that's the crust setting; flip too early and it sticks and tears.
- 74 min
Flip and cook the other side until cooked through and lightly puffed.
Watch outIt should puff up slightly and spring back when pressed — that's the crumb cooked through; still doughy and gummy means give it a bit longer.
- 81 min
Stack and keep warm, then serve torn into pieces.
