These soft, golden sandwich kifle are the kind of homemade bread that disappear almost as quickly as they come out of the oven.
The secret is an overnight poolish—a simple mixture of flour, water, and a small amount of yeast that ferments slowly before being added to the final dough. The result is a soft, tender crumb, beautiful flavor, and a glossy golden crust.
The dough is divided into 12 pieces, rolled into long rectangles, and tightly rolled into cylinders. During the final proof, the kifle expand and gently press against one another, creating those beautiful bakery-style joints.
They’re perfect for breakfast, sandwiches, lunchboxes, or simply eating warm with butter.
🥣 Part 1: Overnight Poolish
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 250 ml water
- ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, water, and active dry yeast.
Mix until there are no dry patches of flour.
Cover the bowl tightly and leave it at room temperature for 12–16 hours.
The poolish is ready when it looks very bubbly and active, with a webbed appearance and a slightly domed or beginning-to-collapse surface.
🥖 Part 2: The Main Dough
Ingredients
- All of the prepared poolish
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 250 ml warm milk
- 7 g active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 100 ml neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
For the Egg Wash
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
Make the Dough
Warm the milk until it is comfortably warm, not hot.
Add the 7 g active dry yeast and honey. Stir and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast becomes slightly foamy.
Add the prepared poolish, oil, and salt.
Gradually add the 600 g flour and mix until a soft dough forms.
Knead the dough until it becomes smooth, soft, elastic, and silky. The dough should feel soft and supple rather than stiff.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise for approximately 1 hour, or until noticeably puffy and close to doubled in size.
Shape the Kifle
Line a 4-row baguette pan with parchment paper.
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces, approximately 120–125 g each.
Shape each piece into a small ball or roll.
Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes. This short rest allows the gluten to relax and makes rolling much easier.
Lightly oil your work surface.
Take one piece of dough and roll it into a rectangle approximately 5 inches wide and 9–10 inches long.
Starting from one of the 5-inch-wide ends, roll the dough tightly into a cylinder.
Place the shaped kifle seam-side down in the prepared baguette pan.
Leave approximately ½ inch of space between the pieces.
Depending on the size of your baguette pan, you can place 8 kifle in the baguette pan. Place the remaining 4 on a parchment-lined baking sheet or in another baking pan.
Final Proof
Cover the shaped kifle and let them proof for approximately 30–40 minutes, or until they become noticeably puffy and nearly doubled in size.
As they rise, the kifle will expand lengthwise and gently press against one another. This creates those beautiful, satisfying bakery-style joints.
While the kifle are proofing, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
🥚 Egg Wash
Whisk together one whole egg with a splash of milk or water.
Once the kifle have finished proofing, gently brush the tops with the egg wash.
This gives them that beautiful glossy, golden bakery finish.
🔥 Bake
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for approximately 15–20 minutes, or until the kifle are beautifully golden brown and cooked through.
Because ovens vary, begin checking them around the 15-minute mark.
Allow them to cool slightly before serving.
Enjoy your homemade soft sandwich kifle warm, fresh from the oven, or use them to make your favorite sandwiches.
Recipe Notes
Poolish yeast: For a 12–16-hour fermentation, ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast is enough. If measuring by weight, use approximately 1 g.
Milk temperature: The milk should be warm but not hot. Excessively hot milk can damage the yeast.
Don’t add flour all at once if your dough feels stiff. Depending on flour and humidity, you may need to adjust slightly. The finished dough should be soft and silky.
Proofing time: Use the appearance of the dough as your guide. Temperature and humidity can make the dough rise faster or slower than the stated times.
Mekane Pekarske Sendvič Kifle
Ove mekane, zlatne sendvič kifle imaju onu divnu teksturu kao iz pekare — nežnu i mekanu sredinu, sjajnu koricu i prepoznatljiv oblik koji nastaje kada se kifle tokom narastanja blago spoje jedna uz drugu.
Tajna počinje uveče, jednostavnim poolish predtestom od brašna, vode i male količine kvasca. Predtesto fermentira preko noći, a sledećeg dana se dodaje glavnom testu.
Rezultat su mekane, vazdušaste i ukusne kifle koje su odlične za sendviče, doručak, užinu ili jednostavno uz malo putera dok su još tople.
🥣 1. Deo: Poolish predtesto — veče pre
Sastojci
- 250 g glatkog brašna
- 250 ml vode
- ¼ kašičice suvog aktivnog kvasca
Priprema
U činiji pomešajte brašno, vodu i suvi aktivni kvasac.
Mešajte dok ne nestanu suvi delovi brašna.
Činiju lagano pokrijte i ostavite na sobnoj temperaturi 12–16 sati.
Poolish je spreman kada je veoma aktivan i pun mehurića, sa vidljivom mrežastom strukturom i površinom koja je blago narasla ili počela da se spušta.
🥖 2. Deo: Glavno testo
Sastojci
- sav pripremljeni poolish
- 600 g glatkog brašna
- 250 ml toplog mleka
- 7 g suvog aktivnog kvasca
- 2 kašike meda
- 100 ml neutralnog ulja
- 2 kašičice soli
Za premazivanje
- 1 celo jaje
- 1 kašika mleka ili vode
Priprema testa
Mleko zagrejte tako da bude prijatno toplo, ali ne vrelo.
Dodajte 7 g suvog aktivnog kvasca i med. Promešajte i ostavite oko 5 minuta, dok kvasac ne počne blago da peni.
Dodajte pripremljeni poolish, ulje i so.
Postepeno dodajte 600 g brašna i umesite testo.
Mesite dok testo ne postane mekano, glatko, elastično i svilenkasto. Trebalo bi da bude meko i podatno, a ne tvrdo.
Stavite testo u blago nauljenu činiju, pokrijte i ostavite da narasta oko 1 sat, odnosno dok se vidljivo ne uveća i približno udvostruči.
Oblikovanje kifli
Kalup sa 4 reda za baget obložite papirom za pečenje.
Naraslo testo prebacite na blago pobrašnjenu radnu površinu i podelite na 12 jednakih delova, približno 120–125 g po komadu.
Svaki komad oblikujte u malu lopticu ili rolnicu.
Pokrijte i ostavite da odmori 10 minuta. Ovo kratko odmaranje omogućava glutenu da se opusti i olakšava razvijanje testa.
Radnu površinu vrlo blago nauljite.
Uzmite jedan komad testa i razvucite ga u pravougaonik približno 5 inča širok i 9–10 inča dug.
Počnite da uvijate testo od jedne od kraćih strana širine 5 inča, tako da dobijete čvrsto urolan cilindar.
Kiflu stavite u pripremljeni kalup, sa spojem okrenutim nadole.
Ostavite približno 1,5 cm razmaka između kifli.
U zavisnosti od veličine kalupa, u kalup za baget možete staviti 8 kifli. Preostale 4 kifle stavite na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje ili u drugi kalup.
Završno narastanje
Pokrijte oblikovane kifle i ostavite ih da narastaju približno 30–40 minuta, odnosno dok ne postanu vidno mekane, vazdušaste i skoro udvostručene.
Dok narastaju, kifle će se širiti i izduživati i nežno se dodirivati jedna uz drugu. Tako nastaju oni prelepi, karakteristični pekarski spojevi.
Dok kifle narastaju, zagrejte rernu na 200°C / 400°F.
🥚 Premazivanje jajetom
Umutite jedno celo jaje sa kašikom mleka ili vode.
Neposredno pre pečenja nežno premažite kifle.
Ovaj premaz daje kiflama prelepu sjajnu, zlatno-smeđu boju.
🔥 Pečenje
Pecite na 200°C / 400°F oko 15–20 minuta, odnosno dok kifle ne dobiju lepu zlatno-smeđu boju i budu potpuno pečene.
Pošto se rerne razlikuju, počnite da ih proveravate već nakon 15 minuta.
Ostavite ih nekoliko minuta da se prohlade pre služenja.
Uživajte u domaćim, mekanim sendvič kiflama!