Lobiani (Buttery bean bread)

Instructions

1. Soak your beans in the refrigerator overnight, drain and rinse in the morning. Put the beans in a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil and boil briskly for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are soft (about 35 minutes). Set aside, leaving the lid on to let them steam and cook further.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl, adding the yeast on one side and the salt and sugar on the other. Make a well in the middle, crack the egg into it, stir in the oil and 3 tablespoons of warm water while you mix with your other hand. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until soft. Return to the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 1–1½ hours.
3. For the filling, add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil to the cooked beans, and using a potato masher, set to work mashing the beans as best you can, in the saucepan – they are quite stiff but they will cook down further in the next step so don’t worry too much.
4. Once mashed, warm a large frying pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until soft and glossy, then stir in the Svan salt or your spice mix and cook until fragrant, 2–3 minutes. Add the beans, season really well with black pepper, and stir, combining it all well. Turn up the heat to high and add 2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon of water. Stir, mashing with the spoon, until you have a thick smoothish consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F / gas mark 9). Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
6. Once the bean mix is cool, punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into two, keeping the half you aren’t working with covered with the tea towel to prevent it drying out. Roll out to a 25 cm (10 inch) round and spoon half the filling in the centre of the dough circle, leaving a generous rim of 8 cm (3¼ inches) or so on all sides. Fold in the dough to cover the beans, then turn over seal side down, and gently run a rolling pin over the dough to even it out so you have a 20 cm (8 inch) filled flatbread. Cut a small cross in the middle to let the steam out. Repeat with the second dough half and the remaining filling. Slide the lobiani, sealed side down, onto the lined trays.
7. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and crisp. Cut into slices and serve warm. (Wrapped, they’ll keep for a day or so and can be reheated.)

• This is an unorthodox method that will get you something pretty close to the bakery version, but made at home.
• If you do not have Svan salt (a punchy blend from the Svaneti region), make a spice blend of 1 tablespoon, combining ¼ tsp salt, then a mixture of ground coriander seeds, blue fenugreek, dried marigold petals, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and caraway seeds; if you don’t have all of these, use those you do have, but don’t forgo the salt, which should be a quarter of the whole).