Hotteok (Korean Sweet Filled Pancakes)

Ingredients

• 250 g wheat flour
• 60 g glutinous rice flour
• 7 g dry yeast
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2¼ dl water, lukewarm
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 120 g brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 60 g walnuts, finely chopped

Method

1. 1.

   Proof the yeast — Stir the lukewarm water together with 1 tbsp of the white sugar and the yeast in a large bowl. Leave it for about 10 minutes, until the surface is foamy and smells of bread.

2. 2.

   Knead a soft dough — Add the wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, the rest of the white sugar, the salt and 1 tbsp of the oil. Mix to a soft, sticky dough, then knead it in the bowl for 3-4 minutes until it is smooth and comes away from your fingers in one piece.

3. 3.

   Let the dough rise — Cover the bowl and leave the dough somewhere warm for about 1 hour, until it has doubled and the surface is visibly domed and bubbly.

4. 4.

   Mix the cinnamon filling — Meanwhile stir the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts together in a small bowl. Keep the filling dry and loose — it only turns to syrup in the pan.

5. 5.

   Fill and seal the balls — Oil your hands well, knock the dough back and divide it into 8 pieces. Flatten each piece into a disc in your palm, spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling into the middle, then gather the edges up over the top and pinch them tightly shut into a sealed ball.

6. 6.

   Fry and press flat — Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Lay in two balls seam-side down, cook for 30 seconds, then press each one flat to about 1 cm with a spatula. Fry 2-3 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp where the syrup leaks and caramelises at the edge.

7. 7.

   Finish the batch and cool briefly — Lift them onto a rack and repeat with the rest, adding a little more oil for each batch. Let each hotteok stand for a minute before biting in — the sugar inside comes out molten.