By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
Shelpek is a round Kazakh flatbread fried in plenty of oil until it is golden on both sides and puffed in places, then set warm on the tea table. This kefir version is soft and fluffy rather than thin and crisp. Kefir and sour cream supply the acid that sets off the baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide that lifts the dough without any yeast.
Seven breads on a Friday
In Kazakhstan, shelpek is everyday food, eaten on weekdays in place of bread, but it also carries meaning. A widely known custom is to fry seven shelpek on a Friday and give them to people in need, and some families do this every week. Shelpek is always made on memorial days, when the dead are remembered, and a shelpek packed for a journey is believed to protect the traveller. Where the seven-bread custom began has never been documented.
One bread with many names across Central Asia
Similar fried breads are called chelpek in Turkmen and Kyrgyz cooking and chalpak in Uzbek and Uyghur kitchens, and Kyrgyz cooks also make one called mai tokoch. Styles range from thin, crisp rounds and flaky onion breads to small yeast breads and soft kefir breads like these. Older descriptions point to a thin bread with no leavening, while kefir doughs come out tender and fluffy. A very thin yeast dough can fry in seconds, but a kefir round about 0.5 cm thick needs a few minutes on each side.
Deep, hot oil and a soft dough
The lift depends on soda meeting kefir's acid, so use kefir at room temperature rather than straight from the fridge. Aim for a soft dough that rolls easily, since the amount of flour it needs can vary. The oil should be deep enough for the bread to float freely without touching the bottom, and a scrap of dough dropped in should stay on the surface when the oil is ready. You can prick each round with a knife, or cut a few small slits, so the gas can escape. Serve shelpek warm with tea, or eat it cold as a snack or in place of bread.
Kazakh kefir fried flatbreads
Ingredients
Dough
- 350 g all-purpose flour Have a little extra flour for dusting the work surface.
- 250 ml plain milk kefir Use unsweetened kefir at room temperature.
- 2 tbsp sour cream Use sour cream with at least 20% fat.
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
For frying
- 500 ml neutral vegetable oil Choose a neutral oil suitable for frying. Adjust to the pan so the oil almost covers the bread and lets it float.
You will need
- Large mixing bowl
- Sieve and mixing spoon
- Rolling pin
- Deep frying pan wide enough to hold a flatbread flat
- Kitchen tongs
- Plate lined with kitchen paper
- Clean kitchen towel
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a bowl, then mix in the sugar, salt and baking soda.
- Stir the sour cream into the flour mixture, then add the kefir and mix to form a dough.
- Knead to a soft, elastic dough that still feels slightly sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and rest the dough for 30 minutes.
- Gently knead the rested dough, then divide it into 6 equal portions.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a round about 15–16 cm across and 0.5 cm thick.
- Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat, until a small scrap of dough floats and bubbles when added.
- Fry one round at a time for about 2–3 minutes on each side, turning with tongs, until golden on both sides and puffed in places.
- Lift the bread onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain; fry and drain the remaining rounds in the same way.
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