At Maketto in Washington, one of the must-haves is the scallion bread, a puffier-than-traditional take on scallion pancakes. The bread, which chef de cuisine James Wozniuk developed with owner Erik Bruner-Yang, proves that Maketto’s priorities are flavor and fun, not authenticity.
When Maketto opened in the spring, Bruner-Yang says, the bread was sent out by itself – and wasn’t very popular. “Then we started serving it with the butter,” he says, “and everything changed.”
Scallion Bread
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups water
1½ tablespoons canola oil
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons dry, active yeast
3 cups flour
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
2¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
3 teaspoons sugar
½ cup plus 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 tablespoons chili oil
For chili butter:
Use a fork to combine ½ cup scallions, 8 tablespoons room-temperature butter, chili oil and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt in a bowl. Add salt as needed.
For bread:
Stir together water, 1 tablespoon canola oil and 1 tablespoon melted butter in a liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in yeast; let it sit a few minutes until it foams.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, 2 teaspoons sea salt and sugar in a bowl, then add the yeast mixture, stirring, to form a wet dough.
Lightly flour a countertop; turn out the dough and knead for 5 to 8 minutes, adding flour or water as needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let it sit in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Punch down the dough; return it to the floured countertop. Cut it into four equal portions; shape each into a ball. Keep them covered with plastic wrap.
Roll out one ball at a time to 1/8-inch thick. Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with 1/3 cup sliced scallions. Fold the left one-third of the dough over into the center, and repeat with the right side, business-letter-style. Brush with more melted butter. Fold the bottom third up to the center and the top down. Dust with flour and roll out to a 6-inch round.
Heat ½ tablespoon canola oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook one round at a time (adding new oil each time) until deeply browned on each side, 2 to 3 minutes per side, then bake for about 5 minutes, or until the bread puffs slightly and feels firm in the center.
Transfer to a cutting board and cover with a clean dish towel. Use your hands to gently crush it from the outside to help separate the layers. Cut each round into quarters and serve with the scallion-chili butter.
