Macedonian meat-topped boat bread (Pastrmajlija)

1. Knead the flour with the yeast, sugar, salt, oil and about 300 ml of lukewarm water into a smooth, soft dough, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

2. Cut the pork neck into very small 1 cm dice, salt it and mix with the sweet and hot paprika; leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 4 and roll each piece into an oval about 30 cm long and 12 cm wide; fold up the long edges and pinch the ends into points to form a boat shape.

4. Put the boats on a lined baking tray, spread the meat evenly down the middle and bake in an oven preheated to 250 °C (the highest setting) for 12-15 minutes until the meat is cooked and the edges of the dough start to brown.

5. Take them out, crack an egg into the middle of each (or beat and pour over) and bake for another 4-5 minutes until the egg is just set; brush with melted butter as soon as they come out.

6. Serve hot with yoghurt and pickled hot peppers – the town of Štip even holds a festival in its honour.

Tip: The original pastrmajlija is made with salted, dried mutton or pork (pastrma); if you have air-dried ham, dice some and add it to the fresh meat. It's even crisper on a pizza stone or in a wood-fired oven.