Çullama Chicken — Gaziantep-Style Yufka-Covered Chicken Bake

Put the chicken, the poaching onion cut into quarters, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, and salt in a large pot. Add 2 liters cold water. Once it boils, skim off the foam with a slotted spoon, reduce the heat, leave the lid slightly ajar, and cook for 45 minutes. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone; do not remove the chicken from the heat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F.

Remove the chicken from the pot and leave it on a tray until cool enough to handle; this waiting time is inactive. Remove the skin and bones, then shred the meat into fibers with your fingers. Strain the poaching liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and reserve 300 ml; save the rest for another dish.

Melt 60 g of the butter in a wide skillet. Add the onion cut into half-moons and cook until soft and translucent. Add the pepper paste and cook until its raw smell is gone, then add the Urfa pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt. Add the shredded chicken and 100 ml of the reserved broth. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed.

Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Grease a 28 cm round baking dish with butter and spread the filling evenly over the bottom. Lay the first yufka sheet over the filling and tuck its overhanging edges down along the inside wall of the dish. Crumple the second sheet loosely in your hands and arrange it in folds over the top. Melt the remaining butter, whisk it with the egg yolk, and brush it all over the top sheet.

Pour the remaining 200 ml of poaching liquid around the edges of the baking dish so it runs under the yufka. Bake on the middle rack for 28–30 minutes. It is ready when the top sheet is deep golden and no liquid sloshes at the edge when you gently shake the pan.

Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes; the bottom yufka absorbs the remaining liquid during this time. Cut into six pieces with a sharp knife and lift them out with a spatula without breaking the bottom layer.