Sütlaç
Fırın sütlaç
Rice cooked soft in milk and sugar, thickened lightly, poured into small dishes and browned under fierce heat until blistered. Eaten cold.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Fırın sütlaç.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 5 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Fırın sütlaç is the baked Turkish rice pudding. Short-grain rice is cooked soft in water, then in milk with sugar, and thickened with a little rice flour until it coats a spoon. It is ladled into small ovenproof dishes, set in a tray of cold water and put under fierce top heat until the surface blisters in dark brown patches. Then it is chilled. The result is a cool, loose, milky pudding under a thin, slightly burnt skin, which is the reason to make it. It carries little flavouring: a touch of vanilla, and cinnamon at the table if you like.
What you'll need
7 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Short-grain rice, baldo or pudding rice, rinsed100 g
- Water300 ml
- Milk, whole; 100 ml kept back for the rice flour1 l
- Sugar150 g
- Rice flour44 ml
- Vanilla, extract (optional)4.9 ml
- Cinnamon, ground, to serve (optional)4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Simmer the rice in the water for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the grains are soft and most of the water has gone.
15 min
Step 2
Add the milk, all but 100 ml, and bring it back to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often so it does not catch.
12 min
Watch: Milk scorches quickly. Keep the heat moderate and scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.
Step 3
Whisk the rice flour into the reserved cold milk until smooth. Stir it into the pan with the sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon like a thin custard. Stir in the vanilla.
10 min
Step 4
Heat the grill or the oven's top element as high as it goes. Ladle the pudding into six small ovenproof dishes, stand them in a deep tray and pour cold water around them to come halfway up.
5 min
Tip: The cold water stops the pudding boiling while the top browns.
Step 5
Put the tray on the top shelf, close under the heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the surfaces are blotched dark brown.
20 min240°C
Step 6
Cool the dishes to room temperature, then chill them for at least 4 hours. Serve cold, with cinnamon if you want it.
240 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 236 kcal
- Protein
- 6.4 g
- Carbs
- 40.1 g
- Fat
- 5.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 3.3 g
- Fibre
- 0.3 g
- Sugar
- 34 g
- Sodium
- 174 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Rice flour → Cornflour
Same amount. A little glossier and slightly less milky.
Tips
- It will look too thin going into the dishes. It sets as it chills.
- Use whole milk. Low-fat milk gives a thin pudding that will not brown well.
- Long-grain rice does not release enough starch; use pudding rice, baldo or another short grain.
History & culture
Sütlaç is pudding-shop food. Istanbul's muhallebicis sell it cold in clay dishes alongside tavuk göğsü and kazandibi, from breakfast until late at night. Black Sea cooks scatter it with ground hazelnuts. At home it is made for guests, for Ramadan evenings and for children, and it does not last long in the fridge.
The name comes from sütlü aş, milk food. Rice and milk puddings travelled west through Persian and Arab kitchens and were made in the Ottoman palace for festivals, sweetened with honey before sugar was cheap. The browned top is newer and seems to belong to the pudding shops of the late Ottoman and early republican years.
Traditional — Pudding shops brown the tops in very hot ovens with top heat only. A domestic grill does the same job; a fan oven at full heat on the top shelf works more slowly. Some recipes brush the tops with egg yolk for colour.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Sütlaç take?
5 hr 10 min all in — 10 min prep, 1 hr cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 dishes. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Baking tray, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
How much sugar?
150 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Rice flour → Cornflour. Same amount. A little glossier and slightly less milky.
What should I watch for?
Milk scorches quickly. Keep the heat moderate and scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.
Any tips from this recipe?
It will look too thin going into the dishes. It sets as it chills. Use whole milk. Low-fat milk gives a thin pudding that will not brown well. Long-grain rice does not release enough starch; use pudding rice, baldo or another short grain.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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