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MEDITERRANEAN CHEESE FATAYER



    The other day I asked my hubby to pick up some yeast from the grocers, and he picked up enough to last us years, I’ve been obsessed with making breads in all shapes and forms! This is my latest conquest - a Mediterranean Fatayer stuffed with Feta and Cheddar. Breaking into these warm and fluffy Nigella seed crusted pockets of bread, you find a creamy and sour filling with earthy thyme notes. My family really enjoyed this with Chilli-Infused Burnt Butter Labneh, which was sooo perfect for a family brunch, as honestly, our bellies were full for the day!



    PREP TIME: 40 minutes BAKE TIME: 20 minutes PASSIVE TIME: 40 minutes YIELDS: 16




    INGREDIENTS


    For Bread Dough:

    • 2/3 cup warm water

    • 1 cup warm milk

    • 2 tbsp sugar

    • 14g instant yeast

    • 4 cups all purpose flour

    • 1 1/2 tsp salt

    • 1 tsp baking powder

    • 1/4 cup olive oil

    For Filling:

    • 250g creamy feta cheese, hand crumbled

    • 100g cheddar cheese, grated

    • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

    • 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

    • Dash of black pepper



    For topping:

    • 1 tbsp nigella seeds

    • 1 egg, lightly beaten



    METHOD


    1. In a bowl, pour warm water and milk. Add yeast and sugar, mix and let it stand for 10 minutes until it’s foamy. Then pour oil and mix.

    2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, gradually add flour to the yeast mix to make the dough. Transfer dough on benchtop, knead it for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Form a dough ball and place it in the oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap or wet kitchen towel and leave it to rise double in size, at least 30 minutes.

    3. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling by mixing the cheeses, thyme, parsley and pepper together in a bowl.

    4. Once the dough has risen, uncover and punch to knock the air out. Gently bring the dough together, do not over work the dough.

    5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Divide the dough in 16 equal balls (65g each)and place it on the lined tray, leaving gap of 2-3 inch in between.

    6. Flatten a dough ball into a circle with your fingers, about four inches in diameter. Place a tablespoon of filling(about 22g) in the center. Then take the edge of the dough, fold it over and press down tightly with your finger tips, around the filling to secure it. Repeat with the rest of dough balls. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

    7. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 180°C. Uncover the rested fatayers, brush it lightly with egg wash, sprinkle nigella seeds on top and bake it in pre heated oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature with shakshuka.

    COOK'S NOTES:


    • I used feta and cheddar cheese for the filling but you can always use Greek cheese mixed with some mozzarella or even a meat or spinach stuffing.

    • Any other dried herbs like thyme or mint can also be added to the filling for a variation.

    • Top the bread with toasted sesame seeds if you don’t have nigella seeds, or top it with both.

    • I served these with chilli infused burnt butter lebnah but it can be paired with hummus, shakshuka or warm soup.

    #mediterraneancuisines #fatayer #baked #baking #breakfast #cheese #bread #cheesebread #Turkishbreakfast #nigellaseeds #mediterraneanbreakfast

    SIMIT BREAD



      Turkish breakfast was served to the family on the weekend as I was so tempted to try making this Simit bread which was always at the back of my mind since I visited Istanbul few years back. You will see those street vendors standing or rolling up their carts through the streets or bazaars to sell this amazing looking bread which is their livelihood.


      Simit is a twisted circular bread, typically dunked in molasses and encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds. This is found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East. Its also known as Gevrek, Bokeh, or Koulouri. The size of the bread, its crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region. They are typically served in the breakfast with lebnah, salad, fresh fruit jams, honey, olives etc.


      I made the classical version of this bread, encrusted with toasted sesame seeds. Served the Simit with the Turkish lebnah which was dabbed with chilli infused burnt butter. Alongside that was the shakshuka made by my daughter. Man the whole combo was delicious!


      Saffron, rose petal and camomile infused tea was also served in the Turkish tea glasses. Bought these beautiful hour glass shaped tea cups(very typical to Turkey) back in Sydney from a Turkish grocery cum crockery shop. Had them with me over 2 decades, still pretty intact after number of transits and so many years of traveling to different continents and countries, but as soon as I finished shooting for the spread, one of the saucers broke. It was heart breaking! 😔


      Follow the step by step recipe below and try making these interesting looking delicious breads at home which is pretty simple and easy to make. Bake your own bread at home during these interesting times. Stay home, stay safe!



      YIELDS: 10

      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      BAKE TIME: 25 minutes

      PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour


      INGREDIENTS


      • 2 cups warm water

      • 1 tbsp sugar

      • 1 tbsp instant yeast

      • 5 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tbsp extra for dusting and kneading

      • 2 tsp salt

      • 1/4 cup olive oil

      • 250g/ 1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted

      • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

      • 2/3 cup water, extra



      METHOD


      1. In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with the hook attachment, pour 1 cup of warm water, add sugar and yeast, let it rest for 10 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.

      2. Add olive oil and the second cup of warm water to the foamy yeast water and add 2 cups of flour. On a medium low speed, mix the dough until no dry bits of flour are visible. Let it stand for 20 minutes.

      3. Now gradually add rest of the flour in increments along with salt until a dough ball is formed wrapped around the hook. If required, add bit more flour to the dough if your dough is bit loose and sticky.

      4. Remove it on a lightly floured surface, knead it for 5 minutes to smoothen it. Tucking the seam side down, place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with damp kitchen towel or lightly oiled cling film. Leave it for an hour at a warm place in kitchen and let it rise double in size.

      5. Once the dough is fermented, transfer it to the lightly floured surface, divide the dough in 10 equal parts. Cover them with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying.

      6. Take a piece of dough, drop it on a non-floured surface. Now roll it back and forth with your hands and make a long thin rope, about 2 feet long. Bend it in half from the center and hold the two loose ends together in one hand and twist the rope with your other hand to make the twisted rope. Now join the two ends together, slightly overlapping each other and make a circle/ring. To secure the loose ends, hold the dough ring from the top with one hand and with the other hand roll it back and forth to make it tight and secured.

      7. Repeat step 6 with rest of the dough pieces. Cover with kitchen towel and while working on the other pieces of dough.

      8. In a large bowl, mix pomegranate molasses and water to prepare the bath for the bread.

      9. Now dunk the bread in molasses water bath and dip them in toasted sesame seeds on both sides. Place it on the baking tray. Repeat the step for the other breads and let it prove for 30 minutes.

      10. Bake the bread in preheated oven at 180° C for 25-30 minutes.



      COOK'S NOTES:


      • Serve these with chilli infused burnt butter lebnah, olives, jams, honey and shakshuka for a scrumptious Turkish breakfast.

      • Make the healthier version of the same bread by replacing the all purpose flour with the wholemeal flour.


      PIMIENTO THYME TWISTED BREAD




        Hey there! Baby pimiento and thyme bread made in a jiffy...sometimes you don’t plan ahead to make something that interesting and delicious.


        This is the creation from the leftover dough of naan bread atta (dough) which was made to serve along with butter chicken for my son’s birthday...a lot was leftover after making the naans. I had ingredients like jarred pimientos and thyme at hand in my pantry and fridge and quickly thought of converting this leftover dough to this scrumptious bread.


        When I cut the bread, the wiggly pattern was very exotic looking, and the bread impressed my friends and family when I served it with guacamole and dill and pepper dip....it was a big hit!!



        YIELDS: two 14" loaves

        PREP TIME: 30 minutes

        BAKING TIME: 40 minutes

        PASSIVE TIME: 2 hours



        INGREDIENTS


        For bread dough:

        • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

        • 1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

        • 1/2 cup milk, full fat & room temperature

        • 1 tsp sugar

        • 1 tsp salt

        • 2 tbsp sunflower oil

        • 3/4 cup warm water

        For stuffing:

        • 1 clove garlic, crushed

        • 250g pimientos, jarred

        • 2 tbsp tomato paste

        • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

        • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

        • Pinch of salt



        METHOD

        1. In a small bowl, mix warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes until some bubbles form on top. Add oil and mix.

        2. In a large bowl, sieve flour and salt. Gradually add milk and yeast water to the flour, poring small quantities at a time and make a soft dough. Alternatively use the stand mixer fitted with hook attachment to make the dough.

        3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth in texture. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough is double in size.

        4. Meanwhile, make the pimiento and thyme filling. Drop all the ingredients for stuffing in an electric blender, blitz to a paste.

        5. Punch the dough to knock out the air. Bring it together to make it soft and pliable.

        6. Drop the dough on a floured surface and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece and roll it into 8 x 12 inch rectangle, spread 1/4 of the filling on top, leaving 1 inch border around the edges. From the larger side of the dough, start making accordion folds, about 1.5 inch thick. Repeat the same steps with another piece of dough.

        7. Keeping the stuffing side up, join and press together the two short ends of the two accordion pleated doughs, twist them around each other forming a spiral. Join and press the other two short ends together.

        8. Repeat the steps 6 and 7 with the other 2 pieces of dough.

        9. Now, carefully transfer the shaped loaves on the lightly floured lint-free cloth or baker’s couche to rest. Push the cloth up around each loaf to create folds that will help the dough hold its shape. Alternatively use baguette pans to rest the loaves and form the shape.

        10. Now, cover the pieces of prepared loaves with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes to an hour.

        11. Preheat the oven to 220° C and bake them for 35 - 40 minutes, until golden brown from outside.


        COOK'S NOTES:

        • The bread should feel dry and light on the outside and when you tap them they should make a hollow sound.

        • Store the bread wrapped in a bio-degradable bag and keep it outside for 2 days.

        • Slice the bread into 1/2 inch rounds and it’s a perfect base for bruschetta.

        • Serve the sliced bread as a dipper with your favourite party dip. I served mine with guacamole and dill and gherkin dip. Or serve it with hot bowl of soup.



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