Flaounes For Easter

Flaounes are so traditionally cypriot.

They are a bit sweet and a bit savoury and made traditionally to break the fast at the end of Lent.

They are made by every family in Cyprus to celebrate Easter.

There are many recipes on the island, each family, each village has its own little idiosycrasy but here is a good basic one to start with.

Ingredients

For The Dough

• 675g strong plain flour
• 1 sachet of easy bake yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil

For The Cheese Filling

• 225g cheddar cheese or 12 oz flaouna cheese
• 100g halloumi cheese
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried min
• 4 eggs lightly beaten

To Finish

• 1 egg beaten
• sesame seeds

To Make The Flaounes

Sift flour into a large bowl and stir in the packet of yeast, the salt and the sugar.

Knead this for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic, then put the dough into a plastic bag and leave in a warm place to rise for approximately 1 hour.

Next...

For the filling, coarsely grate your cheese, add the flour and baking power, then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasoning until a stiff paste emerges. Keep back a little of the beaten egg, just in case the mixture is too runny. You just have to guage it as you go along.

Then...

Divide the dough into egg shaped pieces and roll into 4 inch rounds. Place a good tablespoon of the cheesy filling into the middle of the pastry round.

Pull up the dough at 3 points to make a triange or 4 points to make a square, you still to see the filling in the middle. Press the corners together to seal then leave to rise.

Finally...

Brush to pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Bake in a hot oven, gas mark 8, 450 degrees celcius for 12-15 minutes until the cheesy filling puffs up and the flaounes are golden in colour.

How To Eat

Eat them warm or cold. You can freeze them and when you want to eat them, defrost, wrap in foil and reheat for abour 20 minutes.

You can find some of them with fruit in, my particular favourite, but if you buy then in a cyprus bakery they will only have cheese.

The mint in it really goes well with the cheese and these buns are quite unique in taste. I particularly like them for breakfast but you can eat them anytime of the day.

Related Pages

Cypriot Cuisine

Easter In Cyprus

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