Flaounes – Greek Cypriot Easter Bread
Flaounes (Φλαούνες) are the traditional Easter bread of Cyprus.
They are made with special cheeses, eggs, sultanas and dried mint for Easter in Cyprus.
Although bakers shops and supermarkets are overflowing with them, many are still made at home.
The special ingredient that gives flaounes that delicious taste is Mastiki, which comes from the island of Chios.
These small, hard little pieces of resin are known as tears of mastica / mastiha.
Flaounes Recipe
Flaounes Filling
6ozs kefalotiri cheese or cheddar cheese
6ozs halloumi cheese
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn dried mint
2 eggs
half cup sultanas or raisins (depending on your taste)
Flaounes Dough
3 cups strong plain flour
4-5 tears of mastiki (grind in a mortar and pestle with a little sugar or it will stick)
1 tspn salt
2 tspns sugar
2 tbspns olive oil
1 sachet easy bake yeast
cup of warm water or milk to mix
To decorate the flaounes you will need the following:
1 egg beaten
Sesame seeds
Red-dyed hard boiled eggs.
METHOD
Dough:
- Put flour into a bowl, add yeast, salt, mastica, sugar and oil, add warm water and mix.
- Kneed for 5 mins and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Filling:
- Mix together cheese, flour, baking powder, mint and sultanas and then add beaten eggs.
- Mix to a stiff dough and cover.
After 1 hour
- When hour is up switch on the oven and put on medium heat.
- Knock back dough, roll out and cut into 12 balls.
- Roll out each ball into a 4 inch circle.
- Add a teaspoon of mixture to each, slightly dampen edges with water to seal and then fold edges into a square leaving opening in the center.
- Mix egg and cover each flaoune and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake in oven for approx 25 – 30 mins or until dark golden color.
Place on a plate, decorate with red-dyed eggs and when the time comes, try hitting eggs with each other to see whose egg is the hardest.
