All posts tagged: breakfast

French Toast… à la grecque

Published by

The Tsoureki is the typical Easter Sweet Bread of Greeks. It contains mahaleb, a spice made from the seeds of the Prunus mahaleb tree, grown in the Middle East. Prunus mahaleb is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Its’ wood is hard enough for use in carpentry. We learn that the goddess Ishtar herself had planted a tree in order to make a bed and chair from its’ wood.The problem was that, after ten years and when the tree was fully frown and ready to be lodged, it was infested with nasties. Untypical for her notorious fame, Ishtar had to call for help, and it was Gilgamesh who killed the immune-to-spells snake, expelled the storm bird and drived away the succubus demon. Besides the tree’s qualities that made it suitable for carpentry, its’ fruit was also esteemed. The seeds of the tree occur in Mesopotamian incantations from the 22nd century BC, in lists to be used for the mixing of potions and medicine. What a long journey for the mahleb, from the haze of of …

sesame breadrings

Greek Sesame Bread Rings

Published by

The greek name for the sesame bread ring is ‘Koulouri’. It is still the most commonly available street food in Greece – even more than souvlaki and is sold everywhere, in bakeries or in small stands on the streets. It is usually in a simple ring form but you may also find it twisted or braided. Our son likes them a lot, so we decided to start exploring recipes, different shapes and coatings. We ended up in the following variant, which is simple and very tasty.  500g all purpose flour 2Tbsp sugar 1tsp sea salt 16g dry yeast  dissolved in 4 Tbsp of lukewarm water 1,5 cups water (or more if necessary) To coat 1,5 cups sesame seeds (you can also use black sesame seeds or poppy seeds or mix them together) 2 Tbsp of grape molasses (or 2 Tbsp sugar) 1 cup of water Add the sugar to the dissolved yeast and stir. Set aside for about 10 minutes until frothy. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour with the salt. Make a …

Whole Wheat Raisin Bread

Published by

This is a somehow primitive recipe compared to other raisin breads like panetone or stolen, but the raisins combine with the whole wheat flour to an austere and delicious result.  You can have it as a power breakfast with butter and marmalade (and then perhaps set off for a long trek to Rohan), or just a plain slice of it with tea. For the yeast mixture 20g fresh yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup lukewarm milk 1 tsp caster sugar For the dough 540g whole wheat flour 1,5 cups lukewarm milk 80g melted butter (plus some extra melted butter for brushing the braid) 80g caster sugar 1/2 tsp sea salt zest of 1 lemon 1 cup raisins Add the sugar to the dissolved yeast and stir. Set aside for about 10 minutes until frothy. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour with the salt, sugar and lemon zest. Make a well in the middle and add the milk, melted butter, raisins and the yeast mixture. Using the hook attachment mix on low speed for about 3 -4minutes …

Scones in the Summertime

Published by

We returned to our house by the sea in Naxos after several years – this time with an extra member. We had to come up with a new eating-and-cooking routine, given also the fact that we entertained friends almost daily (or nightly). It had to be easy, fast and secure: cheese pies, scones, chocolate cakes, tzatziki, salads and of course lots  of local cheese, figs and watermelons. For drinks Greek white wines (asyrtiko for the French friends who value terroire) and gin with tonic and lots of ice cubes. Whenever we ran out of cucumbers for the mix, because we put them all in the salad, we used watermelon – they both belong to the cucurbitaceae family. We unpacked kitchenware and put the old stove into use, so we had to adjust cooking and baking times and temperatures. Scones were a success for breakfast, and we had them -unconventionally-  with some local cheese (graviera and xinotyri) or with our homemade apricot jam.  Here is our standard scone recipe, adapted from the cookbook of Rose Carrarini, …