Traditional Flaounes
Flaounes are one of the most iconic Easter treats of Cyprus, known for their rich filling made with cheese, eggs, and aromatic spices like mahlep and mastic. Traditionally, the dough is made with yeast or a sourdough starter, which requires time to rise and makes the preparation a bit more time-consuming.
Ingredients
Filling
- 500 grams flaouna cheese
- 200 grams halloumi
- 100 grams fresh salted anari
- 15 grams fresh mint finely chopped
- 175 grams raisins
- ½ tsp mastic tears
- ½ tsp whole mahleb seeds
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 40 grams bread strong flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs + 1 for brushing
- 1 cup sesame seeds approx.
Dough
- 500 g grams bread strong flour
- 100 grams fine semolina
- 12 grams baking powder 2 tsp
- 30 grams granulated sugar
- ½ tsp mastic tears
- ½ tsp whole mahleb seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- 190 grams fresh orange juice
- 100 grams water
- 120 grams unsalted butter melted
- 40 grams olive oil
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Grate the cheeses and crumble the anari with your hands or mash it with a fork. Put in a large bowl. Finely chop the mint and add it to the bowl. Crush mastic and mahleb with some sugar or salt. Add it to the bowl with the cheeses and add the flour, baking powder, sugar, raisins, and mix. Then, add the eggs and knead well. You should be able to form a ball with the mixture. Add another or ½ an egg if mixture seams crumbly. Set aside until the dough is ready.
Prepare the dough
- In a bowl, combine the flour, semolina, salt, mastic, mastic powder (after grinding them), baking powder, and sugar. Mix well and add the olive oil, melted butter, orange juice, and water. Knead with the dough hook of the mixer until you have a soft dough.
Filling the pastries
- Take 160 grams of the filling and shape into tight, round balls (you’ll have 8 balls). Take 137 grams of dough (keep the rest covered so it doesn’t dry out), knead it, and roll it out with a rolling pin into a circle the size of the dessert plate. Rinse the sesame seeds and spread them on a plate. Place dough on top of sesame seeds, pressing it down slightly to help sesame stick. Transfer dough on counter and roll again slightly to reach the required size. Place a ball of filling in the center, brush the edges with egg wash to help the dough stick together, and fold the sides inward to form a square. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 3cm between each one, and brush them (both the dough and the filling) with the beaten eggs, to which you’ve added the 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Press the edges of the pastry with a fork to seal them well. Bake the pastries in a wood-fired oven or in a conventional oven at 180°C (convection) for 40–45 minutes or until they are golden brown.