Greek Recipes

Greek and Cypriot recipes

Kypriaki Tahinopita (Cyprus Tahini Pie)

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

  • 1 kilo minus 2 cups of hard flour
  • 2 cups plus 4 tbsp of soft flour
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 level tbsp of easy baking yeast
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 3 level tsp of powder cinnamon
  • A pinch of ground mastic
  • A pinch of ground machleb
  • 3 cups of water or as much as needed

For the filling:

  • 3 jars or 720gr of tahini paste
  • 3 cups of sugar
  • 3 level tsp of powder cinnamon
Tahini

Tahini

Method:

Dough Preparation:

  • In a large enough bowl add the two kinds of flour and combine together.
  • Add the salt, sugar, yeast, powder cinnamon and grounded mastic and mahleb.
  • Mix well to combine all the dry ingredients.
  • Gradually add the water as much as needed and knead into normal dough.
  • Occasionally cut the dough vertically and horizontally and knead vigorously until the dough is shiny.
  • Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside for about 30 minutes to rise.

Filling Preparation:

  • In a large bowl pour the tahini paste, add the powder cinnamon and mix well to combine the two ingredients.
  • Add the sugar and beat well with a metal spoon because is going to be very stiff.
  • Divide the dough into 13 equal pieces and shape onto a ball.
  • Cover the dough balls with kitchen towel to keep them soft while you work on one at a time.
  • On a flowered surface roll out a dough ball into a sheet of about 12X30 cm.
  • Place 2 heaped tbsp of the tahini mixture in the center of the rolled out dough sheet and spread all over the whole sheet leaving about 1 cm around the edge.
  • Fold the long side of the sheet towards the center covering the 2/3 of the sheet and fold the other 1/3 over the top.
  • Stretch the folded dough sheet a little, fold in half and using your hands, on a non floured surface, shape into a roll of approximately 80 cm long.
  • Take the two ends and swirl them so that a rope-shape is formed about 117 cm long.
  • Roll the two ends of the rope in the opposite directions to form two snail shells.
  • Take one snail-shape piece, place it over the other and press it together with your hands to about 15 cm in diameter.
  • Prepare all the tahinopites the same way following the above directions and place on a lightly floured surface.
  • Sprinkle them lightly with flour and cover them with plastic wrap and set them aside to rise.
  • Once they are risen, place them on a lightly greased baking pan and bake at 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit (see conversions) for about 1/2 an hour or until golden brown.
  • Kypriakes Tahinopites (Cyprus Tahini Pies) can be eaten at any time and particularly during Lenten Times.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*