Koulourakia
Koulourakia (Greek: κουλουράκια, IPA: [kuluˈraca]; singular: κουλουράκι) are a traditional Greek dessert, typically
made at Easter to be eaten after Holy
Saturday.
They are a butter-based pastry, traditionally
hand-shaped, with egg glaze on top. They have a sweet delicate flavor with a
hint of vanilla. Koulourakia are well known for their sprinkle of sesame seeds and distinctive ring
shape. In fact, the word is the diminutive form for a ring-shaped loaf or
lifebelt. These pastries are also often shaped like small snakes by the
Minoans, as they worshiped the snake for its healing powers.
Now the pastries can be
shaped into braided circles, hairpin twists, figure eights, twisted wreaths,
horseshoes or Greek letters, although they are still often shaped into a snake
style. They are commonly eaten with morning coffee or afternoon tea. Like all
pastries, they are normally kept in dry conditions in a jar with a lockable
lid.
Often, a clove is added in
the middle of the pastry for added flavor.
Baklava (pron.: /ˈbɑːkləvɑː/, /bɑːkləˈvɑː/,[1] or /bəˈklɑːvə/;[2] also Baklawa) is a rich, sweet pastry made
of layers of phyllo pastryfilled with chopped nuts and
sweetened with syrup or honey.
It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and those of Central and Southwest Asia.
Etymology
The word baklava is
first attested in English in 1650,[3] a
borrowing from Ottoman Turkish باقلوا /bɑːklɑvɑː/.[4][5] The
name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling
variations.
The origin of the name
is unclear. Buell argues that the word "baklava" may come from the Mongolian root baγla- 'to tie, wrap up, pile up' composed
with the Turkic verbal
ending -v;[6] baγla-
itself in Mongolian is a Turkic loanword.[7] The
Armenian-Turkish linguist Sevan Nişanyan considers its oldest known forms
(pre-1500) to be baklağı and baklağu,
and labels it as being of Proto-Turkicorigin,
but without further documentation.[8]
Though the suffix -vā might suggest a Persian origin,[9][10] the baqla- part does not appear to be Persian.[11] Another
form of the word is also recorded in Persian, باقلبا (bāqlabā).[12] The
Arabic name is doubtless a borrowing from Turkish,[13] though
a folk etymology, unsupported by Wehr's
dictionary, connects it to Arabic بقلة /baqlah/ 'bean'.
History
The history of baklava
is not well documented. It has been claimed by many ethnic groups, but there is
strong evidence that its current form was developed in the imperial kitchens of
the Topkapı Palace based on a Central Asian Turkic tradition
of layered breads.[14]
Many Ottoman sweets are
similar to Byzantine sweets,
using dough, sesame, wheat, nuts and fruits, and some were similar to the
Ottoman börek, halva,
and so on. There are some similarities between baklava and the Ancient Greek gastris (γάστρις),[15] kopte
sesamis (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), kopton (κοπτόν), or koptoplakous (κοπτοπλακοῦς).[16] Gastris is mentioned in the Deipnosophistae[17] andSperos Vryonis called it a "Byzantine favorite".[18] But
though gastris contained a filling of nuts and honey,
its outer layers did not include any dough, but rather a honey and ground sesame mixture
similar to modern pasteli or halva.[19]
On the other hand, there
is some evidence that layered breads were created by Turkic peoples in Central Asia; the "missing
link" between the Central Asian folded or layered breads (which did not
include nuts) and modern phyllo-based pastries like baklava would be the Azerbaijani dish Bakı pakhlavası, which involves layers
of dough and nuts. The Uzbek pakhlava, puskal or yupka,
and Tatar yoka,
sweet and salty savories (boreks) prepared with 10-12 layers of dough,
are other early examples of layered dough style in Turkic regions.[13] The
thin phyllo dough as used today was probably developed in the kitchens of the
Topkapı Palace.
The Sultan presented
trays of baklava to the Janissaries every
15th of the month of Ramadan in
a ceremonial procession called theBaklava Alayı.[20]
Other claims about
baklava's origins include: that it dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, and was mentioned in a
Mesopotamian cookbook on walnut dishes;
that al-Baghdadi describes something similar to it in
his 13th-century cookbook; that it was a popular Byzantine dessert.[21] Claudia Roden[22] finds
no evidence for it in medieval Persian or Arab sources and suggests it arrived in the
region during the Ottoman period.
One of the oldest known
recipes for a sort of proto-baklava is found in a Chinese cookbook
written in 1330 under the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty under the name güllach.[6] "Güllaç" is found in Turkish cuisine.
Layers of phyllo dough are put one by one in warmed up milk with sugar. It is
served with walnut and fresh pomegranate and generally eaten during Ramadan.
Preparation
Baklava is normally
prepared in large pans. Many layers of phyllo dough,
separated with melted butter, are laid in the pan. A layer of chopped
nuts—typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts are
also sometimes used—is placed on top, then more layers of phyllo. Most recipes
have multiple layers of phyllo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom
pastry.
Before baking, the dough
is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms (lozenge-shaped), triangles,
or rectangles.
A syrup, which may
include honey, rosewater, or orange flower water is poured over the cooked baklava and
allowed to soak in.
Baklava is usually
served at room temperature, often garnished with ground nuts.
Regional
variations
In Afghanistan and Cyprus, baklava is prepared into triangle-shaped pieces and
is lightly covered in crushed pistachio nuts.
In Azerbaijan, bakhlava is mostly prepared during
the Nowruz festivity.
After preparation the pakhlava is cut into diamond shapes and each piece is
garnished with an almond or a walnut.
In the Balkans, it is one of the most popular
desserts; though, it is also a dessert made on special occasions (by Muslims,
mostly during the holy month of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr) and by Christians during Pascha and Christmas. In Albania, baklava is a very popular dessert.
The dough may include egg yolks,[dubious discuss] and the filling uses walnuts.[citation
needed]
In Greece, baklava is supposed to be made with 33 dough
layers, referring to the years of Christ's life.[24]
In Iran,
a drier version of baklava is cooked and presented in smaller diamond-shaped
cuts flavored with rose water. The cities ofYazd and Qazvin are
famous for their baklava, which is widely distributed in Iran.[25] Persian
baklava uses a combination of chopped almonds and pistachios spiced with
cardamom and a rose water-scented syrup and is lighter than Middle Eastern
versions.[9][26]
In Syria,
baklava is prepared from phyllo dough sheets, butter, walnuts and sugar syrup.
It is cut into lozenge pieces.[27]
Baklava from Aleppo is
made with the local pistachios and samna from Hama.[citation needed]
In Turkey, baklava traditionally is made by filling between
the layers of dough with pistachios, walnuts, almonds (parts of theAegean Region) or a special preparation called
"kaymak" (not to confuse with kaymak). In the Black Sea Region hazelnuts are
commonly used as a filling for baklava.[28]
The city of Gaziantep in
southeast Turkey is famous for its pistachio baklava and regarded there as its
native city, though it only appears to have been introduced to Gaziantep from
Damascus in 1871.[29] In
2008, the Turkish patent office registered ageographical
indication for Antep Baklava.[30]
In many parts of Turkey,
baklava is often topped with kaymak or, in
the summer, ice cream (milk cream flavour, called "kaymaklı dondurma").
Preparation
The cookie is made using
flour, baking powder, orange juice, and oil. No dairy products are used. After
baking in the oven, the finikia are rolled in a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and
ground walnuts. Melomakarona, another type of Greek cookie dessert, are made
with the same ingredients, but after baking, they are dipped into a syrup
mixture consisting of sugar, honey, water, orange zest, and cloves. Then they
are rolled in the ground walnut, sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Tsoureki (Greek τσουρέκι), çörek (Turkish), شوريك (Arabic), panarët (Arbërisht), choreg (Armenian չորեկ), çörək (Azerbaijani),kozunak (Bulgarian козунак) or cozonac (Romanian) is a sweet, egg-enriched bread in
the cuisines of the countries comprising the former Ottoman Empire. It is formed of braided
strands of dough. There are also savoury versions.
Such rich brioche-like breads are also traditional in
many other countries, such as Hungary and
the Czech Republic. Examples of similar breads
from other cultures are badnji kruh in Croatian cuisine, colomba de páscoa in Portuguese cuisine, Brioche in French,kulich in Russian cuisine, anise in Italian cuisine and challah in Jewish cuisine.
Greek traditions
Rich brioche-like breads (often braided) are known
by various Greek names that represent three major holidays for Greeks: Easter, Christmas and New Year's. There are many local varieties of
these festive breads, based on milk, flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, butter, and a
flavoring which can be mahlab, Chian mastic or cardamom. The butter is added after kneading:
the dough is stretched, brushed with melted butter, folded and stretched again
repeatedly, until all the butter is incorporated. The result of this technique
is that the baked bread separates easily into strands. A good tsoureki should be soft, moist and fluffy, yet
stringy and chewy.
Tsoureki / Lampropsomo /
Lamprokouloura: Easter Bread
The word tsoureki refers not
only to the Easter batches, but to the traditionally sweet bread that's made
under most circumstances; it is derived from the Turkish name.
The Greek word lampropsomo (λαμπρόψωμο) is derived from one
Greek word for Easter, Λαμπρή, which means "bright
light," and ψωμί, which means bread;
referring to the lightChristians believe
is given to them by Christ's resurrection.
Another name for the bread is lamprokouloura (Λαμπροκουλούρα): κουλούρα means
"round" and, therefore, various forms of cookies and round breads.
This braided bread can be shaped either into a circle or into two large braids
and sprinkled with nuts, usually slivered, blanched almonds. It is served with Easter eggs that have been dyed deep red
to represent the blood of Christ or
red rosebuds.
This bread was traditionally prepared with an essence drawn
from the seeds of Mediterranean wild cherries, called makhlepi, (Greek: μαχλέπι). The bread can also
be flavoured withmastic, the
resin from Pistacia lentiscus,
var. chia. In more recent years, vanilla-scented
tsoureki has also become popular. If going for the full aromatic effect, a
fourfold melange of aromatics is used: makhlepi, Chios mastic, cardamom, and vanilla.
Sometime tsoureki is used as a gift for special occasion,
for instance, it can be given as an Easter gift from children to their godparents.
Christopsomo: Christmas
Bread
Christopsomo (Χριστόψωμο),
which translates as "Christ's bread", is a Greek bread decorated with
an early form of the Christian cross with ends that split and curl into
circles. Sometimes dough shapes representing initials, birth dates, ages and
aspects of the family's life and profession are added. Christopomo is a rich,
round loaf scented with wine soaked figs, anise and orange. It sometimes contains such ingredients
as nuts, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mastic, a
dried pine resin. The bread is sometimes served with honey on Christmas Eve. Families leave pieces of bread
on the table believing that Christ will come and
eat them during the night.
The preparation of Christopsomo is considered a sacred
tradition in Greek Orthodox homes,
and the care with which it is made is said to ensure the well-being of the home
in the year to come. In earlier times, Greek cooks baked large quantities of
bread to last for ten to fifteen days, so baking just one or two loaves of
Christopsomo the night before Christmas had special significance. The cook
would begin by crossing him/herself before starting baking.
Tsourekaki: Easter Cookie
Tsourekaki (Τσουρεκάκι): A variant which consists of
biscuits in the shape of the original tsoureki. It is common to add orange
flavour.
Vasilopita: New Year's
Bread
Armenian traditions
In Armenian tradition, a big
batch of choreg is baked for Easter, with one of the choregs containing a coin for good
luck to whomever gets it.
Daktyla bread
Daktyla is a leavened 'country' or 'village' bread from Greece,[1] but
also popular in Cyprus[2] and Turkey.[3]
It has a segmented shape
resembling fingers of bread, which give it its name of 'finger bread'[4] (Δάχτυλα, Daktyla in Greek means "fingers"[1]), which is made by making deep
slashes in a loaf before baking,[3] or
making a row of rolls of dough and allowing them to become attached to each
other at proving stage.[1] It
is traditionally made from a 'country' flour, which is a mix of wheat flours and fine cornmeal, which gives it a light yellow
colour,[1] and
is topped with sesame and nigella seeds,[2][3] some
recipes also include nigella seeds in the dough.-wikipedia
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