Flaounes - Cypriot Easter Cheese Pastries

Directions

1. For the dough 1. Put the yeast in a bowl and add the lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast with a pinch of sugar and let it rest and rise for a couple of minutes.
2. 2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, add the mehlepi, mastic, sugar and salt and run your fingers through to mix.
3. 3. Open a well in the centre of the flour and pour the oil slowly while mixing gently. Rub with your palms until you get thick crumbs. Add a small amount of milk, yeast mixture and a little of the lightly beaten eggs and slowly bring together until you make a soft dough that does not stick to your hands. If the dough is feeling a little dry, add a little more lukewarm milk.
4. 4. Once you’ve combined the dough, knead until you have a smooth ball.
5. 5. Place the dough back in the bowl, spread a little oil and cover with 3-4 towels or do it proper Cypriot village style with a blanket. Leave to rest for 2 hours until doubled in size.
6. For the filling 1. The process for the filling starts 2-3 days before making the flaounes. Grate the cheeses on the thin side of the grater and put them in a bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Each day, shake the bowl and mix the cheeses to help them dry out. This will make the cheese soak up the eggs and give you fluffy flaounes.
7. 2. The night before you make your flaounes, rinse the mint well, cut the leaves and spread them on a towel to dry. Wash the raisins, soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes, drain and then spread them on a towel to dry. Put plenty of water in a saucepan, add the sesame seeds and boil for 2-3 minutes and then drain them. Place a towel on a wide tray and put the sesame in. Cover with a towel to keep them wet. If they’ve dried up a little overnight, add a couple of droplets of water.
8. 3. On the day you make the flaounes, remove the cheeses from the fridge and bring to room temperature.
9. 4. To the cheese, add the mastic, sugar, sifted flour, baking powder, raisins and mint and mix well. Pour a little bit of the beaten eggs at a time and mix. You might not need to use all of the eggs so pour in small amounts and mix until you’re able to make a ball with the filling without it breaking. Cover the bowl with a towel.
10. 5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
11. 6. Take some dough, keep the rest covered so that it doesn't dry out, and roll it out fairly thinly but not too thin so it doesn’t hold the filling. Use a saucer or small bowl to cut round discs. Place the discs flat in the damp sesame tray, lightly press with the palm of your hand and remove from the tray, placing it sesame side up. Lightly roll with your rolling pin so it sticks, then turn over. Add a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre and fold the sides inwards into a rectangle, square or triangle leaving a small hole open at the top with the filling showing. Squeeze the corners with a fork then space them out on a baking tray and brush the pastry with some beaten egg.
12. 7. Bake your flaounes for 45-50 minutes until golden. Enjoy some hot out of the oven with a cuppa.