First off: I have been baking up a storm since the semester ended, and even before that, faster than I can blog about it. Head over to my Instagram if you want to see what I mean. I'll be reining that in because January pants in August, when the Fall semester begins, is not so great. (Ask me about my vanilla mint zucchini protein smoothies, though.) Ok, so. I make no secret about it. I miss Cyprus. Most of the things I miss about it are simple things. Like the explosive beauty of bougainvillea. Like the way the streets smelled when the lemon and orange trees were in bloom. The way the lonely call of the muezzin seemed to echo at sunset. Going to the market on Saturdays, and being excited when loquats or white pomegranates were in season. Mastic ice cream. Walking everywhere. The seemingly eternal sunshine. The villages. The beaches. The mountains. The hot, dry winds. (Yes, I even miss the way it felt like I was in front of a hair dryer, with sand.)
A rare hazy day in Western Cyprus.
You should not be surprised to find that I miss the bakeries that populated seemingly each corner. These didn't just carry breads and sweets, no - they were one-stop shops for an easy dinner and a small selection of staples (like, say, yogurt and tahini). Of course there would be baklava, and some stocked both the Cypriot style and the Lebanese style (my preference). But what really, really tickled my fancy were the tahini pies. Those are considered nistisimes, appropriate for fasting by Orthodox Christians, and happen to also be vegan (not all fasting foods are). What they really are are slightly brioche-like but almost laminated, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, savory, sweet, caramelized rolls of deliciousness. My experience is that they are a bigger deal to Greek Cypriots, but they also exist in Armenian and Turkish pastry lore. After sampling tachinopittes at each bakery in my neighborhood, I quickly identified where the ones that best embodied those qualities (read: the least healthy exemplars) could be found. My love of tahini stems in no small part from these pies.
I am pretty sure the standard-sized bakery tahini pies weren't meant to be eaten by one person, in one sitting, but I almost always did. Can you blame me?
When we moved to Pennsylvania, one of the first desserts I tried to make in our new kitchen was tahini pies. I found a recipe online and went to town. They were sad, bready pita-like excuses for the real thing. I was so crushed I didn't try to make them again for... wait for it... 7 years. If this reminds you of the baklava debacle, you would be correct. Instead, every time Nate and I would travel to a conference I would research Greek, Turkish, and Armenian restaurants and bakeries, just in case. No joy. I pined for tahini pies, quietly. I may have been pining for the eternal sunshine, too.
Just this year, emboldened by a ridiculous amount of baking and some advances in my baking skills (I think), I started researching recipes again. The internet recipes landscape was far richer than in 2011, so did the Instagram food porn culture - so I now had pictures to help me guess at whether a recipe would yield the textures I sought. I also had social media crowdsourcing possibilities. Someone in a vegan baking group thought these, by Cypriot blogger Cuisinovia, looked like the texture I had described.
One night, I finally gathered my courage and tried to make the pies for which I had longed so. I tweaked the recipe based on my memory where the filling was concerned. Nate helped, a lot - I don't think I would have had the patience to roll the dough so thin. I used a shit ton more tahini (and sugar) than the original recipe called for, mainly because the dough was rolled so thin. NO REGRETS. That's exactly what these needed to be the most sinful fasting confection you could imagine. I also don't think popping the tahini pies into oven after brushing them with syrup is traditional (many recipes don't mention syrup at all, either) but that gave me the crunch I remembered from the bakery pies.
I rarely repeat recipes because there is so much I want to try, but... I will have to make these again.
Oh, darling, you are everything I remembered you to be, and everything I hoped you would be.
Scroll all the way down for the recipe, but here are some process pictures:
Assemble your wet and dry ingredients, as you do. Test the yeast in a small amount of water and sugar.
If you have some, add mahlepi (mahlab). Ground from the pits of St. Lucie's cherry, this lends a slight almond note to the dough. I'll be honest, I couldn't really taste it and I don't think the tahini pies needed it. However, do consider it for all your sour cherry pie and pastry needs...
The dough comes together very much like a pizza dough.
Good gluten development.
But you must roll it thin... As thin as you can.
Because more surface area means more filling laminated into those coils. And when the filling is comprised of this match made in heaven...
Are you sufficiently motivated to roll out the dough? Nate was.
Except, according to Cuisinovia, something about the honey or maple syrup makes tahini seize up in a way sugar alone would not. I will have to test this. Aside from not having nearly enough filling prepared, spreading it was going to be a problem. (By the way, yes, I am one of those people who is never in a particular hurry to close a kitchen cabinet.)
I made more filling and persisted...
All rolled up and ready to be sprinkled with sugar before baking. See how nearly transparent the dough was in some places. See the oozing!
Tahini F*cking Pies, At Last Note: This recipe might not be appropriate for strict fasting inasmuch as it contains olive oil, which most dough recipes do not. I think the oil helped the dough tremendously, so feel free to substitute a neutral-tasting oil that isn't specifically from olives
Dough
250 to 300g AP flour + more for rolling out the dough
70g durum/village flour (or whole wheat or more AP flour)
25g granulated sugar, divided
3g active dry yeast
1.5g salt
1.5g baking soda
3g ground mahlep (optional)
60g olive oil (light tasting)
180g water, divided
Super Double Filling
454g tahini (typical jar size in the US), stirred well
300g sugar (I did half and half brown and white granulated)
80g maple syrup (completely optional and not at all authentic; date or carob syrup would be nice too)
9g ground cinnamon
1.5g salt
Simple Syrup
50g granulated sugar
50g water
Test the yeast by sprinkling over a small amount of the water (2 tablespoons or so) mixed with a hearty pinch of the sugar. It should begin to bubble as you measure out the rest of the ingredients.
In a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook (if you have it), combine the flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, and mahlep, if using. On medium speed, add the yeast mixture, then the oil and remaining water. As needed, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to knead until the dough comes together as a ball and no longer sticks to the bowl. You may need to add more flour (I needed 50g beyond the initial 250g).
Once the dough is well kneaded, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. The dough will increase in size by approximately half.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Or don’t. Torn as to which directions to give on this one: if you prepare a paste with all the filling ingredients, it may become too thick to spread on a very thin, delicate dough. But that’s what all the recipes say! What I will do next time: combine the tahini and maple syrup. Mix the sugar(s), cinnamon, and salt separately. Reserve a small amount of the sugar mixture for dusting.
When the dough is risen and ready, roll it out as thinly as possible – I got a roughly 60 x 90 cm rectangle. Cover from edge to edge with an even layer of the tahini mixture or, my suggestion, the tahini-syrup followed by an even dusting of the sugar mixture. For four generously sized pies, cut the dough in half lengthwise.
Starting on a long edge, roll the dough onto itself as tightly as you can. Cut the rolled log into two equal halves. Twist the log as tightly as possible and shape into a tight coil. Don’t worry if the dough splits in the twisting process, as any filling that oozes out will caramelize deliciously.
Dust each tahini pie with some of the reserved sugar mixture. Let sit for about 30 minutes on a baking sheet prepared with a silpat or parchment paper. Meanwhile, preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
Bake the pies approximately 30-35 minutes, or until golden but not brown. While the pies are baking, prepare the syrup.
When the pies are almost done (30-35 minutes in), remove from the oven and brush the entire surface with the sugar syrup. Return to the oven and bake until the sugar syrup has dried up and formed a golden crust or about 5 more minutes.
Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Eat warm or cold!