Eggless Flauones (Cypriot Savoury Easter Cheese Pies)

Flauones are savory cheese baked pies which are so tempting and irresistible. It is quite addictive and you cannot stop with one. This is choice for this month’s We Knead to Bake that Aparna has chosen from here. The original recipe has quite a lot of eggs and it was challenge to make them egg free. The filling is equally addictive, so it is better to keep them aside and you will finish the stuffing even before making the flaoune. This recipe makes 8 pies. Two Mediterranean flavor powders (Mastic, Mahleb)  are used in this recipe traditionally, but I have omitted it as I could not lay my hands on it. .  From Aparna’s Blog – “Flaounes are savoury cheese pies baked for Greek Orthodox Easter, traditionally made on Good Friday, and are part of the fast-breaking meal after Lent when meat and cheese are not eaten. The cheese that is traditionally used in these pies is called “Flaounes” cheese which is cheese that is produced locally by Cypriot shepherds, and very difficult to find outside the country. Flaounes cheese can be substituted with a combination of Cheddar or similar hard cheeses and a softer, milder one like Halloumi. The cheese filling tends to be salty so choose one cheese which is quite salty. Some of the cheeses suggested as substitutes for Flaounes cheese are Cypriot/ Greek cheeses like Kefalotyri, Kefalogravier or Kaskavali. Other cheeses include Halloumi, English Cheddar, Italian cheeses likeParmesan, Romanelo or Pressato (mild), Pecorino (salty) or French Cantal cheese. “ This is a very delicious snack which is so tempting and kid friendly. My little one helped me make the filling. Yes that is her little hand mixing it for me..

Eggless Melon Pan / Eggless Japanese Melon Pan

Melon Pan is a bread that has no Melon and No pan either!!! It is a double layer bread with bread layer topped with a cookie layer.. Pan is the Japanese word for Bread which is borrowed from Portuguese and there are quite a range of Pans in Japan. This bread is the choice by Aparna for this month’s We Knead to Bake and the recipe is adapted from here and have made few changes. You can take a look at this video which has an excellent tutorial on the Melon Pan. The bread layer in this pan is very soft and is quite addictive and it is covered with a layer of crunchy cookie layer. The Melon added to the pan to give the name Melon pan could be from the crosshatch design on the bread.  This recipe will give 8 - 10 burger sized melon pans... Melon Pans are best enjoyed on the day it is made.

Pita Bread

Every country has their share of authentic breads. Pita bread is from the Mediterranean region and it tastes awesome when baked fresh with hummus.. You could enjoy it with hummus, insert it with falafel, tzazki sauce and salad and that makes a meal. Make these breads and are so perfect as a snack with hummus.. For this month’s We Knead to Bake, Aparna gave us the choice to bake any bread and this is my choice. This is also a perfect snack choice for the “after school snack” for this month’s BM

Focaccia Caprese

Focaccia is a popular Italian Bread which has toppings with herbs, vegetables and other ingredients. This is the choice for this month's We Knead to Bake where we are entering the second year from this month.. Aparna chose the Focaccia Caprese but also gave us the option to choose other toppings.. Focaccia has been on my list for such a long time and I am happy that I tried it. It was very delicious with a delicious base which was lightly crispy in the bottom with a spongy inner.. Focaccia Caprese is a basic Focaccia dough topped Caprese style. "Caprese" comes from the city of Capri, an island off the Italian coast. Capri is famous mostly for its villas, grottos and jutting limestone towers, and also for the salad named after it – “Insalata Caprese”  which is salad made with fresh tomatoes, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella.  So this Focaccia Caprese is topped with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, in addition to the usual olive oil and herbs that are usual in focaccia. This recipe will serve 4 if served alone or 6 if served as a side

Eggless Bienenstich Kuchen (German Bee Sting Cake)

For this month's We Knead to Bake, Aparna chose this German Bread (actually a German Cake).. It is an interesting cake with yeast used as the rising agent.. This has 3 texture, the top layer is little hard from the caramel, the cake is soft and the custard filling is smooth and silky.. This made 8 big pieces. The frosting was left over. So next time, I would do half the below frosting for this recipe..

Kanel snegle / Kanelbullar / Cinnamon Snails–Swedish Cinnamon Buns

To me, cinnamon is the flavor of the Winter baking season.. Lot of houses will smell heavenly from the fruity aroma of cinnamon. Kanel Snegle is the Swedish version of the very popular American Cinnamon Rolls. The Swedish version are less stickier and sweeter when compared to the American Cinnamon rolls.. I like these better for the above reasons and are a great accompaniment to coffee... I halved the original recipe and this recipe will make 10 – 12 rolls. We enjoyed them with evening coffee and froze the remaining. Next day tried these by reheating them in the microwave.. It was delicious both times.. This is bread Aparna chose for this month’s We Knead to Bake

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread–Very soft Bread with sponge and soaker

 

In one line about this bread is - "One of the best breads I have baked"... Whenever I make whole wheat flour for breads, it is notorious for its dense and heavy texture.. But this bread will change all that... It was super soft, perfect texture and was delicious... I am sure I will baking this quite often.. Thanks to Aparna for choosing this bread for this month's We Knead to Bake from the very famous Chef - Peter Reinhart. This also goes to this month's BM for Your favorite celebrity chef recipes..

Thenkoodu Buns / Khaliat Nahal (Honeycomb Buns or Bee’s Hive Buns)

Bread baking is fun and sometimes tedious with the wait time for the proofing.. When Aparna announced this month challenge for We Knead to Bake, it so looking so tempting and wanted to try it immediately, but then kept postponing.. And when I was deciding on recipes for the A-Z, it so happened that recipe for T had to be either International or baked.. So I chose this thenkoodu designed bread for T - Baked. Thenkoodu meaning beehive or honeycomb is the design this bread resembles and thus the name for this delicious sweet stuffing bun. Khaliat Nahal translates as Bee’s Hive in Arabic. This is because the buns are baked close to each other in a round pan where they form a honeycomb like pattern. They’re traditionally made sweet and glazed with honey flavored syrup, though savory versions are also made. I chose the sweet one which has cream cheese as the filling. I chose to use hung curd instead of cream cheese and also added some dry fruits and nuts to it..

 

Soft Pretzels - Laugenbrezel (German Style Soft Pretzels)

For this month's We Knead to Bake, Aparna chose these delicious and very soft pretzels which are German Cuisine. Laugenbrezel are German Style Soft Pretzels and were so good and felt perfect... I was proud making these... I have used little bread flour to get a chewy texture and also my all purpose flour was over:). I used yellow coarse cornmeal to the baking tray. Make sure you do not skimp or else the pretzels will stick!! I have used a variety of toppings, you could use what you like or what you find.. I have tried to give a pictorial of the method of shaping the pretzels. They were soft and chewy and best served warm with cream cheese. To serve the next day, just warm up in the microwave for 15 seconds and serve!!

Savory Kugelhopf – Vegetarian and Eggless

I loved the option of Savory Bakes and could not pass this option when Valli gave it as one of them for BM themes. I love home made bread just for the fresh taste and flavor.. The whole house is filled with the fresh baked aroma!!! Love this… When Aparna announced the Savory yeasted bread for this month’s We Knead to Bake, I was so tempted to try it as soon as possible.. I loved the spicy and spongy bread. From Wiki – “A Gugelhupf or Gugelhopf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a marble cake or Bundt cake. It is baked in a special circular pan with a central tube, originally made of enamelled pottery.”  This is the savory version which can be served as a snack or for breakfast.  The original savory Kugelhopf has meat and eggs in it and this one is vegetarian and eggless. I made this in a 9” cake pan with a tumbler in between to create the hole in between or to simulate a bundt pan.

Eggless Baked Donuts

Donuts, the word makes many people drool... A sinfully delicious and mouth melting pastry. Aparna chose these Baked donuts for this month's We Knead to Bake. I have done the regular Donuts and baked donuts are new to me and I was happy to have tried it.. Tasted awesome and it was delicious..

Croissant

A very delicious French pastry which is very famous for its difficulty in doing. It is not common in household for people to bake croissants (even in Paris) is what I have heard unless they join some fun group like us "We Knead to Bake" which was started by Aparna. I was very intimidated by this croissants for a few years and now because of this group, I made it. I have previously watched Julia Child's show where she demonstrates Croissant. I have also seen it on Americas Test Kitchen and Croissants have been on my To-do for quite long now... Finally got to make it!!!!! Am so happy and so thrilled that I could make it at home and I can call it successfully!! A perfect croissant should be soft inside and very flaky outside and I got it!!!! yayyyyy!!!! I have some points to note and some tips that I learned along the way!!!!

Spicy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

Pull apart bread is a very soft and tempting bread. This is the first time I am making it and I am very happy with the results. I recently joined "We Knead to Bake" group created by Aparna and the purpose of the group is to bake one different bread each month. The stuffing is a personal choice and I have used my imagination and preference for the stuffing..