Tahinopita

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 300 mlwarm water
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 80 gsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 60 mlolive oil
• juice and zest of 1 orange
• 1 tspground cinnamon

Filling

• 250 gtahini
• 150 gsugar, or brown sugar
• 2 tspground cinnamon
• 50 gwalnuts, chopped, optional
• 50 graisins, optional

To finish

• sesame seeds
• a little sugar syrup or honey, optional

To serve

• with coffee, during Lent

Directions

1. Warm the water and mix it with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Let it foam for 10 minutes, which confirms the yeast is alive. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon, then add the yeast mixture, olive oil, orange juice and zest. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should be soft and slightly tacky rather than firm. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.
2. Stir the tahini thoroughly in its jar first, right down to the bottom. Using it unstirred gives you either pure oil or a dry paste, and neither spreads. Mix the tahini with the sugar and cinnamon into a smooth spreadable paste. If it is very stiff, loosen it with a spoonful of warm water or oil.
3. Roll the first piece out into a large thin rectangle, about 40 by 30 cm. Roll it thin, since the whole appeal is many fine layers of dough and tahini rather than a thick bready roll. Spread half the tahini filling over it, right to the edges but leaving a clean strip along one long side. Spread it thinly and evenly. A thick layer squeezes out when you roll it and burns on the tray.
4. Scatter walnuts and raisins over if using. Now roll it up tightly from the long side into a long thin log. Roll it tight, because loose winding gives gaps rather than the fine spiral layers you want. Pinch the long seam closed along its length.
5. Roll the log gently under your hands to lengthen and thin it further. Coil it loosely rather than tightly, leaving a little space, because it expands as it proves and bakes.
6. Prove for a further 40 minutes. Brush the top with a little water or oil and scatter sesame seeds over. Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden. Cover it loosely with foil if it browns too fast, since the sugar in the filling colours quickly. It is done when it is firm and golden and the base is cooked through.
7. Brush it with a little honey or syrup while hot if you want it glossier and sweeter, though many make it without. Cool it on a rack before cutting. Cut it into wedges from the centre out, like a cake. Serve it at room temperature with coffee. It keeps three or four days in a tin and is very good on the second day.

Technique

• It is traditionally vegan because of the Orthodox Lenten fast.
• Similar tahini breads are made across Greece and Turkey.
• Stirring the tahini thoroughly before use is essential.

Substitutions

• Any good tahini, stirred well.
• Brown sugar for a deeper flavour.

Variations

• With walnuts and raisins.
• With cocoa powder mixed into the filling.
• Made as individual rolls rather than one coil.

History

Baked for Cypriot Lent, when tahini replaces butter in fasting weeks before Easter.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tahinopita?

Tahinopita is a bread & pastry from Cyprus: coiled bread rolled with sesame paste, sugar and cinnamon. Baked for Cypriot Lent, when tahini replaces butter in fasting weeks before Easter.

How long does Tahinopita take to make?

Tahinopita takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 pieces. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tahinopita?

Yes, within limits. Any good tahini, stirred well. Brown sugar for a deeper flavour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tahinopita?

Warm the water and mix it with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Let it foam for 10 minutes, which confirms the yeast is alive. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon, then add the yeast mixture, olive oil, orange juice and zest. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should be soft and slightly tacky rather than firm. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.