Talin’s — Favourite Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls

Many Years ago, I was at my Armenian Community Center and there was a Bazaar like a flea market type of event, and a couple of days before I went and assisted the Armenian Women’s Guild Group to make Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls to sell, So I learned how to make it from the Armenian Ladies and perfected it. So, I decided to write down the recipe to make it at home. I was so glad I did. It is incredibly tasty, and I enjoy making this. Although I have not made it in over a year, but I was thinking about it today, so I want to make it again this week, and Sweet Tahini Swirls are good anytime, any day. You can serve this with Coffee, Tea, Armenian Coffee, or at anytime. You can have it for Breakfast, or for a snack, whenever your heart desires. Well, Here is the recipe for this delicious dessert.

This is counted as 4 Bread Swirls of 16 Cm’s, but you can play around with the amounts according to how many you are making.

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

Made some modifications, but full credit goes to the site above

Dough:

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 120 ml lukewarm water
• 200 gr all purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Filling:

• 4 small tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4x tsp olive oil
• 4x tsp cinnamon

Use Flour on countertop or big cutting board to work with the dough and filling.

Make the dough

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, and add the sugar and oil. Add the flour, a handful at a time. Quickly knead into a floppy, flexible dough that does not stick to the hands anymore. Leave covered in a bowl for about 2 or 3 hours, to rise. As all the air will be rolled out of it later, the stretchiness of the dough is more important than the amount of air in it.

Follow the Following Steps.

When the dough has had some time to rise, divide it into four balls. Roll out one ball at a time, into a rough rectangle of “pizza thickness” – about 2 or 3 mm (1). Scatter the teaspoon of olive oil over it. I combined the tahin with the sugar, added a teaspoon of finely ground lemon rind (packet) to that, and scattered the somewhat dryer tahin mixture, like crumbs, over the dough surface (2). Dust the tahin-sugar layer with cinnamon. Gently press it flat with the back of a spoon. You’re now ready to roll.

Pre-heat the oven to 190° C. If you use a baking stone, put it in the middle rack.

Dust the worktop with a bit of castor sugar and flour to help with the rolling. Cut squares of baking parchment of about 17 x 17 cm. Roll up the dough rectangle, starting at the longest edge. Roll and pull and gently twist a bit, and the resulting sausage will be much longer, about 40 to 50 cm (4). Taking one end as the center, now turn the sausage in on itself, forming a rolled bun (5). Gently press it flat with your hand, then transfer onto a piece of parchment, and use the rolling pin again to gently roll the bun into a 15cm wide flat circle, about a cm in thickness (6). Prepare as much swirls as your oven can hold in one go, leave the rest covered up.

Using a pizza peel or an extra-wide spatula to support the flat tahini swirls sitting on their separate parchment, quickly transfer them into the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or till parts of the surface have turned a deep golden brown. Get them out and leave them to cool and get nice and crispy on a wire rack.

Have some apple tea to go with that. Their taste is not overly sweet; and I love the combination of crunchiness with that slightly caramelized sesame filling. Roll over Swedish cinnamon buns, these tahini swirls are awesome!

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

Talin’s Delicious Salad Dressing – Say Goodbye to Creamy!

Hello everyone,

I have started to eat really healthy for the past month and I am experimenting a lot in the kitchen about alternative and healthy ways to eat your food. Now some salads even though they are loaded with Veggies, can sometimes have many calories because of the dressing you put onto your salad. It plays a big part in promoting healthy eating. So, I came up with my very own dressing which is loaded with flavour, No calories and it kicks your salad up a few notches. Not just a notch. Just like Chef Emiral Lagasse would say.  Now it depends on how much Salad you are making, so eyeball how much of the ingredients below as to the quantity. Like say you have more than 5 people to feed or as desired or as you go, but here are my measurements.

Now without further due, here is my flavorful dressing.

Ingredients you will need to mix in separate bowl before adding to your garden salad:

Dry Ingredients:

1 tsp — Ground sumach Sumac (like a purplish/reddish powder)

1 tsp — of Salt

1 tsp — Black Pepper or Cracked Black Pepper.

1 tbsp — Ground Dried Mint

1 tsp — Ground and Chopped Parsley Flakes (You can find it in your spice aisle at the grocery store)

Pinch — of Cinnamon with the tip of your fingers.  Not too much!

half tsp — of Ground Ginger

Liquid Ingredients:

2 — Fresh Lemons — Make sure the skin is bright yellow as we will use some to zest about 1 tbsp worth of zest, maybe just a bit more than cut it in half and squeeze both Lemons well. Make sure you roll it a few times on your counter or cutting board to activate the juices inside and it will be easier to squeeze out with your Lemon squeeze.

3 tbsp — Olive Oil

3 tbsp — of Pure White Vinegar

1 Lime — Squeezed both sides and cut in half — Follow the same concept as Lemon but without Zesting it.

—– **NOTE** You can play around with the quantity and depending how small or big your salad is, make it according to the number amount of servings.

To Prepare:

Mix all the Liquid ingredients first, then as you go, add each dry ingredient separately into the mix and keep mixing it with your tbsp and then let your salad dressing sit for about 10 to 15 minutes until the dry ingredients have settled with Liquid ingredients because you want to let them incorporate with each other. Do not add it into the salad until after you let it sit. meanwhile you wait for the dressing to settle, set the table, do the dishes you took out to make your lunch or dinner so less washing of dishes later and you can get things done quicker after, then by the time you do all that, it will settle in, then you mix it well into the salad, and there you have it. Talin’s Salad Dressing. .

 

Bon apetit!