Flaounopita - Halloumi Bread with Raisins

INGREDIENTS
50g butter
150ml mild olive oil
4 eggs, separated
400g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
400ml full-fat milk
200g grated halloumi or flaouna cheese
75g pecorino romano or strong cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons dried mint and 2 teaspoons of freshly chopped mint, if you’ve got it
1/2 teaspoon powdered mastic
2 teaspoons powdered mahlepi
200g raisins
white and black sesame seeds


METHOD
1. Preheat oven at 180°C (fan-forced)
2. Beat the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the olive oil and egg yolks and beat until you get a thin creamy consistency.
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder in parts alternating with the milk; so, a little of the flour, fold a couple of times then add some milk and repeat while gently folding with a spatula. Don’t over mix, it’s ok if there’s still some flour showing in your mixture.
5. Whisk the egg whites until you get soft peaks and fold into the rest of the mixture.
6. Add your cheese, raisins, dried mint, mahlepi, mastic and fold.
7. Transfer your mix into a well-greased bundt or loaf tin, sprinkle white and black sesame seeds and bake for 50-60 minutes on the middle shelf or until a knife is pulled out clean.

Also great as muffins; bake these for 25-30 mins.

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If you love flaounes (the cheese pastries Cypriots make at Easter) then you’ll love this more because you won’t need to spend all day making them. They use to call this “Φλαούνα της Ώρας” which translates to “flaouna in an hour”, which is true, you won’t need more than an hour to make them.

This recipe uses something called mastic, which is a type of resin, and mahlepi, which is the cherry kernels that have been ground into a fine powder. Both are commonly used in the Eastern Mediterranean cuisine for its unique aroma. Try finding them in your local ethnic grocery shop, if not, you don’t have to use it.

I made a couple of changes to mum’s original recipe. I swapped the vegetable oil with mild olive oil and I don’t use any sugar. I’m not a fan of vegetable or sunflower oil and avoid it as much as possible due to the hard chemicals that are used to extract the oils.

I’m sharing this recipe with so much love and pride, and on the final days of halloumi week for #FebulousCypriotFood. This bake is full of memories and a recipe over 70 years old, from yiayia Talou to mama Koulla. I hope you enjoy making it and would loved to see your take on it so please do tag and share your creations with me on Instagram or Facebook.