Flaounes — Cypriot pastries with cheese, mint and raisins

Finely grate the halloumi and cheddar, and chop the mint. Mix the mahlab with the crushed mastic and divide the spices into two roughly equal parts. Add the semolina, raisins, mint, 75 g beaten egg and half the spices to the cheeses. Mix into a firm filling, cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours. Keep the remaining 50 g egg for the dough and 25 g for brushing separately covered in the fridge. Reserve the other half of the spices for the dough.

Start preparing the dough about 2 hours before the filling finishes chilling. Melt the butter and let it cool until lukewarm. Gently warm all the weighed milk and stir the yeast and sugar into it. In a bowl, mix 290 g flour, the salt, 2 g baking powder and the remaining spices. Add the milk and yeast, butter and 50 g egg. Combine with your fingers, then knead gently for only 2–3 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Do not knead it at length like bread dough, and do not add water or flour.

Cover the bowl and leave the dough at room temperature for about 1–2 hours, until noticeably puffy. It does not need to double in volume exactly. The filling stays in the fridge throughout; its chilling time and the dough's rising time run in parallel.

After about 4 hours of chilling, take the filling out of the fridge. Add the remaining 2 g baking powder and mix thoroughly. Divide all of it into eight similar portions, about 65 g each, and gently shape them into firm balls. Prepare two baking sheets lined with baking paper.

Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Using the reserved 10 g flour, roll each into a circle about 14 cm across and about 4 mm thick. Gather up the dusting flour and use it for subsequent circles, without adding any more flour. From the 25 g egg reserved for brushing, use 10 g to thinly coat one side of all the circles. Press that side into the weighed 20 g dry sesame seeds. Return the remaining 15 g egg to the fridge.

Lay a circle sesame side down and place a portion of filling in the center. Lift the left and right edges so that they overlap the sides of the filling. Then lift the top and bottom edges to make a small square with an open center. Pinch the four corners firmly so that the dough does not open up during baking. Shape eight pastries this way and place four on each baking sheet, with space between them.

Cover the baking sheets lightly and leave for about 30–45 minutes, until the dough puffs up a little. Towards the end of this time, preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional top and bottom heat. Bake the sheets one after the other; keep the second in the fridge while the first bakes so that it does not wait in the warmth.

Before each baking sheet goes into the oven, brush the dough edges and exposed filling with the appropriate share of the remaining 15 g egg. Divide the remaining 15 g sesame seeds among the eight pastries and press them on lightly. Use all the measured egg and sesame, without extra water for brushing and without rinsing the seeds.

Bake the first sheet on the middle oven level for 15 minutes at 200°C. Reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for about another 15–20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the cheese center has risen and set. If the pastry browns too quickly, cover it loosely with foil. Before baking the second sheet, bring the oven back to 200°C and repeat the entire baking sequence. Bake for a few extra minutes if needed so that the filling does not remain runny.

Transfer the flaounes to a wire rack and leave to cool for about 30 minutes. Serve any loose baked sesame seeds with the pastries. Once completely cool, put the leftovers in a container with a lid, refrigerate and use within 2 days, or freeze individual portions. Before serving, you can warm them in the oven for a few minutes.