I have used the recipe from the Joy of Baking site by adjusting to what I have at hand: used kefir instead of buttermilk.

This is one of the breads that I sometimes long for. Not sure if I can ever find it made in a bakery in US, but this is one of the goods that one can find in nearly every bakery in Turkey.

Sweet and rich, it is very filling and needless to say very tasty.

Somehow I thought I could never make it at home, and never even bothered to search for a recipe. Recently someone (thanks Mihri!) posted a recipe on a cooking forum that I belong to and the recipe looked relatively easier that I expected. Tried out one night, and had to make another batch in 2 days! Yes, they are really good, especially if there is someone in your house that likes both sweet and bread. :)

I have to warn you; you might end up making a mess in the kitchen since the tahini and olive oil mix will be very greasy. Get everything ready and make sure you have a paper towel next to you in case you need to grab something.

What you need:

Bread

1. 4 cups flour, sifted


2. 1 cup milk


3. 2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope, 7 gr) yeast


4. 1/3 cup olive oil


5. 1 Tbsp sugar


6. 1 tsp salt
7. 1/4 cup or less water


8. 1 egg, for glaze

Filling

1. 1/2 cup tahini


2. 1/2 cup olive oil


3. 1 cup powdered sugar (more or less, depending on how sweet you like it)

Makes 8 breads

Directions

1. Heat the milk and water, to 120 – 130F


2. Mix with flour, sugar, yeast, olive oil and salt to make a smooth, elastic and not sticky dough. If needed add more flour


3. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 – 15 minutes. It will not rise like other breads, do not panic. It might be a good time to make the filling while it is resting


4. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, lightly grease them with olive oil so they do not dry out and make it east to roll


5. Take three of the pieces and roll them (individually) very thin, about 1/8 of inch or so. Mine were never perfect rounds, no worries you do not need that perfect shapes in this bread



6. Put tahini mix between these pieces and stretch the layered dough mix by hand to make it longer, thinner.


7. Divide into two by cutting lengthwise



8. Roll one of the pieces to make a long stringlike dough.



9. Roll it like a spiral to give it a swirl. Put onto a lightly greased baking pan, push down with your palm to make it flatter.



10. Congratulations: One of the pieces are done! Now do the same steps for the rest of the 9 pieces to make 8 breads total


11. Brush them with egg & water mix, and put some sesame seeds for decoration


12. Bake in a 325F oven for 25 – 30 mins, until they are light brown

Bon Apetit!