Ev Yapımı Kıbrıs Koy Ekmeği (Homemade Cypriot Village Bread)

Ev Yapımı Kıbrıs Köy Ekmeği (Homemade Cypriot Village Bread). 

I have many memories of growing up in London in a Turkish Cypriot family, and one of them was the tradition of going to Yaşar Halim supermarket to buy Köy Ekmeği and Cörek (a beautifully crusty, yet soft and doughy bread that you pull off in separate chunks) so that we could make “gabira” (toasted bread) for our Sunday morning family breakfast. 

The table would be full of grilled hellim, grilled izgara siyah zeytin (THE BEST - grilled unpitted dry black olives are just something else), çakistez (cracked green olives dressed in olive oil, lemon, coriander seeds), tomatoes, cucumbers, kaşar peyniri (or cheddar). But the breakfast would not be complete unless we dipped our “gabira” into a cup of Cypriot tea (I didn’t drink milky tea until I was 14 and that was because my best friend Adele and her family drank so much of it, and I spent so much time with them, that I was desperate to get into it!). 

The loaves of bread were always pretty big so my mum would heat up any leftover bread in the oven that evening or the next day to give it a crusty, hot new life that we’d dip into whatever Yahni (tomato and onion based stew) we’d be having for dinner. And that’s what I’m doing with the leftover bread to have with our bamya (okra stew) tonight. And school trips were never complete without a hellim, cucumber and tomato sandwich in my packed lunch. 

What I’m trying to say is that this bread isn’t just bread to me. It’s another beautiful source of memories that I have spent the past few weeks really trying to perfect (not so much the actual ingredients which I was happy with, but the actual bake); I have tried various methods of baking it and am finally happy with the result. I’ve posted the method on my Instagram stories which I’ll pop on my highlights.

INGREDIENTS

500g strong white bread flour 

2 tbsp milk 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 7g sachet instant yeast 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground cloves 

300ml lukewarm water 

1tbsp Sesame seeds 

1 tsp Nigella seeds 

1/4 tsp Aniseed 

METHOD

Dissolve the sugar in a jug with 100ml boiling water then top up with 200ml cold water. Add the yeast and leave to one side for 5-10 minutes to activate. It will become frothy once ready. 

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, then gently stir in the sugar, ground cinnamon and cloves with a fork. Make a little well in the centre of the bowl with the flour. 

Add the milk and olive oil to the jug of water. 

Start adding the water mixture to the well in the flour, a little at a time, bringing the flour and water together with your hands (I pour with one hand and bring together with the other). 

Once all the water has been added, bring together all of the flour (including any little pieces in the bowl) to form the basis of your dough. 

Place the dough on a dry cool surface and start kneading the dough, by pushing it out then bringing it back in with the other hand (you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook for this entire process, including adding the water mixture to the flour). 

Knead the dough for around 10 minutes until smooth (you can use a stand mixer too), form it into a large, smooth ball, then place in a bowl that has been greased with a little olive oil. Cover the bowl with cling film, then a tea towel, and allow to prove at room temperature for around an hour and a half. 

After an hour and a half, remove the tea towel and cling film, then gently punch down the dough in the bowl, place the dough onto a surface to quickly shape, then onto a floured baking tray (that you will cover with a deep baking tray OR into a large Dutch oven lined with baking paper). Cover with the deep tray or the Dutch oven lid to prove for another hour. 

Preheat oven to 210C fan / 230c conventional 15 mins before the second prove is complete. 

Once the dough has had its second prove, brush with a little water (or milk if you want a shinier crust), or flour and water mix, sprinkle over the seeds, and gently score deep, long slits into the dough (don’t push down too hard but make sure the incisions are clear).  

Place in to oven on the middle shelf, and cook covered for 18-20 mins, then remove the covering tray / lid and cook for around another 12-15 mins more until golden brown. 

Remove straight onto a rack and allow to cool completely (at least an hour, if not 2) before cutting into it.