Albanian Homemade Bread

Albanian Homemade Bread

There is no smell in the world more comforting than the smell of homemade bread. Homemade bread can be found in almost every culture and in a variety of forms. Here is how my mother, her mother, and many other generations of Albanian women before them have been making homemade bread.

Ingredients:

-                 2 cups of water

-                 1 tablespoon dry yeast

-                 1 teaspoon sugar

-                 1 tablespoon salt

-                 1 1/2 tablespoon oil

-                 Min 4 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

I have to admit, to me, making bread has always seemed like an overly complicated task. But, after watching my mother make it over and over again, I realized it’s really not that difficult. (For those of you who might be curious. Those are my mothers hands making the bread.)

Start with a large bowl where you will mix all of your ingredients plus have room to allow the bread to rise.

Add the water, sugar, salt, yeast and oil.  Now mix mix mix….

Gradually begin adding the flour till the dough starts to stick together. Now put your upper body to work and start kneading the dough. Knead it into a nice little neat ball.

You can see my mother got down, on the floor, on her hands and knees to add a little more strength to her kneading.

This is what your ball of dough should look like.

Cover the dough with a wet cheese cloth or a wet paper towel and place the bowl in a warm environment where it can rise slowly. We usually place it in the oven. But under no circumstance should you turn the oven on at this point!

This part of the process requires a lot of patience. You have to wait till the dough has risen to over twice it’s original size.

Once the dough has risen, you can start forming it into smaller balls. (This is of course up to you. You can leave it whole and bake it that way or form it into individual size portions.)

You need to let the dough rise again. This helps the bread become lighter and crustier.

Finally, bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or till the top is golden brown. Make sure to watch that the bottom of the bread doesn’t burn. To prevent this it’s best to lightly coat the baking dish with a little oil.

Enjoy the wonderful smell of homemade bread that will permeate your home!

Albanian Cornbread - Pite

Albanian Cornbread - Pite

Courtesy of globaltableadventures.com, as adapted from "Home Cooking Around the World" by David Ricketts and Mark Thomas. This bread is a great accompaniment to stews. It is excellent warm, but can dry out, so try to use up promptly or store well-wrapped.

Total Time 50mins

Prep 15 mins

Cook 35 mins

Servings 6-8 

Ingredients:

-                 1 1⁄2 cups cornmeal

-                 16 ounces cottage cheese (I would use small-curd)

-                 4 eggs

-                 1 cup chopped scallion

-                 1⁄2 cup butter, melted

-                 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika

-                 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme

-                 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

-                 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

-                 1 tablespoon chopped scallion (to garnish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Grease an 8" square baking dish. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the scallions for garnish. Pour into the baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake until lightly browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Garnish with the remaining scallion and serve warm.

Byrek Misri

Byrek Misri

This is one of those stick to your bones and makes you feel good all over dishes. Think of it as American corn bread but packed with spinach, green onions and cheese. It’s very easy to make and can last a few days so, make a large batch if you can.

Ingredients:

-                 4 cups spinach (either frozen or finely chopped fresh)

-                 1 gallon milk

-                 2 eggs

-                 3 cups of corn flour

-                 Six green onions

-                 6 oz of cream cheese (or feta cheese if you prefer)

-                 1 cup butter room temperature

-                 Salt to taste

Directions:

First start by chopping green onions and preparing the spinach. Then, in a large bowl slowly combine milk and corn flour. Mix vigorously while pouring to avoid clumping. Now mix in the following ingredients: the eggs, spinach, onions.

Cut the butter into small cubes and throw them into the mix. Then crumble the cheese in as well. If you are making it with cream cheese use a small spoon and scoop in small pieces of cheese in. A little salt for taste and you are done and ready to bake!

Pour the mixture into an oiled pan and bake for one hour at 400 degrees uncovered. The dish is done when it is a solid mixture and golden around the edges. Let it cook for about 15 minutes and then serve. This can be served as a main dish or a side dish. Either way I know you will love it as much as I do! 

Enjoy!

Albanian Vegetable Pie

Albanian Vegetable Pie

Albanian vegetable pie, Byrek Shqipëtar me perime, is an Albanian recipe for cooking pies. Albanian pies are generally made of thin pastry leaves which can be rolled out at home or bought as filo dough at a supermarket. Most of the pies prepared by Albanian cooks are not sweet; instead, pie fillings are almost always salty. Thus, a piece of such a pie may well serve as the main dish of a meal. 

Ingredients:

-                 1 cup (240 mL) oil, preferably olive oil

-                 1½ packets (or about 30) pastry leaves (filo dough)

-                 1½ pounds (680 g) spinach, chopped

-                 1 cup (240 mL) diced feta Cheese

-                 1/2 cup (120 mL) chopped green onions

-                 2-3 eggs

-                 1½ t salt

Directions:

A medium-sized, round baking pan is recommended because it's more authentic but any medium-sized baking pan will do.

Brush the baking pan with some of the oil, and start laying the pastry leaves inside.

First, lay two leaves, sprinkle or brush with oil, then lay two other leaves, and repeat the procedure until half of the leaves are laid.

Make sure that they cover the pan by hanging them about one inch over the edges of the pan.

Sprinkle spinach with salt, then mix well by hand.

Add the feta Cheese, oil, onions, eggs and salt, and spread this mixture over the already laid pastry leaves.

Finish by covering the spinach with the rest of the pastry leaves repeating the first-half procedure and then roll the hanging edges of the bottom leaves over the pie (think of a pizza crust), sprinkle top with oil and bake moderately at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve hot, accompanied with buttermilk, or beaten yogurt, thinned down in cold water or with chilled stewed prunes.

Sometimes a green salad adds to the meal!