Passover/Easter/Ramadan Community Bake
So it's been a little while since the last Community Bake and I thought since Passover and Easter coincide this year why not celebrate both in one Community Bake?
Passover:
When it comes to bread I think Passover will be easier. Matzah! Unleavened bread using Flour, Water and Salt only. From start to finish the entire process must be completed within 18 minutes. There are two kinds of Matzah, Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Ashkenazim will roll the dough thinly, poke holes in the dough and bake in an oven. The final result is cracker like. Sephardim (although many Sephardim in Ashkenazi countries have adopted the Ashkenazi way) will follow the same recipe and 18 minutes rule but instead of baking it into crackers they will bake it on a hotplate, without poking any holes into the dough, and the final result will be something more akin to a Laffa. This results in a wrap type bread. I'll leave you with one YouTube video for a Matzah...
https://youtu.be/DF2I68KMfzU [1]
All other baking for Passover must be grain flour free* and there is no 18 minutes rule for cake since it has no flour nor yeast. Chemical leavening is fine for cakes. Popular recipes are cakes with Potato Flour or treats like Coconut Macaroons (not to be confused with Macarons). As long as it is grain flour* and yeast free you can be as creative as you like.
I have had a look at this recipe and it is Kosher for Passover, plus it looks delicious, so i'll post it here:
https://youtu.be/zUUyhyMfpQw [2]
You are not bound by these recipes. Well if you go down the unleavened bread route there's not much variation one can do as the rules are strict. However when it comes to other baked goods anything that is flourless and doesn't use yeast otherwise you can be as creative as you like. By all means google some traditional Passover recipes but anything that fits the bill will be accepted.
*Correction...
Ilya has made an excellent point that completely slipped my mind. While grain flour is not used in Passover baking one may use Matzah Meal. This is exactly how it sounds. Matzah ground up in meal/flour. You can buy it or make some matzah then put it in the food processor. Thank you Ilya.
Easter:
When it comes to Easter, and breads, you have far more choice...
- Mazanec [3] (click on link)
- Choreg [4] (click on link)
- Tzoureki (YouTube video below)
- Hot Cross Buns (YouTube video below and here is a recommendation by Brian Shaw https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52182/hot-cross-buns-recipe/ [5] link [6] to this bake.)
To name a few. I'll post recipe for each of these but again you can bake anything you choose which is traditionally eaten at Easter time.
https://youtu.be/PufXn6IdgiA [7]
https://youtu.be/XCf2zZ-_Swo [8]
Ramadan:
Would be nice to hear what Muslims like to break their fast on, on Ramadan. Any traditional food will be most welcome. I'm not familiar with any so please post the recipe where possible.
Just googling traditional recipes for Ramadan and Halwa has come up. Halwa, or Halva, has it's origins in Persia but has spread all over the Middle East and there's even Greek Halva (semolina pudding cake). Which brings me to this recipe which i've wanted to try for a long time...
1:2:3:4
1 cup oil : 2 cups semolina : 3 cups sugar : 4 cups water
You can add things like almonds, cinnamon, cloves etc.
Method:
- Toast the oil and semolina till it changes colour and it has a nice aroma.
- Make a sugar syrup with the sugar and water. You can add a stick of cinnamon and 3 cloves if you wish. Just put it all in a pan, no need to stir, and bring to the boil. Allow it to reduce a little and become thicker. Take out the cinnamon and cloves.
- Add the sugar syrup to the semolina and on a low heat stir till it thickens up.
- Portion out into a cake pan (Bundt pans are popular) or loaf pan and allow to cool.
- Enjoy your stove stop, no oven, "cake". Slice and enjoy with a coffee.
P.s. He does it differently in this recipe. Rather than making a separate sugar syrup he does it all in one pot. I'm more familiar with toasting the semolina and making the syrup separately then combining.
I'm looking forward to all your contributions.
Happy Baking!