1543. Iraqi Almond Kleicha

I find it a difficult question to answer when asked what is my favorite nut. You see, some nuts are better suited for some tasks than others. Roasted? Cashews, hands down. Butter? Peanut, all the way. Raw and soaked? It's a tie between almonds and walnuts. In a cake? In a salad? In granola? Now, this is kleicha, and while I never had tasted or even seen an almond kleicha before, it is a successful adventure I do not regret one bit (just in time for some Eid baking).
We have quite the kleicha repertoire at MCW. Date is the obvious and traditional variety (see my aunt's famous shaping here), then we've got coconut, walnut, and sesame. Now, almonds grace the kleicha territory. If you've got mastic, use it without hesitation. I happened to have mastic paste which is simply magical and highly recommend it.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
3 cups flour
1 cup milk, warmed
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground mahlab, optional
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar

For the almond filling:
2 cups almonds, toasted
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp rosewater
1 tsp mastic paste

1 egg, beaten, for brushing




Method:

Toast the almonds at 350F for about 10 minutes and set aside until fully cooled.
In a food processor, combine the cooled almonds and sugar and pulse to a medium-fine grind.
Transfer the almond mixture into a bowl and stir in the rosewater and mastic paste by hand until combined.
To make the dough, stir the the flour, ground mahlab, and salt to equally distribute.
Whisk the yeast and sugar in half a cup of the warmed milk, set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
Pour the yeast-milk mixture, and the remaining half cup of warm milk, and the melted butter over the flour mixture.
Knead for 5 minutes. Alternatively, just put the whole thing in the food processor and blitz until a dough is formed. Let rest and rise for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 3 balls.Work with one ball, keeping the others covered.
Roll out the ball of dough onto a large surface to about 3 millimeters thick.
Cut using an inverted espresso cup into circles as close to each other as possible.
Place a teaspoon of almond mixture in the center of each circle, and enclose the dough around the filling to form a sphere. Pinch the ends tightly shut.
Place the kleicha spheres seam-side down on a baking sheet.
Lightly brush the surface of the kheicha with the beaten egg, then poke three times using a toothpick or a fork.
Bake in a preheated 360F oven for about 15 minutes, then broil to a golden brown for a minute or two.
Delicious straight out of the oven, or cooled, with a steaming cup of tea.
To freeze, cool completely, place in zip-lock bags, and freeze.
De-frost at room temperature in whatever quantity you want.
Perfect for impromptu guests.

صحة و عافية