Za'atar Manakish/Manakish Zaatar/Lebanese Spiced Pita Bread

Zaatar Manakish or Manakish Zaatar is a traditional Lebanese spiced flatbread which is pronounced as Manaqish, manaeesh or manakeesh. This popular Levantine bread is also prepared with several toppings from cheese to meat. The most known topping is Zaatar, this spice mixture contains sesame seeds, salt, dried thyme and sumac. Sumac is a spice made from red berries which is grounded into powder. This gives a subtle flavor and its very much used in middle eastern cooking. I love this Zaatar spice powder, i tasted this spice powder mixed with olive oil for first time at one of Moroccan friend, she served this spice mix with her bread and i loved it to the core. But personally i never used this spice mixture in my cooking. Finally i got a packet of this Zaatar few days back and the first recipe came to my mind is this Manakish. Back home, i couldnt resist to prepare this super aromatic flatbread.

Yorkshire Tea Cakes

Tea cake in England is a soft yeasted sweet buns prepared with dried fruits which is typically served toasted with butter. Tea cakes can be cookies, or sponge cake depending upon the countries they belongs to. Tea refers to the popular beverage to which these baked goodies are served as an accompaniment. Yorkshire tea cakes is a light,sweet,yeast based bun containing mainly currants, sultanas or orange peel. These tea cakes are typically split, toasted, buttered and served with tea. Usually baked as a flat, circular buns, these buns have a smooth brown crust and a light underside.Many cafes sell these buns for breakfast and for mid morning snacks.

Xpresso Blondies/Espresso Blondies

X is one of the complicate alphabet to pick a baking dish with. Obviously i couldnt think more than baking Espresso blondies so that i can rewrite as Xpresso blondies as title to stick with this month's blogging marathon's theme. Blondies are known as blond brownie is a rish dessert. Its ressembles quite like the traditional chocolate loaded brownies but blondies are prepared /baked without cocao powder and its contains brown sugar hence this dessert have a deep brown colour. Blondies can be prepared very much by adding chocolate chips or any other flavored chips. Blondies are baked in pan as much as like brownies and they are cut in rectangular shapes for serving. One of my favourite way of indulging these blondies is to top them with a scoop of vanilla icecream drizzled with caramel sauce. Coming to my today's recipe, this blondies calls for Espresso coffee powder which plays an important role to bring the flavor in this simple but yet a delicious blondies.

Welsh Harvest Cake/Teisen y Cynhaeaf

The Welsh version of harvest cake is made with apples, sultanas and cinnamon, this cake resembles very much like Irish apple cake, which is baked with a layer of fruit in the centre.There are many regional recipes for cakes are baked during the harvest time, with many variations.Some of these cakes were cooked to fuel the workers during the hard manual labour, and some were produced to be enjoyed as part of post-harvesting celebrations. Before industrialisation, harvest  time would be more muscle-wrenching, dirty, hot and exhausting; obviously the workers in the fields needed all the calories they could get, and traditional harvest foods went some way to providing these. The Harvest Supper served by the farmer or land-owner after the harvest was completed. The foods  was very likely second only to Christmas in terms of what was provided for workers to consume. For the poorest labourers such food was a very welcome change from their usual diet.

Vanillekipferl/Austrian Almond Cookies

Vanillekipferl, my today's post is from Austria. This cookies are originate from Vienna in Austria and a speciality of the Bavarian town of Nördlingen. Traditionally, they are made at Christmas, thought these cookies are very well known in most of the European countries.Though these cookies are Christmas special, they can be enjoyed anytime of the year and are often for sale in Viennese coffee shops. They are said to have been created in the shape of the Turkish crescent moon symbolizing, the celebration of the victory of the Hungarian army over the Turkish in one of the many wars between the nations.These Crescent shaped almond cookies are baked in Germany and its very common in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia as a part of the typical Christmas baking.

Un Kurabiyesi/Turkish Shortbread Cookies

Un Kurabiyesi, extremely delicious melt in mouth Shortbread cookies from Turkey. These cookies tastes absolutely fabulous obviously you cant just stop munching these butter loaded cookies. These Deliciously light shortbread cookies are definitely an incredible treat at tea time. These cookies are seriously very easy and quick to make as this cookies calls for simple and basic ingredients. No egg is needed, butter, flour and sugar when combined together and flavored with vanilla extract makes this extremely addictive cookies. Some recipes of Un Kurabiyesi calls for baking powder and some may not, obviously i baked mine without baking powder. Traditionally this cookies are rolled as round shaped cookies or else rolled as long ropes which is later sliced as small sized cookies. Since i dont want to break my head with shaping, i just went with the round shaped ones. Dont get surprised if you are able to see Un Kurabiyesi in different shapes.

Tutmanik/Mesenitza/Bulgarian Cheese Bread

Tutmanik or Mesenitza is a well known and popular Bulgarian cheese bread baked especially with Feta cheese. Every village, every region and even every family have their own way of preparing this cheese bread and also the name get changes depending upon how they are prepared. Thats why i couldnt stop myself to name this dish's title with both Tutmanik or Mesenitza. Obviously the shapes,recipes and the name may varies but the basic ingredient remains the same. Yes the basic ingredient for Tutmanik are flour, olive oil, feta, yeast. If you are googling for Tutmanik you may also notice that some of the Tutmanik recipes calls for quick bread preparation with baking powder and baking soda. But trust me yeasted dough Tutmanik is something to give a try as this bread smells insanely good while baking. Tutmanik dough doesnt call for egg but an egg yolk is needed to brush the top of this bread to get a nice a brownish colour top but i skipped it completely and went with a milk wash.

Samoon/Iraqi Flatbread

Samoon is an Iraqi flatbread prepared simply with all purpose flour, wheat bran, buttermilk. Its a yeasted dough flatbread which makes excellent sandwich or served with any sort of spreads/dips.Coz of the wheat bran, this bread tends to be bit dense with great flavors and obviously rich in fibre.These Iraqi flat bread are shaped as a diamond. It is traditionally baked on the walls of a tandoor oven and often served as a part of breakfast with a thick cream or cheese. In Iraq, yellow diamonds are painted on the outside of shops to signify that samoon are sold there. Some samoons are brushed with egg yolk and topped with sesame seeds, also some makes slashes once or twice on the top before baking. But i kept mine as an eggless Samoon by brushing the samoon with a flour and water paste.

Rieska/Finnish Potato Flatbread

Rieska, this bread is quite a popular one in Finland which is usually baked with healthy grain aka Barley flour. Though Rieska is a traditional Finnish flatbread, its preparation varies across the country. As i told earlier often it’s made with barley flour, sometimes this bread calls for oat or rye flour, and even potato which is popular as well. The thickness of rieska can vary too from cracker-thin to thick-and-bready. No leavening agents is needed for making this thin crispy flabread, however some Rieska recipes calls for baking powder if baked as a thick bread like Rieska. I went with a thin, crispy flatbread with mashed potatoes, which is a popular version of Rieska.  Usually baked at high temprature, this bread are baked in tandoor/wood fired like oven, but its really easy to bake this crispy flatbread at home itself. With less efforts and less ingredients, this Rieska gets ready very much prefectly at home with simple ingredients in it.

Quark Rosinenbrötchen/Eggless German Curd Cheese Raisins Rolls

Quark is a well known German Curd cheese which is often used in most of the dishes in Germany. Though this curd cheese is not easily available here is Paris, i couldnt resist to grab it from a nearby cheese store, where you can find any sort of the regional or international cheese varieties easily. When i picked this Quark cheese, i checked immediately for an easy dish to dish with this cheese for this month's Mega marathon which i have been running since two weeks with A-Z baking around the world as theme. Obviously for the Alphabet 'Q' i couldnt resist to bake this Quark bread roll with loads of raisins. Quark is a fresh cheese which is quite similar to Greek yogurt which is less in tanginess and less in calorie with rich in protein. Some quark cheese rolls calls for yeast but this raisin loaded quark bread rolls calls for baking powder.

Pampushki/Ukrainian Garlic Dinner Rolls

Pampushki/Pampushky are fantastic Ukrainian's Garlic rolls served along with the popular Borscht soup. But these garlic rolls can be enjoyed with any meals as they are absolutely aromatic with fantastic flavor. Pampushki calls for an easy breezy bread dough which makes some soft and beautiful rolls. These aromatic dinner rolls are completely egg free, obviously you can bake these absolutely delicious garlic rolls in big batches. Trust me, Pampushki will definitely please anyone's tastebuds especially if you love garlic flavor in your bread. I followed this recipe for the preparing the dough and this video for shaping, as the original recipe i followed went for a simple shaping.

Obwarzanek Krakowski/Polish Bagels/Krakowian Bagels

Seriously i want to write today's introduction by a disclaimer, yes dont try to read or spell today's post's name. Am sure its definitely a hard task to spell it. By the way, my today's post is a Polish Bagels which is a chewy dough ring sprinkled usually with salt, poppy or sesame seeds. Obwarzanki are sold from rolling carts on every street corner in Kraków. These bagels become an unofficial symbol of this city. Known as the Cracovian bagel or Krakowian Bagel, the obwarzanek gets its name from the Polish word which means ‘par-boiled'. These Krakowian bagels are very much close to bagels though this Polish bagels calls for two strands of bread dough. Obviously these bagels are bigger roll as two strands are braided before baking. You can prepare fantastic sandwich with usual Bagels but these Polish bagels are not suitable to cut and make sandwiches.

Nonnettes à la Fraise /French Strawberry Jam Filled Gingerbread Cake

Nonnettes are small French gingerbread cake which is quite popular in Dijon, a city in Eastern France.Usually filled with orange marmalade, this nonnettes de Dijon are christmas special baked treats. However many variations do exists. Though the traditional Nonnettes goes for Orange marmalade, many fillings like strawberry jam, mixed fruits jam etc are also used to make a different version of  Nonnettes. Since i dont have orange marmalade and none at home like this citrus preserve, i opted for our all time favourite strawberry jam. Spiced gingerbread cake filled with strawberry jam tastes absolutely fantastic with your favourite drink either for your evening snacks or else to enjoy simply to kick start your hectic day's breakfast.

Mantecadas/Mexican Muffins

Mexican cuisine have many fantastic baked treats, and the list goes form yeast breads, puff pastries, cookie like breads and muffins like breads. If you want to give a try to a different muffins, just check this Mantecadas. Mantecadas is a bread-like muffins which gets ready very quick and easy to make to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea or else for a brunch on weekend or else simply to serve some sudden visits. Do you know, the best part of this muffins is the addition of yeast, yes you heard it rite. This muffins calls for both baking powder and instant yeast, seriously while going through this recipe i was simply surprised to see the addition of yeast. Initially i thought its was typo but then when i checked for the recipe video in Youtube, i came to know that instant yeast is a must to bake these fantastic fluffy and spongy Mexican bread-like muffins.

Ladenia Milou/Greek Olive Oil Flatbread/Ladenia Greek Pizza

Ladenia is a local food of Kimolos, a small Greek island in Aegean sea. Traditional Greek foods are served in Kimolos island and this island is quite popular for its Ladenia, a kind of pizza. Ladenia is Greek word of Olive oil, this flatbread is almost like pizza but without cheese. A bread dough when flattened and topped with onions, tomatoes with olive oil,once baked is called Ladenia. Since this pizza like flatbread is prepared very much with olive oil, this dish is also known as olive oil flat bread. This is a great snack or a light meal or else a simple starter depending upon how you serve this fantastic bread. This Ladenia is also famous in Milos, an another Greek island. Not to forget that this pizza is completely vegan.Obviously if you love pizza and if you are a vegan lover, then this Greek pizza will definitely please your tastebuds.

Kiflice/Siberian Cheese Rolls

Siberian cheese rolls or Siberian mini rolls aka Kiflice is a popular savory soft rolls which is usually served as a starter at family meetings or as a finger foods at parties in Siberia. Every Siberian family have their own variation of the recipe. Some prepare this rolls stuffed with cheese or else with sweet spreads. However you can fill these rolls with various mixture of your choice or else without any filling These Siberian rolls tastes extremely delicious and great, all because of the dough. Yes the dough plays an important roll for making these dangerously addictive rolls. Though this Siberain rolls calls for butter while baking, trust me adding small butter cubes while baking gives a crispy and almost like fried bottoms to this rolls. Dont skip adding the butter or margarine while baking, if you are planning to bake this cute rolls. If you skip this butter part, you will get the just ordinary rolls.

Jailhouse Rolls/Texas Jailhouse Rolls

You may wonder to read today's recipe name, yes my post's is Jailhouse Rolls. This rolls is quite popular in Texas. Many Jail cafeterias in most of counties in Texas made these rolls regularly. These rolls are extremely moist, yeasty, soft and super delicious as well. Mashed potatoes plays an important and major role for preparing this dinner rolls dough eventhough egg is added in this bread dough. While googling, i came to know that this rolls were a recipe of a great aunt who made them during and after the Civil war for the jailers and inmates in Jefferson of Texas as well as for the men who lived in her boarding house. I accidentaly came to know about this rolls while searching something new and completely different to bake and post under 'J' as am running a whole month of blogging with A-Z Baking around the world as theme.

Irish Oats Scones/Irish Fruits & Oats Scones

Scones, these baked single serving quick breads or cakes are just prefect to kick start a day, if you are not a breakfast person trust me you will never refuse scones. Scones are quite different from teacakes and other sweet breads which calls for yeast. Scones are sold commercially round, but most of the homemade scones takes various shapes like triangles, squares or rounds. I just love scones, as they are easy to carry and go away. Obviously i do bake varieties of scones as this baked goodies are easy to put together and bake. Irish oats scones are quite popular and an incredible healthy breakfast to be enjoyed with some jams or else simply with honey. This easy variety of scones comes from a farmhouse in Ireland.

H'mbasha/Ambasha/Himbasha/Ethiopian Flat Bread

Himbasha/Ambasha is a popular Ethiopian/Eritrean celebration bread which is cooked traditionally in stove top as a round shaped bread with a frying pan. However many baked versions do exists. This bread is served at special occasions. Do you know Ethiopian tradition involves breaking the himbasha over the back of a child at his first birthday to give him strength. Though its a celebration bread it can be also eaten during breakfast or for snacks with spreads,jams or else with some stews where you can tear a piece of bread and dip in the stew and enjoy. This bread is prepared with many variations and the most favourite flavoring goes to grounded cardamom seeds. Some people adds raisins in their Himbasha while some adds Black sesame seeds, grounded fenugreek seeds etc.

Gougéres au Fromage/French Cheese Puffs

A gougére is a French puffy savoury cheese puff made with pate à choux dough. This pate à choux is traditionally used for baking eclairs and cream puffs. French cheese puffs makes a super munchies to serve along with some tangy dips or else to enjoy with wine or champagne. Crispy on the outside, soft inside, these gougéres tastes absolutely delicious to eaten warm. You can enjoy this cheese loaded cheesy goodness as a wonderful appetizers for any party events or else for a family get-together. Pate à choux dough can be prepared a day ahead to make this cheesy balls if you are planning for a huge crowd, obviously this puffs are definitely crowd pleaser.. Either piped or rolled as balls, this round cheesy puffs calls for some gruyére or cheddar cheese. However i went with our favourite mild cheese aka gruyére cheese.

Fonott Kalács/Hungarian Egg Twist Bread/Hungarian Easter Sweet Bread

Easter is celebrated all around the world on April 16 of this year. Easter menu have loaded of fantastic breads especially in most of the European countries, though its a religious festival, many cuisines have their own Easter breads. Easter, as many festival holidays in Hungary is very much associated with food and freshly baked breads.Easter breads is definitely one of the delicacies on this holiday menu. The traditional Hungarian Easter bread is Egg Twist aka Fonot Kalács which is a yeasted sweet bread made either with raisins, chocolate chips or else without these two ingredients. Usually baked with three braids, this sweet bread is very spongy and delicious as much as like French Brioche. Almost like Challah bread, this bread have their important place in Easter lunch or dinner table as an accompaniment to serve along with the main dish.

           

Earthquake Cake/Chocolate Earthquake Cake

Earthquake Cake, this cake is named because the ingredients shift around during and after baking. The cream cheese mixture sinks into the cake, some of the pecans and coconut rise towards the top. It’s an uneven and ‘deconstructed’ looking cake, but inside, it’s gooey and chocolatey and delicious. For those new to baking, it is very simple, as it uses a packet mix as a base, but if you have a favourite chocolate cake recipe instead, just substitute that store bought cake mix with your own chocolate cake.This fun recipe of cake mix cake will be the talk of your next potluck or family dinner definitely if you serve this ultimate cake for dessert. Earthquake Cake gets also its name from the cream cheese swirl mixed into the decadent cake, appearing to crack it apart.

Dobos Torte/Dobostorta/Hungarian Layered Cake

Dobos torte or Dobosh is a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel. Wiki says that ' This layered pastry is named after its inventor, Hungarian confectioner József C. Dobos, who aimed to create a cake that would last longer than other pastries in an age when cooling techniques were limited'. The round sides of the cake are coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, or silvered almonds, and the caramel topping helps to prevent drying out.The name is also sometimes spelled Dobos-torta or Dobostorta. Dobosh or Dobos torte was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; King Franz Joseph I and Queen Elisabeth were among the first to taste it. The cake soon became popular throughout Europe, both for its durability through shipping and for its unique appearance. With its flat, shiny, caramel top, it was simple but elegant.

Cemita Rolls/Mexican Cemita Sandwich Buns

Mexican Cemita Buns are used to make a sandwich which is very popular in the Puebla region of the country. There they make the Cemitas Poblana, which is a sandwich is filled with sliced avocado, meat, panela cheese or sometimes quesillo cheese, onions, a herb called pápalo and red sauce.These buns may look like regular sesame topped burger buns but they’re nothing like it. The Cemita, which is the name given to the bread and the sandwich made with it, is made with a brioche-like enriched dough that has a crunchy outside but is soft inside.Kenji Lopez-Alt whose recipe I adapted for my recipe, describes the Cemita as “sweet and savory flavor with a dense-yet-light crumb that can stand up to stacks and stacks of toppings without disintegrating or losing its tenderness”.

Bhapa Doi/Baked Yogurt Pudding/Bengali Bhapa Doi

After a delicious vegetarian Saudi Pizza, am taking you all today to India to enjoy virtually some baked yogurt pudding which is quite famous in Bengali Cuisine. Its a fabulous dessert which involves minium cooking process with easily available ingredients. Though this ultimate Bengali dessert can be prepared easily by steaming, i opted for baking as this Bhapa doi can be prepared very much well in oven too. Served chilled, this baked yogurt pudding will definitely please anyone after a heavy meal, a prefect pudding to serve even for a get together as this pudding can be prepared very much a day before. The chilling part is very important before serving this fantastic dessert. Though usually Bhapa doi is flavored with cardamoms, many fancy versions of this pudding do exists. If you dont want to stick with different flavourings, you just need hung curd, sweetened condensed milk, milk to prepare this delightful dessert.

Aysh Abu Laham - Saudi Vegetarian Meat Pizza

Am kick starting a month of blogging marathon from today, yes you read it rite, i will be running blogging marathon during this whole month of April. Every year, April and September, we marathoners run 26days of blogging with interesting themes. And this month's blogging marathon theme was A-Z Baking around the world with different baked goodies in Alphabetical order. Obviously i have finalised my baking list since three months back as i can bake only during weekends coz of my busy schedule. Usually pre-planning never worked for me, but fortunately this time, pre-planning worked awesome. Seriously i dont want to skip this whole month of blogging marathon as the theme of this mega marathon is something close to my heart coz of my love for baking. If you love baking very much and you have to pick a bake from a country that too in alphabetical order who will say 'no', definitely not me. Hence am running this fantastic blogging marathon with loads of enthuasism. For the first day of this Mega marathon, i baked some fantastic Vegetarian/Vegan Soya Meat Pizza from Saudi Arabia.