Cheoreg

This weekend I made Armenian bread, cheoreg.  I don't think I've shared this before but my husband's great grandparents emigrated from Armenia in the early 1900's.  I'm sure if any of you have heard of Armenia it's probably because of the Kardashians (sigh).  I honestly don't know much about the Armenian genocide or Steve's family before they moved to America; below is a short video one of Steve's cousins made for a school project in case you're interested

Since history is truly my first love, I really enjoyed learning how my husband's family came to America and hope to learn more of his family history.  I also plan on learning more about their food, since that's my second love :)

I personally haven't had much Armenian food but I have had his grandmother's cheoreg and it's delicious.  Last year she sent me an Armenian cookbook and I was so super excited to cook out of it. But guess what, I haven't made one thing from it yet....why...FEAR! How can I know if it tastes right if I haven't had it before?  That ended Friday as I attempted my first recipe: cheoreg.  Like far too many of my baking adventures, this one began at 8:30 PM and the dough had to rise 3 hours.  After staying up entirely too late, waiting on the dough, I stuck it in the fridge and made the rolls the next morning.  They were delicious!

Cheoreg
Printable Recipe 

Yield: 5 1/2 dozen rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 sticks butter
4 tbsp Crisco
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup & 1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp. salt
3 tsp baking powder
10 cups flour, sifted, plus 2-4 cups extra flour
Sesame seeds

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, with 1 tbsp sugar.

While yeast is dissolving, melt butter and Crisco together in a large pot, add salt.

Warm the milk in a small saucepan and add to the above mixture.

Beat eggs in a small bowl and add sugar.  Then add to above mixture.

Add yeast-water to mixture.

Sift 10 cups flour with baking powder. Gradually (1/2 cup at a time) add the flour to the mixture with a wooden spoon. 

Mix with your hands once dough begins to form and knead until the dough no longer sticks to your hands, adding the extra 2-4 cups flour as needed.

Place dough in a large bowl (the biggest one you have) and cover with a clean kitchen towel.

Allow dough to rise 3 hours or until doubled in size.

Roll small pieces (about 1 inch round balls) into 8 inch strips, the width of your finger.  Shape into figure eights, twists, or knots.

 

Place on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper or silpat) and cover with a clean towel.

Allow rolls to rise 1 hour. Then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake rolls 15-20 minutes in a 350 degrees F, preheated oven or until tops begin to brown.

Store rolls in an air-tight container at room temperature. You can warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

These rolls are great by themselves, but I love to cut them in half and spread butter and honey on them :)  They are also great with jelly or pumpkin butter!

Since I'm on the topic of family I wanted to share some pictures of my niece and nephews.  Steve's brother and his wife welcomed their second child, Wyatt into the world on Oct 24th and he's just the sweetest baby! Their daughter, Kennedy is the cutest little girl and is loving her "blue baby" as she calls her new brother:

Wyatt

This picture is from back in March when we went on vacation. Steve was teaching Kennedy to jump on the bed :)

And last but certainly not least, Steve's sister has a little boy, Eli. Here he is on Halloween, what a cute elephant he was.

Ya'll didn't think I would post without pictures of my baby, did you? NO WAY!

Greta in earmuffs, this did not go over well

Sweet girl

Hope everyone had a great weekend and don't forget to enter my giveaway.