Armenian Choreg

For tomorrows class (11/4), I will be bringing in Choreg (Armenian Sweet Rolls). While I did not make these, I bought them from an Armenian market back home. Below I have attached the recipe if anyone is interested.

Ingredients:

5 lb bag King Arthur all purpose flour
2 1/3 c sugar
2 T salt
2 t baking powder
3 T ground mahleb (Middle Eastern bakery/store or online via Penzey's, etc.)
black sesame seeds
2 pkgs dry yeast
2 1/2 c butter
1/2 c Crisco
1 c water
2 T vanilla
7 eggs, beaten (additional for brushing tops)
3 c milk
white sesame seeds

Directions:

Line baking sheets with parchment.

While mixing dough, heat oven to lowest setting to aid in rising, then turn off.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, mahleb and about 2T black seeds in a very large pot or bowl (I usually use a HUGE Tupperware), then sprinkle the yeast on top.

Make a well in the center.

Melt the butter and Crisco, then remove from heat and add the water, vanilla, eggs and milk. You don't want the butter mix hot enough to kill the yeast, but you do want it warm to activate it.

Pour butter mixture into well and, using your hands, mix everything together.

Cover with waxed paper and a dish towel and place in oven to raise for about 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and allow to raise for another 10-15 min.

Scoop out a handful onto a lightly-floured surface and roll/pat out to about 1/4" thickness.

Form into desired shapes - sometimes I'll use a large diamond cookie cutter, sometimes I'll use a pastry cutter to form diamonds. I'll make small braids or spirals out of some. Just be consistent size-wise per tray so they cook evenly.

Cover trays with dish towel and allow to raise again for about 45 min. By the time you get to the last tray, the first tray will have already risen for some time. If you don't have enough trays, stage on parchment and slide onto trays as they come out of the oven.

When you are ready to put a tray in the oven, brush tops with egg and sprinkle with white sesame seeds and a few random black seeds.

Bake at 350 for about 25 min until golden.

Once they are out of the oven and cooled, we usually freeze what we won't be eating right away in batches of 10-12 per plastic twist-tie bag.

Enjoy!