This holiday bread is quite similar to the Jewish Challah. Fethiye Çetin, in My Grandmother, mentions a special bread being exchanged between certain women each spring in her grandmother’s village. Only later did she realise this must have been cheoreg, a sign of remembered Armenian heritage made by the women, now mothers and grandmothers in Turkish and Kurdish families. The tradition continues today around the diaspora with small variations. Some families place a coin in the loaf, bringing luck to the person who gets that special slice. Many share their loaves with others. Here’s a recipe to try – adjusting sugar, salt and butter to your own taste.
This recipe makes 4 large loaves but 8 smaller ones allow you to share more. Halve the recipe if you want to try a small batch first.
Image: Choreg made by Sara Calian Kaprielian and her children
Ingredients
840 grams flour plain flour – and more for kneading
2 Tbsp of dry yeast – sprinkle into 125 ml warm water to dissolve (or follow instructions for “easy blend yeast”)
200 grams sugar
450 grams melted butter and/or margerine (I use half and half)
225 ml milk warmed (just pour it in with the hot melted butter)
5 eggs
1 – 2 tablespoons ground mahleb (or a bit of cardamom if you don’t have mahleb)
a bit of salt
1 beaten egg and sesame or nigella seeds for topping.
Directions:
Melt the butter and margerine in a pan, add the milk let it rest until slightly above room temperature.
Place sugar, mahleb, salt and half the flour in a large bowl, making a hole in the centre.
Beat the 5 eggs into the warm (not hot) milk and butter and pour into the center with the yeast.
Beat with a wooden spoon (or on your KitchenAid or Kenwood!) until well mixed.
Add flour and continue stirring with spoon. You will have to leave the spoon aside eventually and mix with your hands. The dough should be soft but not very sticky.
Dust the counter top with flour and place the dough on it. Knead about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed. It should remain a soft dough but not sticking to your hands.
Let the dough rise until doubled in a warm place., covered with a dish cloth.
When it has risen, divide the dough into as many loaves as you wish to make. Knead each of these balls to remove the air bubbles.
Divide each ball of dough into 3. With your hands, roll each small ball into a rope, starting with both hands at the middle and rolling outwards. Place the 3 strands side-by-side and braid them. Place on greased baking sheet.
When all loaves are finished, cove with a dish cloth and let rise until double again.
Preheat oven to 180 C.
Beat the egg and brush loaves with it, sprinkling them with sesame or nigella seeds. Some people like slivered almonds on top.
Bake approx 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the size of your loaves – they should be golden and toasty brown when finished (check the bottoms too).
By Susan Pattie