Armenian Coffee Cake

Cheoreg

Prep Time: 1 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 12 cups (3 lbs) flour
  • 1 cake yeast
  • 3 cups melted butter
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tbls salt
  • 1 tsp ground Mahleb
  • 2 cups luke-warm milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup anise (optional)
  • 1 egg yolk

Preparation:

Sift the flour and put it in a large bowl, and make a hole in the middle. Dissolve the yeast, melt the butter, beat the eggs, and pour all this into hole. Add in the salt, sugar, and optional anise.

Blend flour with the milk gradually, starting with a spoon and then your hands. Knead for about 1/2 hour or equivalent amount of time in your machine. Knead until dough does not stick. Cover the dough well and let rise for 4 to 5 hours.

Divide into four balls; cut each ball into three slices. Roll out each slice in your hands and then make a braid with the three rolls. Let the four braided loaves stand on a greased baking sheet to rise some more. Brush them with egg yolk (or a wash) and top with blanched almonds. Bake for 20 minutes in a 400° oven, until golden brown.