Tiganopsomo, which means fried bread is very easy to make. All you need is any kind of yeasted bread dough, which is fried in olive oil. Some times it is filled with cheese, such as feta or any other hard Greek cheese but when it is not filled, it can turn into a dessert by sprinkling some honey or icing sugar and cinnamon on top.
I usually make this with leftover dough but it is so worth making it from scratch. You have to be extra careful that when rolling out the dough it is not too thick as it may not cook inside.
At the end you will find a second recipe called pseudo-tiganopsomo (fake fried bread). When making a savory pie, I had some leftover phyllo, so I gave it a try to see how it would work with that pastry and although it had a different texture and taste, it still tasted great. That day, I only added a mixture of feta and graviera cheese but sometimes I also add some fresh oregano, dill, fennel or mint, depending on what I have at hand and depending on what cheese I use.
Both breads can be served as a snack with some honey on top. The contrast of salty feta and sweet honey is just amazing!
Tiganopsomo
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Waiting time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 8
Starter:
Ingredients:
- 12 ½ grams fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup tepid water
For the dough:
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup tepid milk (or water)
Filling:
- 150 grams feta
- Other ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil to brush the phyllo
- Mild olive oil or vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
- Dissolve the yeast with some lukewarm water, sugar and a couple tablespoons flour. Cover and set aside until it bubbles.
- Attach the dough hook to the mixer.
- Put the flour in the bowl of the mixer, add salt and olive oil. Mix on low speed. Add the water gradually and mix until a ball is formed around the hook. The dough should be soft and not sticky to the hands or on the mixer bowl.
- Cover the dough and let it rest until it doubles in volume.
- Deflate it by kneading it a few times on your work surface.
- Make it into a roll and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 70 grams each) and using a dowel, roll each piece out to a rough round shape, on a silicone mat, until it reaches about 18 cm across. If not using a silicone mat, sprinkle the work surface and phyllo with flour to keep from sticking.
- Brush the phyllo with olive .
- Create an imaginary circle, about 5 cm / 2 inches diametre in the centre and using a sharp knife make 6 -8 cuts.
- Fold each piece of dough around the centre.
- Take each piece of dough and roll out again making a round phyllo around 18 cm.
- Crumble feta.
- Add 1/8th (about 1 tbsp) feta in the circle and fold around the centre, making sure to enclose the cheese. Using the dowel make it a little bit thinner.
- Cover with cling film and a kitchen towel and let it rest for a while.
- Heat the oil and fry on both sides until golden.
- Serve as it is or with some honey on top.
This is called pseudo-tiganopsomo because it’s not made with leavened bread dough. This is usually called boureki.
Pseudo-tiganopsomo – Recipe by Ivy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:15 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients: |
Homemade phyllo dough |
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Filling: |
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6 |
Tbsp |
Olive oil |
½ |
Cup |
Feta (or Halloumi or Fresh Myzithra Cheese) |
1/8 |
Cup |
Graviera Cheese (reserving a tablespoon for sprinkling on top) |
Salt and freshly ground pepper |
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Directions: |
||
|
||
1. |
See Recipe How to make dough. Made with leftover phyllo (1/3 of the amount). |
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2. |
Divide the dough in two equal parts and roll out into two round pieces. |
|
3. |
Spread both cheeses, leaving 2 cm phyllo uncovered and season with salt and pepper. |
|
4. |
When rolling the second phyllo, brush with olive oil and cover the cheese filling and press both phyllos to join. (At this stage you may deep freeze it to be fried another day). |
|
5. |
Brush again with olive oil. |
|
6. |
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non stick frying pan and fry on both sides until golden brown. |
|
7. |
Remove to a plate, cut with a sharp knife and sprinkle some graviera cheese on top. |
|
8. |
Serve while it is hot with some honey. |
Am I a very lucky person or not? On Thursday afternoon, shortly after posting the last recipe, my new camera arrived by courier. I was so anxious to receive it as I ordered it from e-bay and only after buying it I noticed that the manual was in Japanese!! Anyway that was no problem at all as the store I bought it from were very helpful and told me where I could download the manual in English. However, It is 200 pages and I have only managed to read just the basic.
It’s a Nikon P90, point and shoot camera and it’s operation seems to be quite simple, much simpler than my old one.
Even without the manual, on Friday I took it with me at The Acropolis Museum and took lots of pictures and hope to tell you all about it in my next post.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
Rosa
Ooooohhh, that fried bread looks so inviting and delicious! A wonderful speciality…
I can’t wait to see your pictures :-D!
Cheers,
Rosa xoxo
Cakelaw
This bread looks delicious – all that cheese oozing out makes me hungry. I also love the dessert idea. Love your new camera – you are a lucky girl!
Cakelaw’s last blog post..TWD – Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies
lisaiscooking
Your bread looks delicious, and the cheeses sound great in it! Congratulations on your new camera. Can’t wait to see all the photos from it.
lisaiscooking’s last blog post..Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Malt Cookies
Peter G
I LOVE tiganopsomo! It’s simply the best and very delicious! I like the new camera. Good luck with using it and I look forward to seeing some new pics with it!
Peter G’s last blog post..Pumpkin and Lentil Soup
Lisa
How nice for you to get a new camera! Your pictures here certainly are appealing. I just love this recipe and the feta stuffing I could not resist. I bet it would be good with goat cheese too.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
I also make fried bread any time I have any kind of dough leftover! It’s especially delicious with yeast dough and so yummy with cheese! Congrats on your new camera!
Natasha – 5 Star Foodie’s last blog post..Desserts from Brazil
Ben
Hmm that sounds interesting, specially made with the phyllo dough. And congratulations on the new camera. I can’t wait to see the pictures you took with it 😀
Ben’s last blog post..Chicago Trip
Liz
That looks soooo good. Camera looks good too!
Liz’s last blog post..House hunting
Parita
Fried bread sounds delicious, lucky u, i too am planning to buy a new nikon, still havent decided on the model though…hows P90?
Parita’s last blog post..Broccoli Pulav
Angie's Recipes
The fried bread is very interesting! I fried steamed buns before, but haven’t tried with bread!
Angie’s Recipes
Angie’s Recipes’s last blog post..Berry And Frangipane Tart
Niki
Mmmm…. looks great!!! Love all that oozy cheese…
Congrats on the new camera! Very jealous… I desperately need a new one myself!
Trish Lathourakis
Oh Ivy that looks so good. IT is an extra tease as I just got home from 22hrs flying and have just having aeroplane food. After italy I have fallen in love again with cheese and especially dishes in which it involved cheese melting inside pastries like Panzarotti. I will definitely be doing this with my left over dough next time!
Trish Lathourakis’s last blog post..Next2
Reeni
This fried bread looks wonderful – especially with the delicious cheese oozing out. Nice camera!
Reeni’s last blog post..Grilled Corn & Shrimp Cakes
Jen of a2eatwrite
This looks absolutely wonderful, Ivy! I wonder if you could grill this instead on a barbecue grill? I’m sure it would be very different, but I’m thinking about oil reduction… it all looks SO delicious, though!
Jen of a2eatwrite’s last blog post..A Question for You
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
CONGRATS on your new camera, Ivy! That is awesome! 🙂
That fried bread sounds incredible too. I have never tried anything like that before and it sounds wonderful!
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen’s last blog post..Farmers Market Exchange with The Transplanted Baker!
Poornima
Ivy that bread looks delicious..love that cheese oozing out.
Peter
Ivy, I’ve had the individual (atomiki) tiganpita and they are delish. Yours are making me hungry (again). I can see a vast improvement with the photos from your new camera.
Peter’s last blog post..Grilled Octopus (Xταπόδι σχάρας)
The Duo Dishes
OMG. Too much! Too much good stuff.
The Duo Dishes’s last blog post..Better Late Than Never
cakebrain
I love fried bread! This is right up my alley!
cakebrain’s last blog post..CHRYSANTHEMUM POUND CAKE
Kevin
Fried bread with cheese or honey! You can’t go wrong with that combo! Nice shot with the gooey cheese coming out!
Jude
So nicely browned. Thanks for introducing me to graviera cheese, a new-to-me ingredient. Will have to seek this out when I get the chance.
Jude’s last blog post..Vollkornbrot – German Whole Rye Sourdough