Greek Holiday Bread
(New Year's Bread, Pita Bread, Vasilopita)
bread machine recipe:
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 stick butter (1/8 lb.)
- 1+1/2 tsp. oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1+1/2 tsp. yeast
- 1+1/2 tsp. mahlab*
variations:
(add any combination of the following)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- dash cinnamon
- dash allspice
- dash nutmeg
I created this recipe based on one from my family.
I think it's about as close as a bread machine can get.
*Mahlab is the the pit of the sour cherry and has been used for centuries in the Middle East as a sweet/sour, nutty addition to breads, cookies and biscuits. There are many alternative spellings of this spice:
محلب, مَحْلَب, mahlab, mahalab, mahleb, מהלב, mahaleb, mahlep, mahalep, μαχλέπι, mahlepi, machlepi or makhlepi.