Did you know, it’s the hundredth Fiesta Friday right now? That’s right.
100!
The first Fiesta Friday I joined was Fiesta Friday #56, so I could say that I’ve been around (very off and on) for 44 Fiesta Fridays! Fiesta Friday was already well-established by the time I joined, so I need to thank all the Fiesta Friday partygoers who arrived at the very beginning, those who came before me, and those after me as well for helping such a lovely community to flourish and root itself.
It’s always a spectacular party every week and these two weeks, even more so. Angie, the Novice Gardener, is joined by four cohosts, Judi of Cooking with Aunt Juju, Mollie, the Frugal Hausfrau, Steffi of Ginger and Bread, and Suzanne of A Pug in the Kitchen.
I also got Instagram! This is the first extension of the blog. I can already feel myself becoming super-social (though I don’t know if I’ll ever use it–okay, now that I’ve said this, I will absolutely post at least once).
(And if you have Instagram, let me know what your username is! I’ve been looking through the blogs I follow and I think I’ve found quite a few…though now I’m doubting myself and maybe I should have gotten Pinterest instead? It seems like more people have Pinterest…)
I’ve always been pretty bad (reluctant?) with social media. I eventually capitulated to Facebook in my last year of high school, which was a good choice as everyone uses it for group projects. Apart from group-project-days, I have a carefully cultivated reputation of Facebook absence (the importance of maintaining this reputation is a useful excuse for never using it…and it is a reputation quite easily maintained by never logging in).
I also briefly used Twitter during my time blogging for a youth blogging site. I was not very good at using it–I only ever used one hashtag and tended to forget it existed (I was eventually called out on my poor twitterage and stepped up a bit). My few and strange tweets were followed by just a few and strange twitterers (an avocado import company and a gamer).
It was a short relationship. Once I graduated high school and was no longer youthful enough for the youth blogging site, I also completely stopped using Twitter.
I suppose blogging counts as social media as well…yet it feels different because I look at my blog as a building towards something. Every post is supposed to fit together into a larger record of food-related activities. However, if I treat social media an extension of the blog, it’s also something cumulative.
At the same time, to prevent it from being redundant, I should also be seeing social media as something different, not just an abbreviated version of tentimestea. I do have nearly as many drafts as I currently have posts (44 to 56?and so likely, depending on how the queue sorts itself out, a number of the 2016 posts will actually be from 2015)…so at the moment I’m thinking Instagram could be the more current outlet whereas this blog will just trundle along months later.
Other thoughts on using social media? I’m sure this has already been a well-discussed topic, but until now I’ve mostly distanced myself from it, so I’d welcome any additional thoughts on what platforms you use and which ones you like.
These egg breads are based off the cheese and egg breads (acharuli khachapuri) from Jerusalem by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi. The original used halloumi, feta and ricotta, but I’ve changed the filling around to include a generous amount of wilted spinach, some herbs, and a mixture of the cheeses we had in the fridge.
The breads are quite nice with eggs or without eggs, but with eggs, it makes for quite a satisfying and filling lunch or breakfast. I smeared the ones without eggs with labneh and some olive oil, which was just as good.
I always forget how much spinach wilts–quite frankly, I think I could have tripled the amount of spinach (which I already did partway through making the breads; at first I began with only a third of the amount I ended up using!) to fill the breads more generously.
The rolled up edges of the bread was my favourite part–it formed thin layers of dough encasing the filling, a bit reminiscent of a very thick and doughy burek.
spinach and egg breads
Adapted from the acharuli khachapuri from Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem. The original is a cheese and egg bread. I’ve added spinach, played with the cheeses and flavours in the filling, and of course, converted the dough into a sourdough.
sponge
50 g sourdough starter
50 g flour
50 g water
dough
215 g flour
50 g red fife flour
2.5 g wheat gluten
1/2 tsp salt
90 mL thick yoghurt
90 mL water
1/2 egg
The night before, stir together the flour, water and starter to make the sponge. Let sit overnight.
The next day, whisk the flours, salt and gluten. Add all at once the yoghurt, water, egg and sponge. Knead until it forms a soft dough. Cover and let rise fully.
filling & assembly
150 g spinach leaves
olive oil
50 g labneh
35 g soft goat cheese
20 g gruyere
10 g feta
handful parsley
thyme
1 1/2 tsp za’atar
salt and pepper
1/2 egg to glaze
6 eggs or as desired
butter
Heat some olive oil in a pan and wilt the spinach. Let cool slightly and then roughly chop.
Grate the gruyere and crumble the feta into small pieces. Chop the parsley and pick the leaves off the sprigs of thyme. Combine the cheeses, the spinach, the parsley, thyme and za’atar. Add some pepper and season with a bit of salt. Set the filling aside.
Divide the dough into six pieces, roll each into a ball, and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Then, roll each out into a thin circle.
Divide the filling into sixths. Spread one sixth of the filling over each circle of dough. Roll up the opposite sides of the circle two or three times over the filling, and pinch the ends together to make a boat-shaped bread.
Tent the breads loosely with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for around an hour or until puffed.
Preheat the oven to 425F, with a baking stone on the centre rack. Whisk the half egg with a splash of water and just before baking, brush each bread with egg wash and sprinkle with some additional thyme leaves. Bake the breads for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden.
If you like, at this point crack an egg into the cavity of each bread and return to oven. Bake until the whites are set, but the yolk is (hopefully!) still a bit runny–this took around 10 minutes for me. Turn the breads around part way as when I didn’t, I ended up with some breads with hard yolks and some breads with soft yolks.
Remove, top each with a pat of butter or a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Serve right away.
If you don’t use eggs, you may want to smear the inside cavity with an additional spoonful of labneh and a bit of olive oil.
I love these, WOW, this has flown right to the top of my must make list. Thank you for bringing to the party, what a wonderful recipe.
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Thank you Suzanne! They were quite fun to make–and thank you for cohosting FF this week 🙂
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This is just wow, wow and wow!!
Loved the whole idea and the recipe ❤️
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Thank you Sonal! I based the idea off an already very clever cheese and egg bread, and added some vegetables–it is hard to go wrong when you add vegetables 🙂
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😀
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Oh these are just gorgeous! What a wonderful recipe!
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Thank you Indu! I was very happy that the breads managed to brown nicely and not dry out too much–a combination of the wet filling and a nice egg wash I think! 🙂
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These sound so delicious! Love this recipe!
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Thank you! All the cheese does help the taste 🙂 However, according to my sister, they tasted better without the egg, though I preferred them with the egg as it seemed to balance the sourness of the bread a bit better… consequently, still on the fence as to whether it tastes nicer with egg or not 🙂
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Looks like the perfect recipe for the 100th Fiesta Friday! 56! Wow! You must be blogging for a long time then! I really like the sound of this recipe! One of your best ones! I can’t wait to try them..I’ve an 8 day break between labs from today, so bookmarking it
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Thanks Lina! I was lucky enough to find FF earlier rather than later 🙂 🙂 And my blogging career has been interrupted by a number of mini hiatuses…
The breads were simple and had plenty of good flavours so they might be one of my favourites as well!! Glad to hear you have a break! It sounds like it’s been busy on your end with all the exams, so take some time to cook/bake and relax! 🙂 xx
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Yes I’ve to:)
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These are good in every way!
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Thank you Hilda! I just need to figure out how to bake eggs more consistently… I ended up with solid yolks and unset whites on one side of the oven and a lovely runny yolk on the other 🙂 haha!
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They look so light and gorgeous. So much like the boat shaped spinach fatayer. I don’t know what the red fife flour is. I will have to look up. Beautiful presentation 🙂
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Wow, I looked up spinach fatayer and they do look exactly the same! The khachapuri recipe I adapted these from, while I’ve read they typically only contain cheese, may have similar roots as fatayer? Red fife wheat is a bit of a heritage grain, but anything works–I just like have a bit of whole wheat in whatever I’m making. Thank you for the lovely comments Ana 🙂
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What a fun dish you created – never seen anything like it. Thanks so much for sharing with Fiesta Friday. My social media was very limited until 2 years ago when I joined Angie’s first FF. I just quit Facebook as I really was not using it. I do like Pinterest but don’t participate a lot.
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Thank you for your thoughts on social media Aunt Juju! The next time I expand my burgeoning empire (okay, maybe it’s not quite an empire–yet! haha) I will probably try Pinterest. I’ve also heard that it’s quite nice for collecting inspiration. Thank you for hosting the big FF party! 🙂 xx
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Love the pictorial steps, just brings it to life like a video! Thank you for co-hosting the FF, you rock!
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Thank you so much Apsara! I’m afraid I’m not hosting FF this week, but I do agree that all the cohosts absolutely rock! (You rock too!!) Thank you for leaving such a kind comment 🙂
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All your recipe creations are just picture perfect! You are super talented and this spinach and egg bread is another yummy and pretty recipe on your blog! Love it! Wish I could reach in and grab one of those gorgeous breads. I am drooling here:)
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Wish I could share one with you Sandhya! Thank you for lovely comment!! 🙂 🙂
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These sound so good and the photos just jump right out! Thanks for bringing it to Fiesta Friday and I’ll be pinning it to our board, and Happy New Years!
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Thank you for the pin! My cousin told me the breads looked like sausages and eggs, not egg-filled breads, and wow, I’ve realized she was right! Haha 🙂 Thank you for cohosting this week Mollie!
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I am so making these cuties over the weekend!!! My sourdough starter didn’t get fed lately, but fingers crossed… – ps. congrats on trying the Instagram – this is my next challenge!:)
Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you for such a sweet comment! (Sourdough starters always bounce back it seems 😉 ) I’m really enjoying instagram so far…I usually take a month or several to post things on the blog (which becomes a bit strange when I’m doing seasonal things 🙂 ), but with Instagram I can share immediately, while I’m still excited about something!
I’d recommend giving it a go!
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They look amazing – I could bite right into one of them now! And I agree with you on the whole social media confusion – I love the blogging but all the other stuff is just such a bore. Perhaps I should just forget about it and concentrate on the food … who knows?
Thanks for sharing these, as well as your thoughts, with us at Fiesta Friday!
Ginger x
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Thanks Ginger! I was having quite a bit of fun with Instagram–though I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping it up! Still, since it always seems to take me a few months to post things on the blog, it is fun to share something as soon as I’ve made it and keeps it from being boring and repetitive! 😉 Thanks for cohosting FF 100 🙂 xx
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These look so gorgeous! I would eat them in a heartbeat! You sound like me.. When it comes to social media! Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you too Suchitra! Haha, I would have thought that most bloggers would be quite the social media aficionados, but perhaps its because the blog is already so much work…!
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No worries about the breads! They look gorgeous! I knew they were bread, no problem, and so creative!
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Thank you Mollie! It was an amusing observation at least 🙂 xx
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And congrats on your feature on Fiesta Friday! Well deserved!!
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Thanks again 🙂 You’re really too kind!
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Fantastic an absolutely delicious recipe. Prefect for a family brunch! 🙂
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Thank you Linda! I agree, it’s quite nice for families. I made the breads in time for lunch, but I think the breads could be made a day ahed and then an egg baked into them (and rewarming the breads as well!) could be done just at brunch time. 🙂
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These are da bomb! Okay, now I’m twelve and I live in the 90s 😀 But that was the first thing that came to me when I saw these! Quite incredible, truly, Laurie! I won’t rest easy until I give them a try 🙂
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Thanks Angie! Haha, I’m very flattered 🙂 xx
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The dish is so clever. I love bread and I love eggs, a perfect and such a pretty combo!
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It’s hard to go wrong with bread and eggs (and spinach goes well in anything!) 🙂 Thank you for a lovely comment Petra!
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These breads look just so wonderful and hearty Laurie! They remind me of the Turkish Pide, so delicious! Congrats on being featured at FF #100, so well deserved 🙂
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Thank you Naina! How interesting to hear! I’ve never tried pide, but I think I may have seen a one with some gorgeous flavours on Selma’s Table. I will have to give it a try sometime–haha, I really do like all things bread. I loved your featured marzipan cakes as well! Congrats 🙂 xx
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Wow these look amazing!!!
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Thank you! They look rather like eyes actually, don’t they? 🙂
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I thought about little boats because the bread looks fluffy! Like a rubber dinghy!
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Haha! Yes, boats are a good description–the edges puff up quite nicely 🙂
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Beautiful breads and look so tasty! Thanks for sharing… very inspired to make these one day. 🙂
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They were so much fun to make Lili 🙂 I based it off a recipe in Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem–it didn’t have a picture, so I was a bit surprised and excited when they turned out looking as they did! There are still so many delicious looking pastries and breads to try in that book.
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