Tahini roll
A tahini roll or tahini bread roll is a sweet pastry found commonly in the cuisines of the Levant, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.
Geographic scope
Cyprus
Tahinopita is a type of tahini roll that is popular as a street food in Cyprus, it is likened to cinnamon rolls. In the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, street vendors with carts or bikes, as well as bakeries sell tahini rolls. They are popular during Lent as they can be considered vegan.Turkey
In Turkey, they are most popular during the month of Ramadan, during which they are consumed on suhur.Armenia and the Levant
Tahini rolls are popular in Armenia, where they are called tahinov hatz, Armenians migrating into Levant popularized the bread there.Preparation
The dough includes sugar and oil and has a texture between a bread and a cookie. It is leavened with yeast and can be baked after the first rise. Sometimes the pastry may be soaked in syrup of sugar or honey and flavored with cinnamon.Tahini rolls are made by rolling the dough flat, spreading it with the tahini mixture, sprinkling with sugar and rolling into a log shape. The dough is then sliced into smaller pieces and flattened to form a circle.
Name and etymology
In Arab countries it is known as khubz tahini. The Armenian name is Թահինով Հաց. In the Greek language it is known as ταχινόπιττα or τασιηνόπιττα ; in Cypriot Greek the pronunciation is "tashinopita" with a "sh" sound as opposed to "h" in mainland Greek.In the Turkish language, the general term is tahinli çörek, although in Cypriot Turkish it is known simply as tahınlı or tahınnı. The name ekmek tahinli is sometimes used as well. The word çörek in Turkish refers to a variety of buns and breads, often sweet.