Assyrian spinach pies

It’s been 5 years since the Bread Baking Babes started. Every month they bake a recipe and all Buddies can bake along. I've been baking along for about 2 years now and still enjoying it! Babe Tanna found these good looking Assyrian Spinach Pies.

We just bought some spinach and I made a nice quiche with it. Luckily I had some spinach left to put in these pies. They’re easy to make; the dough is smooth and soft and the filling has a good bite. Tanna uses mahlab, made from the pits of sour black cherries. Since I don’t have this I omitted it and have no idea what I missed. I saw Babe Lien used raisins instead of pomegranate seeds and hard cheese instead of feta. This worked great for me too. For the bite I added fresh chili.

We loved them! I baked only 4 pies because I didn’t have enough spinach and we ate them with a nice salad for dinner. But, next time ……….. for sure.

Specifics
Name                                       Assyrian spinach pies

Adapted from                            A baker’s Odyssey” - Greg Patent
Yields                                       12 pies
Dough temp.                             24°C
Mixing                                      by hand 5 – 7 minutes
Fermentation                            60 minutes
Shape                                      pies
Proof at roomtemp.                  none
Bake 180°C                              25 - 30 minutes

This is what I used:
Bakers formula                      %          grams
Flour                                      100       350

Water                                     65        230
Salt                                        1.7       6         

Dough:
active dry yeast                                   1 ¼ tsp
water                                                   210-235
ground mahleb (optional)                     ½ tsp
unbleached all purpose flour                 350
sugar                                                    1TBsp
salt                                                      1 tsp
olive oil                                                40

Filling:
olive oil                                               2 TBsp
medium yellow onion, chopped             1
small clove of garlic, chopped finely      1
walnuts, chopped                                   70
raisins or pomegranate seeds                  4 TBsp
chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)           450
lemon                                                  squeeze
grated cheese or feta cheese                   50
small egg (or ½ large)                              1
fresh chili                                             to taste

salt and pepper                                     to taste

a little olive oil for brushing

This is what I did:

I combined all ingredients for the dough. I had to knead the dough by hand because the amount was not enough for my electric mixer. Once in a while I like to knead by hand and use the pull and throw-method. It took me about 8 minutes before the dough was smooth and soft.

Bulk Fermentation: transfer the dough to a slightly oiled containers, cover and leave for 1  hour. 

Filling:

Fry the chopped onion, chili and garlic in a little olive oil until golden. Add walnuts and raisins, season with salt and pepper and let it bake for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring from time to time. Take it off the heat and let it cool. Stir in the spinach, lemon juice, egg and cheese.

Pre heating: I pre heated the oven to 180º C.

Shaping: divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll out each piece into 15 cm circle. Use flour on the work surface to prevent sticking. Place a heaped TBsp of filling onto the center of the circle, leaving about 2 cm of dough all around.

Imagining the circle to be a clock, lift up the edges of dough at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions and pinch the edges firmly to seal. Close it up with the 6 o’clock position of dough to meet in the center. 

Place  the pie on parchment paper. Work quickly and place them on the parchment paper with a little space between them.

You probably can place 6 pies on a parchment paper to fit the oven. Place the other 6 pies on parchment paper to bake directly after the first batch.

Proofing: No proofing.

Preparing and Baking: brush each pie with a little olive oil. Place them in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Eat them while they’re still warm.

I send this to BBB host Tanna's My Kitchen in Half Cups, Susan’s YeastSpotting and to Bake Your Own Bread