The Cyprus bread & pastry experience

Last week, I stayed in a small village in the South of Cyprus called Psematismenos. On my travels, I visited some local village bakeries around the Lemasos area to check out the baked goods on offer. Here are some impressions of Cypriot baking!

And if you fancy baking an authentic pastry yourself, I’ve got a delicious recipe for Spanakopita pastry here.

Cyprus village salad sesame bread and white wine
A typical village salad with sesame seed bread
Cyprus almond cinnamon crescent
Almond cinnamon crescent
Cyprus almond cinnamon crescent with Cypriot coffee
… with Cypriot coffee
Cyprus mini sausage rolls mini olive pies
Lots of mini pastries, mini sausage rolls and mini olive pies
Cyprus jam pistachio chocolate coconut biscuits
Jam pistachio and chocolate coconut biscuits
Cyprus baklava
And of course baklava
Cyprus olive mint pastry
My favourite: olive and mint pastry
Cyprus chicken and mushroom pastry
Chicken and mushroom pastry
Village bakery breads
Village bakery breads
Cyprus olive and coriander bread
Olive and coriander loaves
Village bakery Zygi Kalavasos
Ourl local village bakery at the Zygi Kalavasos crossing, near Lemasos

Christmas Tree Bread Recipe

I’ve been asked about Christmas breads as gifts recently so I put on my thinking cap. A lovely Christmas baking treat should be sweet and rich yet not too heavy and take the shape, of course, of something Christmassy. Try this Christmas tree bread recipe, it won’t disappoint! For the bread dough I adapted a recipe … Read more

Best Irish Brown Soda Bread Recipe

One of my recent visits to Ireland brought me to The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore and, oh my, they do good brown bread there. Luckily, I found the recipe in The Cliff House Hotel Cookbook: Granny McGrath’s Brown Irish Soda Bread. Some of the ingredients were rather hard to find in the UK (they are more … Read more

Authentic German Pumpernickel Bread Recipe

It’s hard to find a good recipe for traditional German Pumpernickel so I thought I would try and fill this gap! Here is step-by-step guide to baking the real thing as well as some interesting Pumpernickel facts. Give this Pumpernickel bread recipe a go – you won’t be disappointed! What is Real German Pumpernickel? 100% rye … Read more

Best apple bread recipes

  While the name apple bread is often used for sweet apple loaf cakes, I’ve tested a few proper apple bread recipes recently. Not cakes, not strudels, not tarts – breads! It’s been a great success – try some of the best apple bread recipes for yourself! Apple & Rolled Oat Bread The first recipe I tried … Read more

Sprouted grain bread recipe

I’ve been sprouting beans and grains for a while now, mainly using the sprouts in salads. However, I’ve recently started adding rye sprouts into bread dough. By adding a little bit of wholemeal and rye flour as well as the sprouted rye kernels, an otherwise plain white loaf of sourdough bread turns into something pretty special. … Read more

Rye bread with sunflower seeds

A new favourite! This rye bread with sunflower seeds is amazing – rye sourdough, malt and toasted sunflower seeds give this bread its delicious flavour. While sunflower seeds usually only have a very mild taste, toasting them evokes a wonderfully nutty flavour. Additionally, they are a great source of Vitamin E, copper, vitamin B1, magnesium … Read more

Austrian Easter Bread Wreath Recipe

Easter is a great time for baking – Spring is in the air, early gardening efforts are starting to bear fruit and there are lots of lovely seasonal baking ideas to play with. Hot cross buns are the traditional Easter treat in the UK. However, I’m not a huge fan of their fruit-heavy doughs and usually … Read more