Mayanalı Kahke Recipe
Kahke is a type of cookie/pastry category belonging to Gaziantep-Kilis region. Since there are many types of kahkes, it would be more appropriate to consider kahke as a category rather than a recipe. Mayana means fennel. In short, mayanalı kahke is a kind of pastry with fennel.
The most important feature of kahke is that it can be stored for months without spoiling, like beypazarı kurusu. This makes it possible to prepare kahke in large quantities, such as for winter preparation, and to keep it at hand for a very long time as a snack. Kahke dough is very similar to maamoul dough. From time to time, semolina can be added to the kahke, as in maamoul. Again, as in maamoul, water can be used instead of milk from time to time. If you wish, you can also use plant based milk as an alternative to water or milk. You can even make an orange-flavored ckahke using orange juice. Technically it won't be a problem.
Is Kahke Vegan?
Since it does not contain any other animal products, I labeled mayanalı kahke as vegan and made it easily accessible to vegans and those with milk allergies. Vegan food recipes are plentiful, but when it comes to pastries, the choice is dwindling. For this reason, I try to use this opportunity in all pastries that can be made vegan with minor changes.
Can I Use Another Type of Flour Instead of White Flour in Making Kahke?
This question is asked for many pastries. Let me answer briefly. Of course you can use. But just as white flour bread and whole wheat bread or oat flour bread are different in terms of taste, appearance and consistency, this change causes a similar difference in other pastries. Another curious issue is what should be considered when using a different type of flour instead of white flour. Since each flour has a different water absorption capacity (not only in change of type but also in the change of brand or production year), you should add the flour each time (even if you are making the same recipe for the hundredth time), little by little, as I mentioned in all my pastry recipes, by controlling the consistency of the dough. If you follow this general rule, there is nothing extra you need to pay attention to when you use different types of flours, you can follow the recipe jut as it is.
Is it necessary to use fennel?
If you want to make Mayanalı kahke, yes. But if you want to try something different based on this recipe, it's entirely up to you. It's not something that requires my comment or that my comment would be helpful of. Therefore, when you want to make such changes that will not affect the consistency of the dough, the thing that will give the best result for you is to take responsibility and act only according to your own taste.
Enjoy the recipe...
Ingredients
- 1 cup of milk/plant based milk/water,
- 3/4 cup olive oil,
- 1/2 cup of sugar,
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder,
- 3 cups flour,
- 3 tablespoons of mayana (fennel),
- 3 tablespoons of white sesame seeds,
- 1 teaspoon of black cumin seeds,
- Extra olive oil for topping.
Preparation
- Roast the fennel in a pan until fragrant and pound it in a mortar,
- Whisk milk, olive oil, sugar, baking powder, fennel, sesame seeds and black cumin in a deep bowl,
- Add the flour little by little and knead until you get a dough that does not stick to the hand,
- Take walnut-sized pieces from the dough and stretch them out and join the ends to form a ring,
- Arrange the kahkes you have prepared on a tray lined with greaseproof paper,
- Apply olive oil on them,
- Put the tray into a preheated oven at 180 C degrees and bake until golden brown.
Bon Appetit...