Yerevan Gata

Description

Traditional holiday pastry in Armenia - gata - has its own cooking features depending on the region. Gata can be layered, yeast or lean. It is prepared for anniversaries and Easter, and brides bring sweet gata together with baklava to a new home. One thing is constant in gata - the filling is horiz, which is made from butter crumbs with flour and sugar, sometimes adding nuts to it.

Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions

Step 1

Prepare the dough. Add butter, cut into small pieces, to the sifted flour. Rub the butter and flour with your hands until they form fine crumbs. Add matsoni, salt and baking powder to the butter-flour mixture. Knead a soft, tender dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 2

Start making the choriz. In a deep container, mix the sifted flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and butter. Just like the dough, rub the butter with your hands into the flour and sugar until you get fine crumbs.

Step 3

Form the gata. Divide the dough into three parts, roll each part thinly, forming a circle. Place the filling on each layer of dough, leaving a couple of centimeters from the edges. Fold the edges of the dough and roll each part of the dough into a roll. Using a sharp knife, cut each roll into portions of equal thickness, about 3 cm each. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Step 4

Place the formed cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Prepare a mixture for greasing the gata. Mix milk and egg yolk and beat slightly. Cover the cookies with the resulting mixture using a pastry brush. Place the gata in the oven and bake at 170 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove the finished gata from the baking sheet and place it on a plate.