Cypriot village eliopittes or eliottes: Yiayia’s olive breads recipe
This is my Yiayia’s (grandmother’s) recipe for traditional village eliopittes or eliottes – olive breads, the way her mother would make them in her village of Agia Marina Skyllouras before her family was displaced in 1974.
Eliopittes, eliottes and halloumottes
Two of the most popular bakery staples you’ll find in Cyprus are eliottes and halloumottes (aka eliopittes and halloumopittes; olive pies and halloumi pies). They come in all sorts of shapes and forms: sometimes as whole loaves of bread of varying sizes with pieces of olive/halloumi mixed throughout, sometimes in smaller, individual hand pies like these, and other times rolled into thin, tubular shapes or mini swirls. They might even be coated in sesame seeds.
Many of you will know of Cyprus’ nationally-renowned Zorbas Bakery, but there are still a wealth of smaller, family-run bakeries making incredible eliottes and halloumottes in Cyprus with their own character. One of my favourite stops in Cypriots for eliottes and halloumottes, on the way up or down from Troodos, is at ΣΤΕ–MA just outside of Astromeritis in the Lefkosia district.
Making Cypriot olive breads
Like most village eliopittes, Yiayia’s recipe (in this instance) includes whole olives, with the pips still intact. Sometimes, she removes them using a special olive pitting device she owns, but you can also buy pitted olives if the pips bother you while you eat. Although Yiayia also doesn’t add any salt, satisfied with the saltiness the olives add, you can add a teaspoon or two to the flour if you’d like some more saltiness running throughout.
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How to make eliopittes: Cypriot olive breads
Ingredients:
750g strong white bread flour
500ml lukewarm water
1 tbsps extra virgin olive oil for the dough
1 sachet of instant yeast (typically 7-9g)
Optional: 1-2 tsp of salt
500g black olives (ideally black throumbes, the wrinkled ones)
1 tbsp dried mint
1 small onion
A small bunch of fresh coriander
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil for the olive mixture
Method:
Rinse the olives and strain. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast, 1 tbsp olive oil and 500ml lukewarm water. Mix together and knead for 5 minutes, adding a little more flour if the mixture is sticky. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for an hour.
Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and coriander. Mix together with the olives, mint, and the 2 tbsp of olive oil. Cover with a tea towel and set aside until the dough has risen.
Once the dough has proved, use both your hands to tear open a cavity in the centre, and throw in the olive mixture. Knead it in well for 5 minutes.
Roll the dough into fist sized balls, tucking over the edges to push the olives in towards the centre of the pittes. Place on baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees (fan). Cover the pittes with a tea towel and leave to rest for 10 mins.
Cook for 45 minutes until crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
My grandmother’s recipe for traditional village olive breads, the way her mother would make them in mid-20th Century Cyprus.