This Ekmak – Syrian Sweet Bread is a delicious boat-shaped sweet yeast bread. It’s somewhat similar to Russian Cream Cheese Vatrushka Buns, but this version is less sweet. Soft and fluffy dough surrounds creamy ricotta cheese filling swirled with blueberry preserves. Feel free to sub any fresh or frozen berries for the blueberries the recipe calls for. Serve these boats of deliciousness drizzled with honey and enjoy them warm.
The recipe is time-consuming, but the steps are fairly straightforward and worth the effort. The dough should be soft and tacky to the touch but not sticky. Add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Once the dough has rested, stretch it into ovals, add the ricotta filling, and shape into boats. Top the cheese filling with preserves and brush the dough with an egg wash. Once the boats come out of the oven, sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar. Enjoy warm with a drizzle of honey!
To make the Ekmak – Syrian Sweet Bread, you will need the following ingredients:
In a large bowl, mix thoroughly 20 ounces full-fat ricotta cheese with ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, 4 teaspoons honey, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Refrigerate while making the dough.
In a small bowl, mix ¾ cup fresh or frozen blueberries and ⅓ cup blueberry preserves and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add 6 ounces warm water and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 500 grams all-purpose flour, the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and ¼ cup soft butter and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed until the butter is distributed evenly throughout the flour mixture, about 1 minute.
Pour in the yeast mixture and 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar. Mix on low while gradually adding the remaining 6 ounces of warm water.
Knead on medium-low speed until the dough comes together. Switch to medium and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky to the touch. Add the remaining flour, by tablespoons, if needed until the dough reaches the right consistency. Add 1 tablespoon salt and knead for another minute on medium speed.
Pour the dough out onto a working surface and form it into a ball. Place it into an oiled bowl, cover, and leave to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, deflate it and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 9 even pieces and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Leave to rest for another 15 minutes.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to rest for another 10 minutes.
Roll out each ball into a 6-inch round and leave to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 425 °F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour.
Stretch each round into a 10- by 4-inch oval and spoon ⅓ cup of the prepared cheese filling in the center of each oval.
Fold the opposite ends of one side of the oval over and press to secure. Then, fold the other side over, forming a boat shape. Give everything a gentle pull to elongate the boats to about 12 inches long. Pinch and seal the boats well to prevent opening up while baking.
Transfer the boats to the prepared baking sheets. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of the blueberry mixture in the center of each boat. To make an egg wash, combine 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Use a pastry brush to brush the dough with the egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, one sheet at a time. Turn the baking sheet halfway through.
Once baked, leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
To serve, dust with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle with honey. Enjoy warm!
Enjoy this delicious Ekmak - Syrian Sweet Bread for breakfast or dessert! Loaded with creamy ricotta cheese filling, these boats are topped with blueberry preserves and served warm, drizzled with honey and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. That’s too good for words! Give this recipe a go, and please come back to leave us a note below.
Delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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