DISH RESEARCH · Dish
Flaouna
Also known as: Φλαούνα
Cypriot Easter cheese bread scented with mastic, mahleb and mint, with raisins and sesame.
About Flaouna
Flaouna is a traditional Cypriot Easter bread filled with Pafitiko cheese. This profile follows a family-style version whose yeasted dough and cheese filling are both scented with mastic and mahleb, with mint, raisins and a sesame coating.
The cheese and eggs make the filling rich and savoury, balanced by sweet raisins and fresh mint. Mastic and mahleb provide a distinctive resinous, almond-like fragrance, while sesame adds a gently nutty finish.
A baked flaouna is golden and substantial, with a sesame-studded folded crust around an exposed, lightly risen cheese centre. The crumb is bread-like and aromatic, while the filling remains tender and textured with raisins.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Wheat (gluten), Milk, Egg, Sesame.
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Flaouna
Traditional Cypriot Easter Flaouna with Pafitiko Cheese.
- Bread or all-purpose wheat flourYeasted dough structure
- Fresh yeastDough and filling leavening
- Olive oilDough enrichment
- Mastic resinResinous dough and filling fragrance
- SugarHelps pound the mastic and adds slight sweetness
- Ground mahlebAromatic dough and filling spice
- MilkDough hydration and egg-wash liquid
- Baking powderAdditional lift
- SaltDough seasoning
- Pafitiko cheeseCharacteristic savoury filling
- Fine semolinaFilling structure
- Fresh mintHerbal filling fragrance
- Eggs and egg yolksFilling enrichment and glaze
- Sultana raisinsSweet fruit through the filling
- Hemp seedsOptional regional filling accent · Optional
- Sesame seedsCrust coating and glaze garnish
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Bread or all-purpose wheat flour:
- Fresh yeast:
- Olive oil: . The source permits vegetable shortening or olive oil; this profile fixes the author's stated olive-oil choice
- Mastic resin:
- Sugar:
- Ground mahleb: . The source's mahlepi or mahleb maps to the established mahlab route
- Milk:
- Baking powder:
- Salt:
- Pafitiko cheese: . The specialist seasonal goat-and-ewe's-milk flaouna cheese maps to the broader verified cheese route; its Milk allergen remains confirmed
- Fine semolina:
- Fresh mint:
- Eggs and egg yolks:
- Sultana raisins:
- Hemp seeds (optional):
- Sesame seeds:
Origins & food traditions
Kopiaste supplies the complete traditional Cypriot Easter recipe selected here and identifies Pafitiko, a seasonal goat-and-ewe's-milk cheese, as the characteristic filling cheese. The independent dish reference corroborates Cyprus, Easter preparation, Paphos-region flaouna cheese, mastic, mahleb, mint, sesame and optional raisins, and records Pilavuna, Vlaouna, Aflaouna and Fesoudki as regional names rather than distinct dishes.
Countries
- Cyprus
- CyprusCatalogue link pending review
Cuisines & regions
- Cypriot Cuisine
- Cypriot CuisineCatalogue link pending review
AI-generated illustration of one possible presentation. Recipes and ingredients vary; the image does not establish allergen content.