What is a gata? It is synonymous with bliss. In Armenia, this round cake with a delicate creamy vanilla flavor not only enjoys continued popularity, but even entered into folk rituals, like a loaf here. They celebrate weddings with her, celebrate the New Year. The bride must bring a basket of ghats to the groom’s house. And on December 31, the hostess puts a coin in the dough before baking. If the knife touches the cake, the next year will be unlucky. But if someone gets a piece of a coin, then luck awaits him. Tasty Armenian pastry gata became famous on the Soviet TV screen. She is eaten by “sportswoman, Komsomol member and just beautiful” Nina in the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.
Its gata closer to paradise
Since this baking has become a kind of national symbol, there are many of its regional varieties. And the inhabitants of every corner of the country claim that their gata (also called kyata) is the most delicious. The product is made from sponge and simple yeast dough, with sweet and salty fillings, of various shapes: round, in the form of rolls and so on. The technology of kneading and interbreading with filling also has its own regional features. Therefore, it is difficult to say unequivocally how to prepare the Armenian gata. Indeed, in the country there is even a special recipe for the lazy - from ready-made puff pastry. If we take as the basis that the classic kyata is a capital, Yerevan, then let's consider this recipe first.
Gata Armenian round
In Yerevan, it is cooked in a casual manner. The whole highlight of the dessert is that a large amount of butter is used, which is simply crushed into the dough, which makes it look no longer puffy but yeast. Sift two cups of flour through a sieve into a deep bowl, add a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of soda. Removed from the freezer a pack (250 g) of butter quickly three on a grater into flour. A certain crumb is formed, which needs to be formed by a slide and a depression should be made in its top. Pour a glass of yogurt into it. This is the name of the Armenian national dairy product. Yogurt can be replaced with regular fatty kefir. Mix the dough, form a gingerbread man, knead a little, divide into three equal parts. We wrap them in cling film and put them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Cooking toppings
As already noted, there is a sweet and salty Armenian ghat. The recipe for Yerevan kyat involves a filling of vanilla (spoon), powdered sugar (one and a half cups) and ghee (80 g). Beat these ingredients with a white mixer. Then we introduce flour - as much as it will be necessary to obtain a homogeneous and crumbly mass. We get a piece of dough, roll it into a pancake, grease with ghee. Fold it four or five times, each time without forgetting to grease. We turn the roll, cut into pieces and again roll out into a cake. We spread the filling on its middle, pinch the ends and roll it out again. In the end, we should get a round cake half a centimeter thick. This distinguishes the Yerevan Ghat from the Gyumri: it has the shape of a roll.
Baking
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper. We put our cake there. In several places we make punctures with a fork to prevent the formation of bubbles. You can still apply wavy patterns to the surface, form beautiful edges. To fix the artistic decoration, grease the top of the cake with egg yolk. Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. How much should an Armenian gata be baked? The recipe advises after 10 minutes to reduce the temperature to 180 ° C and wait for the moment when the product acquires a golden ruddy hue.
Butter Gata Armenian: a step by step recipe
In Artsakh, Karabakh and Kirovakan, the yeast dough for this dessert is made in a douche way. First, heat the milk or water to 35 ° C. Dissolve the yeast in the liquid and add half the total amount of flour. A very liquid dough will come out. We put it in a warm place for two hours. Then, sugar, vanilla, milk and salt are successively added to the dough. Add flour. Knead for at least 10 minutes, after which we again put the dough in heat for half an hour. During this time, we prepare the filling. We have already examined how the sweet Armenian ghat is made. A recipe from Leninakan will help us create a culinary product with sour cheese (cottage cheese). Stuffing can be rubbed inside the dough with butter. Each time, folding a pancake, not only smear it with fat, but also put a little cottage cheese. Then the gata will resemble a Bulgarian banitsa. And you can distribute the filling, as in khachapuri: put in the middle, pinch the edges of the tortillas. There is another way of forming a gata. Roll out the dough to pancake. Put the filling on top. We turn the dough into a roll and again carefully so as not to tear it, roll it out with a rolling pin or crush it with our hands. Such a ghat is baked for about half an hour, first on moderate heat, and then on low.
New Year or Wedding Recipe
The usual filling for ghats is called horis in Armenia. It is made from butter - melted or, conversely, frozen, vanillin, sugar and flour. But on days of big holidays raisins, crushed nuts, candied fruits, orange zest can be added to the choriz . Since such a filling is poorly rubbed into the dough and can cause its breakthrough, in a different way a festive Armenian gata is formed. The recipe advises a good layer of butter layered yeast base, mixed in a steamed manner. Roll out the elastic dough with a thick rolling pin into a large square or rectangle with a thickness of not more than three millimeters. Let's prepare a festive choriz. Pre-place in the freezer 80 grams of butter. Sift in a deep bowl 120 g of premium flour, mix with one and a half glasses of powdered sugar. Add also a spoonful of vanillin. Quickly rub frozen oil into this mixture. With clean hands, we begin to squeeze it all, until something similar to a crumb is formed. You need to act quickly until the butter has melted. Add candied fruit, raisins, annealed crushed nuts, zest. Knead the choriz.
If it is not crumbly, add flour. Distribute the filling on the surface of the "pancake" in an even layer. We turn the gata into a tight roll. We cut this sausage the same width into pieces diagonally. Grease them with a mixture of yolk and milk. Spread the rolls on a baking sheet, leaving between them 3-4 centimeters of free space. Bake in a preheated oven to 200 ° C for about half an hour.
"Lazy" gata
This is a great recipe for those who don’t know how or don’t like to cook. Such an Armenian gata is made from puff pastry. It must first be thawed at room temperature, remove the cellophane shell. Carefully unfold the package, cut off a piece from it. Powder the working surface with flour, put puff pastry on it. Roll out into a rectangle. We place and evenly distribute the filling over the entire surface. We roll it up, cut into pieces. Place on a baking sheet, grease the top of the products with yolk. We bake such a gatu at 180 ° C.