Flaounes

1996, Easter, Nicosia. The first flaounes I ever made were with my beloved mother-in-law, Lefki Antoniou, from Gerolakkos. We made them with sourdough, beginning the process a day before Easter. My husband Kypros has six sisters — and during Easter, they were all gathered at their mother’s house. The kitchen filled with laughter, joy, and the smell of baking. We baked the flaounes in the wood oven, and the aroma spread through the whole neighborhood. I “fished out” all of my mother-in-law’s secrets and “married” them with the ones I inherited from my own mother. Over the years, I developed my own version of the recipe — the one I make every Easter for my family and share with you here.