Different Shapes of Whey Bread Stuffed With Yogurt Cheese Inspired by Manakish

How do you think you can make the best use of one liter of milk; make yogurt, cheese, or some kind of pastries? well, I have a good answer that satisfies all parties. you can make yogurt cheese and use the whey- water strained from yogurt- to make bread and stuff that cheese in it. So let's see how to make the "whey bread stuffed with yogurt cheese".

For making the yogurt cheese:

• 1 liter of milk.
• 1 tsp of plain yogurt.
• ½ tbsp of salt.
• Cheesecloth.
• Strainer.

For making the bread:

• 500 grams of Baker's flour.
• 1 mug of whey (320 ml).
• 1 tsp of active dry yeast.
• 1 tbsp of sugar.
• 1 tbsp of powder milk.
• 2 tbsp of olive oil.
• Pinch of salt.
• Pinch of baking powder.

For Topping and stuffing the bread:

• Yogurt cheese.
• Mozzarella cheese.
• Za'atar.
• Dry mint.
• Sesame.
• Egg wash ( 1 egg and 1 tbsp of milk).

First, we are going to make the yogurt by following these simple steps:

• Boil the milk.
• Let it chill until the cream comes to the top then skim it.
• Mix a teaspoon of yogurt with a teaspoon of cold milk on a plate.
• Heat the milk to 37°C.
• Add the mix to the milk and stir.
• Put it in a warm place such as a turned-off oven overnight.

After the milk has turned into yogurt you can strain it in a cheesecloth for 4-5 hours to separate the whey from the yogurt cheese. You can salt it- with half a tbsp or to taste- before or after the cheese is ready.

Now lets make the dough:

• Warm 200 grams of whey then add the yeast and sugar to it and wait for yeast activation.
• Add a pinch of salt and baking powder and the powder milk to the flour.
• Add the 2 tablespoons of oil.
• Stir with a fork until the dough comes together.
• Add the rest of the whey.
• Knead well with your hand until the dough is slightly sticky.
• Oil the bowl and the dough.
• Cover the dough and wait for around 1 hour until it rises.

In order to prevent the dough from sticking to the tray, oil it then sprinkle some flour over it then shake it. You can use baking sheets instead.

After the dough rises, sprinkle the flour over the kneading surface then transfer the dough to the surface after that cut it into 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls.

Shape the dough ball into a boat as shown then spread the yogurt cheese and sprinkle za'atar and dry mint.

Shape the dough as shown and spread yogurt cheese and mozzarella. Actually, this one was my favorite.

Roll out the dough and stuff the sides with a mix of cheeses and spread the yogurt cheese in the middle.

Roll out the dough and stuff the side with the yogurt cheese, green pepper, and olives-which I didn't have- then cut lines on the other side and roll.

Roll out the dough and cut it as shown and stuff the sides with a mix of cheeses then shape it like the photos.

Brush the top of the doughs with egg wash then sprinkle sesame.

Put the tray on the middle shelf of a preheated oven at 190°C for 20 minutes then turn on the grill and watch until the top surface is golden. Now you can enjoy these fresh home-made loaves of bread and also freeze them for later.