Up until 3 years ago, I had never even heard of Patitsa (puh-tee-ts-uh) and now I am obsessed! I distinctly remember my mom cheerfully telling me that my cousin was making patitsa with Yiayia one afternoon. Imagine my confusion, not only did I have no idea what patitsa was, I was wondering why Yiayia never made it with me, the oldest granddaughter. As fate would have it, I got the better end of the deal since I didn’t have to translate the recipe to English with lots of guessing on exact measurements. Plus, I got to spend extra time with my sweet cousin, Cristiann, so she could teach me the tricks on this bread. Win-win!
While I had never heard of this bread, my mom could practically taste it just by hearing it’s name. She recalls Yiayia (her mom) pulling out a savory loaf of patitsa at the docking corral when the work was done for the morning, so everyone could enjoy a slice with their well-deserved cup of coffee.
Patitsa is a sweet, yeast dough that is rolled out and spread with a nut/egg white filling. I know what you’re thinking – “egg whites? No thank you!”. Trust me, it is delicious. I think raisins should always be added to the filling, but it’s optional in this recipe. Since we translated the OG recipe from my mom’s aunt, we are still making some adjustments to get the taste just right. Who gives the final say with their expert taste buds, you might ask? None other, than Yiayia herself!
With the last batch I made, I was closer than ever to getting the ingredients just right. Who would like to try this recipe? Let me know below and I will share!
