Transylvanian Tea Biscuits

This melt in your mouth, tea biscuits  will satisfy most savory cravings.

I was craving something savory, and this cool and rainy weather that we've been having lately, really put me in a mood for baking.

I haven't made this tea biscuits in quite some time, but I remember enjoying them very much... so I decided to make them again. Well, I have to say, they turned out wonderful!  Now if I could just stop eating them all at once...

I topped some with grated cheese and some with Caraway Seeds (not to be confused with cumin-totally different taste-). I love the unique taste of the caraway seeds. They are used frequently in the Transylvanian cuisine so it's a staple in our cooking and baking but some may find the taste quite strong.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

1/4 cup milk, warm

1/4 tsp sugar

2 1/2  cups flour

2/3 cup margarine

1 1/2 cup finely shredded Emmental cheese, divided

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, separated

2/3 cups sour cream
caraway seeds, optional

DIRECTIONS

First, stir together yeast, milk and sugar and let it rise in a warm place for a few minutes or until it becomes foamy. This will ensure the yeast is active.

In a medium size bowl, cut margarine into the flour using a pastry cutter until resembles course bread crumbs. 

Add salt and one cup of the fine shredded cheese. Mix them together with your hands.  

Make a well in the center, add yeast, the egg yolks and enough sour cream to form a light, soft and smooth dough.

                               Finely grated cheese

Roll dough out on a well floured surface to a 9x13 rectangular. Sprinkle with flour and fold into thirds. First bottom up 2/3 , then top down, to cover the first fold. Repeat from the left to right, and from right to left. It maybe sounds complicated, but really, it's not. See pictures bellow.

Roll out dough, then start folding, from bottom, one third up...

...from top, over the first fold, then left to right, one third, and right to left.

 
Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for  2 hours. 

Roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/2-inch thickness. 

Using a sharp knife, score straight lines on top of the dough, then in bias. 

Using a round 1 3/4-inch  or 2-inc cutter, cut out round circles. Roll your hands, back and forth on the bottom of each biscuit to heighten them,( as shown in the picture). The edges tend to flatten from the cutter, and this will make them taller. 

Place them on a cookie sheet, about 1/2-inch apart. 

 
Gather together the remaining dough into a ball and roll it out then cut out more circles, as much as you can. 
  

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Beat one egg white with a fork; brush tops and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and caraway seeds if you're using.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese has melted and top its golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and let to cool slightly before eating them.

Makes: 2 dozens

Happy Baking!!

TIP: Once cool, you can freeze them in a tightly sealed container. Defrost and warm them up to serve. They will taste just like freshly baked.