| To make the filling, grate the cheese 1-3 days in advance, if desired. Put in an uncovered dish and chill. Stir once or twice daily to dry. The cheese mixture may be prepared either the previous night or 4-5 hours in advance. Whisk the eggs well. Combine the cheese with semolina. Make a well in the centre, place the yeast in it and on top add some of the egg. Start pressing and rubbing the yeast, egg and some cheese with your fingertips to dissolve the yeast. Add as many eggs as needed to make a rather firm mixture. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside. To make the dough, mix the flour, baking powder, mastic and the cherry mahaleb pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour in the oil and rub into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead with as much milk as needed to make a rather fluffy dough. Cover with a kitchen towel for 1/2 hour. Before starting rolling out the dough, finish the filling by adding the mint, baking powder, raisins (if using), cherry mahaleb and the mastic pounded with 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir well. Rinse the sesame seeds, drain and place on a kitchen towel. Roll out the dough thinly to give a round or square shape of the size required. Place each piece of dough on the sesame seeds and press on the bottom side only. In the centre of each piece put sufficient filling for the size of the dough and fold the four sides to form a square shape, leaving the filling in the centre uncovered. Using a fork, press the four corners of the square. Place each piece of dough on the sesame seeds and press on the bottom side only.In the center of each piece put sufficient filling for the size of the dough and fold the four sides to form a square shape,living the filling in the center uncovered.Using a fork, press the four corners of the square.Place flaounes on an ungreased, lightly floured baking tray and brush them with some beaten egg. Sprinkle the uncovered part of flaounes with sesame seeds. At the beginning, bake for about 20 minutes in a preheated, moderately hot oven (180 C) until well-risen and then bake in a moderate oven (150øC) until golden brown. Notes: 1. The filling should be rather firm.
2. Do not use lots of mastic and cherry mahaleb because the mixture might become bltter.
3. The central part of each pie should be uncovered.
4. Do not open the oven until the first 25-30 minutes of baking have elapsed.
5. Bake flaounes at first in a hot oven and then in moderate oven.
6. If you do not like sesame, do not press the pies in the sesame. Just sprinkle the flaounes surface with sesame after they have been brushed with egg. As a result, a smaller quantity of sesame will be needed.
7. Instead of flaouna cheese, kefalotyri or halloumi cheese may be used or any combination of the three.
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