By the end of the day Sunday, members of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church had made 1,700 bars of baklava.
Orders are still coming in for the
butter-rich treats, which the church has been selling for more than two
decades as part of its annual Greek Pastry and Craft Fair.
“It’s blessed,” project leader Pete
Drakatos said when asked why anyone would buy their homemade baklava
over what’s available in stores.
Then he started laughing.
“Just kidding,” said Drakatos, 55. “It isn’t blessed.”
Drakatos did the majority of the
preparation and had everything laid out for a big group of volunteers
that assembled after the Sunday morning service. Most of the adults
first had a quick cup of coffee, then 32 or so hands made quick work of
the baking project.
The recipe they used has been in
Drakatos’ family for years, although he actually prefers baklava that is
less sweet than the one the church produces for its pastry fair. The
church does not cut corners to make its treats, using real butter and
generous helpings of filling, he said.
Drakatos started out with 48 pounds of
butter, and clarified it ahead of time. That way his crew simply had to
dip brushes in the clear, yellow liquid and spread it between about 50
layers of dough.
Nine-year-old Alex Hutanu said he very
much enjoyed the buttering portion of the project. He said he and his
mother alternated duties and in the end made two trays, or 216 pieces.
“It felt good,” said Alex, of Eugene, still in his slacks and button-down shirt from church service.
“I like working.”
Drakatos is a stock broker by day, but
at night he often comes to the church to simmer lemon peel and cinnamon
in clover honey and water, to make the syrup that’s poured over the
baked baklava.
After it comes out of the oven, it sets for two days before being ready to package.
Each worker started by placing a sheet
of paper-thin phyllo dough in an empty tray, then painting on the
butter. They repeated that for 11 more sheets of pastry dough before
adding a layer of a mixture of walnuts, sugar and cinnamon that Drakatos
also had made ahead of time.
Then it was five layers of dough and
butter, another layer of nuts that was repeated until near the top of
the tray, and finally 12 more layers of dough and butter.
“It’s a lot of butter,” Drakatos said.
The ingredients alone cost about $75 per
tray, he said, and they make about double that selling them for $17 per
dozen. He said baklava is not really all that difficult to make, but it
does take a lot of preparation and many home cooks skip the hassle and
buy from stores.
The bake sale is the church’s largest fundraiser of the year.
They also sell and accept pre-orders for
traditional powdered-sugar butter cookies called kourambiethes;
koulourakia cookie twists; cheese and phyllo hors d’oeuvres called
tiropita; and stuffed grape leaves, dolmathes.
Maria Markopoulos, who leads the
fundraising committee with Julie Lenkoff, said this year the church has
put more effort into getting the word out about its events in hopes of
introducing more people to the church.
“That’s exactly it,” said Lenkoff, 70.
“Nobody knows we’re here.”
Lenkoff is Russian, representing one of
the many who came from Eastern Europe to practice their faith at the
Greek Orthodox church, off Coburg Road on the outskirts of north Eugene.
The bake sales and spring festivals
attract many who are curious about the church, and tours are available
during those public events.
Markopoulos, 49, whose husband, Jerry,
is the priest, said most of the members of the church are converts. The
Markopoulos family has been at the church for seven years, coming from
Portland.
She said the fundraising dollars go into
the general fund, and their biggest goal is to build a Byzantine-style
church on the property. About 50 families attend the church regularly,
and membership is growing, she said.
The bake sale has gone on for almost all of the 25 years the church has been around, as far as anyone there can remember.
Baklava is not a seasonal treat, and
church members do make it for other events throughout the year, but
Christmas is when they sell the most.
Markopoulos said one great thing about
baklava is that it freezes well, so when company comes they can pull it
out and have homemade offerings with no extra work.
“Nothing is low-calorie, that’s for sure,” she said of their annual bake sale’s offerings.
“Baklava is very rich. Lots of honey.”
Greek pastry and craft fair
Where: St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 202 Hillview No. 1
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 14 and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 15
What: Dessert treats, appetizers, hand-made gifts and crafts
Pre-order: Call 541-683-3519 by Dec. 10
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