Maneesh - Middle Eastern Flatbread with Seeds and Herbs

Over the years, I have written a lot about breads from different parts of the world. And in different areas there  are 'styles' which are typical for that place. Many times the kind of bread is pretty much determined by geography and climate. So, for instance, in Eastern Europe, with its long. cold winters and short, hot summers, the breads include lots of rye flour, since it grows in that relatively harsh climate. The breads tend to be heavier, denser affairs, sometimes with dried fruit or imported spiced to 'liven' them up a bit.

Another example might be the breads of Asia. I know, Asia is huge. In fact it is the hugest. But in terms of bread, almost all breads from this massive continent are flat breads. Even breads using yeast tend to be fairly flat. In fact, the first breads are likely Asian, baked on a hot stone or in a stone oven. Maneesh is no exception. Originating in the Middle East, and super popular in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, this bread is typically baked in a stone oven slathered with olive oil and covered with sesame seeds and za'atar (hyssop). You can find it in any open market and it is definitely street food. For very little money, you can buy one and gobble it up while doing your weekly market shopping! The za'atar, btw, is a native herb closely related to the oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, marjoram family of herbs in terms of flavor. If you can't find it, at a Middle Eastern or Greek grocery, any or all of the these can easily substitute.

Here's What You'll Need:

• 500g/1lb 2oz AP flour or bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 10g/¼oz salt
• 25g/1oz powdered sugar
• 10g/¼oz instant yeast
• 20ml/4 tsp olive oil, plus extra for kneading
• 360ml/12fl oz tepid water
  
  
  Also for the topping:
  about 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
  about 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs or 3-4 Tbs. dry herbs (za'atar or other Mediterranean herbs)
  olive oil
  
  
  Here's What You'll Need To Do:
  1. Mix together the flour, yeast salt and sugar. Then add in the olive oil. Gradually add the water (you may not need all of it) mixing by hand to form a soft, not sticky, dough.
  
  
  
  2. Spread a little olive oil on the tabletop, then remove the dough and knead it on the oiled surface. It will be shaggy at first, but after 5 to 10 minutes will become very smooth and supple. Place the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl, covered, to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
  
  
  3. Remove the dough from the bowl, punch down to remove the air, then divide into 3 fairly equal pieces. Stretch the dough, using your fingers, into a rough circle, then cover with plastic to rest about 25 minutes. The dough will puff up but not double.
  
  
  
  4. Preheat the oven to 450 F (220 C). 'Dimple' the dough with your fingers carefully so as not to deflate too much, then brush the top with a paste made from the remaining oil and herbs. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow. The bottom should be deep brown and crispy as well. B'tayavon - Bon Appetit (in Hebrew)!
  
  
  
  
  

Daktyla - Greek Village Bread

You have probably noticed that lately I have been baking a lot of bread from Greece. This is partly because I have a really strong connection with all things Mediterranean. And especially from the Eastern end of the Mediterranean, like Israel and the Levant, Turkey and yes, Greece. Another reason is the developing plans I am making for a culinary tour of Crete this summer. Mornings with yoga on the beach. Afternoons visiting local farmer's markets, oil presses, dairies, vineyards, you name it. Hearing stories, talking with locals and picking up supplies along the way. Back to the hotel for some cooking/baking workshops in Mediterranean-style vegetarian food. Evenings around a big table with great food we prepared ourselves, good wine great company. Personally, I can't wait. Just thinking about it, in cold February makes me a little antsy.

So... this is one of my test recipes for the summer workshops. This sesame-coated bread is traditionally made with 'yellow' or country flour, which is a blend of AP flour mixed with whole wheat and finely ground cornmeal. You could make it with just bread flour, but then you won't have the wonderful texture from the cornmeal. In Greece this bread is called 'Daktyla', or fingers. It is a tear apart bread, broken into fingers when eaten. It is particularly good spread with a soft yogurt cheese.

Here's What You'll Need:

2 tsp. dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2  cups bread flour
2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. milk (or soy milk) , plus extra to glaze
sesame seeds to decorate

Here's What You'll Need to Do:

1. Sprinkle the yeast into 1/2 cup of the water in a bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Mix the flours, cornmeal and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast.

2. Use a wooden spoon to draw enough of the flour into the dissolved yeat to form a paste. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let the sponge sit to become frothy and slightly risen, about 20 minutes. Add the oil, honey and milk to the sponge.

3. Pour about half of the water into the well. Mix in the flour. Stir in the reserved water, as needed, to form a firm, moist dough.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Knead until smooth, shiny and elastic, about 10 minutes.

5. Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a dish towel. Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, then let rest for about 10 minutes.

6. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each piece into an oblong (like a finger); arrange them in a row, just touching, on a floured baking sheet. Cover with a dish towel and proof until doubled in size, about an hour.

7. Brush the top of the loaf with milk (or soy milk) and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

 

8. Bake in a preheated oven (350F/180C), for 45 minutes, until hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack.

Psomi - My Big Fat Greek Bread

Lately I have been reading a lot about the latest diet craze - Mediterranean food. I have to tell you, it seems like a no-brainer to me. I love olive oil, and red wine. I eat little meat, and almost no red meat at all. I eat fish a couple times a week. Lots of fresh veggies, and fruit all the time. So when I found this bread, Psomi bread (pronounced 'sew me') from Greece I was thrilled. After looking over the recipe, I realized, it is actually quite similar to the American Anadama bread, but with some important differences. For instance, this bread does not use molasses, and so stays whitish rather than brown. Actually, light brown, like a 'harvest wheat', as Frasier used to say. And it uses toasted sesame seeds instead of the cornmeal found in Anadama. What it is, is delicious, with a soft but chewy crust and a close, tight crumb. It makes great sandwiches, and also, just in case you were curious, the toast is superb.

Here's What You'll Need: (for 2 loaves)
(for the sponge)
1/2 cup warm water
1Tbs instant yeast
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or sour milk), at room temperature
3 cups whole wheat flour

(for the dough)
4 Tbs honey
2 Tbs butter (or margarine)
2 to 3 cups AP flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

flour for dusting
oil for greasing the bowl

Here's What You'll Need to Do:

1. To make the sponge: Mix the warm water and the yeast to dissolve. Then mix in the buttermilk and the whole wheat flour to form a shaggy dough. Cover and set aside until double in volume (about 45 minutes).

add to the sponge, then mix...

2. Add the honey, salt, butter, sesame seeds and 2 cups of the flour and mix to form a dough that cleans the bowl. Remove the dough to a floured surface and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) adding small amounts of dough as needed.

3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover to rise until doubled in volume (about 2 hours).

4. Remove the dough, cut in two, and shape either into a boule, or as pan loaves. If using loaf pans, oil them generously. Cover and let rise until doubled.

5. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Just before baking. slash the loaves with 3 horizontal slashes. Bake with steam for about 35-40 minutes or until they sound hollow when 'thumped' on the bottom.

6. Cool on a rack.

A Bit of This and That - Sesame Molasses Bread

Lately I've been reading quite a bit about the health aspects of bread, especially the flour. Of course, flour is the most important ingredient, and that which determines the character and the structure of the entire loaf. But there are other considerations as well and they do influence the 'health' index of a good loaf of bread. These include eggs. Also, sweeteners, if any and the fat content. When I say fat I mean any type of fat which for most breads  means butter or margarine. Sometimes it means some kind of vegetable oil (and that is usually a kind of oil that has no taste like canola or soy oil although for Mediterranean bread it almost always means olive oil). So the 'health index' of bread means whether you bake with whole wheat flour (and what percentage), liquid oil (and how much) and to a lesser degree fiber content (by adding bran). This bread that I made for the first time scores quite high on the 'health index'. It uses whole wheat flour (but mixed with white flour to develop gluten) and molasses (rich in B vitamins and iron). It is very versatile and very tasty. It has a slightly sweet taste and therefore is probably more suited to butter, jam and soft cheese type sandwiched rather than smoked meats and cold cuts. It is a great breakfast bread. I know you'll love it. It is based on a recipe found in that wonderful bread cookbook The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes, a book worth adding to your cookbook collection in any event.

Here's What You'll Need for 3 small loaves:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
Pinch of light brown sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 light molasses
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
5 to 5 1/2 cups AP flour

Here's What You'll Need to Do:
1. Dissolve the pinch of sugar and the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand for about 10 minutes until it becomes frothy.
2. Mix in the light brown sugar, molasses and the whole wheat flour. Stir until mixed and hydrated, then cover and let it stand to ferment until bubbly, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Add the AP flour, 1 cup at a time along with the oil, sesame seeds, cornmeal, salt and eggs. Keep adding flour, one cup at a time making sure to incorporate it fully. Do not let the dough get stiff. This dough should remain a little sticky so avoid the temptation to make it more pliable by adding more flour. In the end this will make the bread heavy and dense.
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled, about an hour.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl, and divide into 3 portions without kneading the dough further. Place each portion, now oval loaf-shaped, onto a prepared baking sheet. Cover and let the portions rest for an additional 45 minutes or so.

6. Meanwhile, about 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 F (170 C). Lightly brush egg white over the loaves, and sprinkle more sesame seeds if you like.
7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until very deep brown in color and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

8. Cool completely on a rack before slicing and serving.