Today we are going to taste of Arabic sweet bread as we visit Oman today. It is a country that is closer to where i reside. I live in Sharjah/UAE and it is a favorite holiday spot for many here and it just 6 hrs drive from here. Most of the Gulf countries share sort same cuisine with little difference here and there.
In their culture,Bread is a gift from God. Traditionally it is broken by hand. T ocut it with a knife would be lift up a sword against god's blessing. If a bit of bread falls on the ground, it is picked up and held to the lips and forehead as a gesture of atonement and respect before it is put aside. And it is never thrown away. Instad, stale bread is used in a variety of traditional ways, such as Fattoush.
Today we are tasting yet another delicious bread from this cuisine, Khubz Mohala/Sweet Arabic bread.
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups Whole Wheat flour
½ tablespoon instant yeast
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon date molasses or normal molasses
A pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon of rose water.
½ Cup of warm water or milk (as required)
For brushing the buns
1 tablespoons boiling water.
1 teaspoons sugar.
¼ teaspoon baking soda.
Toasted sesame seeds.
Method
- Take together both the flour, yeast, sugar, baking soda in a food processor bowl. Pulse it twice to mix well.
- Mix together molasses, saffron soaked rosewater together. Add this to the flour mix and start kneading a dough. Add water or milk as needed and make a smooth and soft dough.
- Transfer the dough on to a well floured kneading surface, knead for 5 minutes to make a soft dough.
- Let the dough rest in a well oiled bowl for about 90 minutes or until doubled. Once doubled, transfer the dough to kneading surface, punch it down and divide the dough into 6 pieces.
- Make flat roundels of each piece, make indents with your finger and spread the solution of sugar-baking soda. Sprinkle sesame seeds.
- Let this rest again for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180C. Bake the bread for about 20 minutes or until the top is well browned.
- Take it out of the oven, let it cool well on a wire rack. Enjoy with your cup of tea.
MySpicyKitchen
The bread looks very soft in the inside. Nicely baked
Varada's Kitchen
You have found great bread recipes for all the countries. Really like this one.
Priya Suresh
Looks fabulous, especially dates molasses is something i always want to use in my bakes, this bread sounds prefect for me.
Harini R
Awesome bread Priya.
Srivalli
Amazing looking bread Priya..very nicely made..
Suma Gandlur
That tidbit about not using a knife to cut the bread was really interesting. I had never heard that before though I knew that they respect their breads. 🙂
That's one interesting bread and am expecting to see other Arabian delights from you for the other alphabet choices.
The Pumpkin Farm
delicious bread, makes the atmosphere feel like eid days..loved the pictures that show the raw bread
Unknown
wow super soft and tempting bread with dates and molasses it would have taste so yummy isn't it 🙂 lovely choice for oman priya , you are rocking with you varieties of bread 🙂 very well done bread !!
Pavani
What a yummy looking bread. Loved reading about the Middle eastern food culture. They seem to respect food just as we Indians do.
vaishali sabnani
the bread looks very rustic and i like those indents..they give it a very nice look..super one priya!!
Chef Mireille
how interesting to read about the reverence of bread in the culture. I bought some date molasses from Middle Eastern market few weeks back and have been looking for recipes to try it. This sounds perfect
Archana
Looks so delicious. I love the ingredients and the end product.