I have a few questions about the following recipe: it says to "stir in one
direction only"...what is the purpose of that? It also says to stir "for a
minute, about 100 strokes"...is there a way to translate that for use in a
mixer? I really liked the bread, but the mixing and kneading by hand is
rough on my poor joints.
Was curious as to the authenticity of this recipe, so gave some to a few
folks I know from that part of the world. They were thrilled to taste
them...it made them all homesick....one man from Egypt started crying at the
memory of eating these breads by the Nile.
Ka'kat
From "Baking With Julia"
Contributing Bakers: Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
MY NOTES: Very good! Very crisp crust when warm from the oven. Found 2
kinds of mahleb (mahlab) at the Mediterranean Grocery....a tan seed and
something that looked like coarse, black coffee grounds. The store owner
said to use the black stuff. Ground it in coffee grinder. Cooled breads on a
rack. Were hard and rubbery the next day and could not taste or smell the
mahlab.
Makes 32 bread rings
2 T sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 c warm water
4-5 c bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground mahleb (optional)
1 lg egg beaten with 1 T cold water, for egg wash
3-4 T sesame seeds
Whisk the sugar, yeast, and water together in a medium bowl. Stirring
in one direction with a wooden spoon, add 2-3 cups of flour, a cup at a
time, mixing until incorporated. Stir for a minute, about 100 strokes. Let
this sponge rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and mahleb into the sponge. Continuing to stir with the
wooden spoon, and still stirring in one direction, gradually add as much
additional flour as the dough can incorporate. Then turn it onto a lightly
floured work surface and knead it for 8-10 minutes, adding more flour only
if necessary. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turn to coat the dough with oil,
cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at room temp until doubled in
volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Lightly oil two baking sheets and keep them close to your work space.
Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a work surface, and cut it into 32
pieces. Lightly flour the work surface, then use your palms to roll each
piece of dough into a rope 6-7 inches long. Pinch the ends of each one
together to form a circle and place the circles on the oiled baking sheets,
leaving at least ½ inch between them. Cover and allow to rise for 30
minutes.
Set the oven racks in the upper part of the oven and preheat the oven
to 400F.
Brush the ka'kat with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake
until nicely browned, about 20 minutes. To ensure the breads bake evenly,
rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the
baking time. Transfer the baked breads to racks and cool for about 5 minutes
before wrapping in a cloth to keep warm. These are best served warm.
These can be kept in a plastic bag at room temp for a day or two or
wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temp
and crisp in a hot oven before serving.