Lebanese Za’atar Bread

“Ahla w Sahla!” Welcome to our Lebanese breakfast!

Born and raised in Sahyein, Lebanon, a little town just outside Zahlé, 34 miles east of Beirut, my mother-in-law, Mona, at the age of 8, begged her mom to let her help in the kitchen. The oldest daughter of nine children, Mona learned at a very early age what hospitality is all about. She credits her mother, her mother-in-law, and the aunt and uncle who let her work in their restaurant, with being her greatest role models and inspiration when it comes to cooking and entertaining.

Raised on a farm where she shared real estate with the likes of camels, Arabian horses, lambs, goats and chickens ~ Mona not only labored inside to help feed family and friends, she also assisted her dad outside on the farm. She helped tend to their fruits and vegetables as well as the livestock. They grew figs, apples, apricots, cucumbers, olives and grapes, where she learned to make raisins, and she watched her dad suit up in his beekeeper garb to brave the bees and capture the honey which he harvested and bottled. She remembers her dad loading up the camel with various goods, like honey, milk, maple, and wheat to travel into town to barter with.

When Mona was not making dolls out of buttons or building play houses from dirt, she was excited to do what her mom was doing. She recalls them having a helper – a lady from town would come to the house and assist with various household tasks. A vivid memory of Mona’s is her mom and the lady making homemade Lebanese bread using an instrument called a saj. A saj is a kind of domed griddle used to cook various flatbreads. They would use about 25 lbs. worth of flour to make the bread that would last her family for a week. It was customary for them to eat every meal, and snack, with this bread. It wasn’t unusual to scoop up foods like hummus and baba ghanoush with the flatbread, but they’d also use it for foods a little less obvious, like tabouli and watermelon. Lebanese bread was a staple!

Little eight year old Mona loved watching the ladies throw and spin and flip the dough. And she wanted to help! So to keep her out of her hair, her mom (Sito Honey, as we called her) would give her a little piece of dough to “play” with. Well – Mona used that opportunity to mimic and ultimately teach herself how to manipulate the dough until she finally got the entire process down pat…which we are all the luckier for.

For about as long as I’ve been blogging, which is 16 months now, Mona has wanted to do a post using a saj to make homemade Lebanese bread for an authentic Lebanese breakfast. It was not easy tracking down a saj, however, her cousins Segean and Mary, owners of Karam’s Middle East Bakery and Restaurant in Yorkville, NY, were more than happy to lend us theirs so that we could make this bread and share a beautiful morning.

An authentic Lebanese breakfast consists of Lebanese Za’atar Bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, lubbneh (yogurt) and eggs. Of course, fruit is always a welcomed guest at the breakfast table as is cardamom scented Turkish coffee.

 

 

 

Lubbneh is a favorite addition to breakfast when topped with olive oil and za’atar mixture.

 

 

We scrambled eggs and threw in some potatoes and sausage. You can never have too much food at a Lebanese gathering.

 

 

The saj we used is propane operated, however, you can also find them built to be used over a wood fire. Either way – your bread comes out soft on the inside and bubbled and crisp on the outside.

 

 

Mona’s dough includes flour, yeast, salt, sugar, vegetable oil and one secret ingredient that she was happy to share…

Her dough is not complete until she imprints the sign of the cross on top before covering it with a towel and leaving it for a few hours to rise.

 

 

To prepare the Lebanese Za’atar Bread, begin by cutting small sections of dough and forming them into rounds. Let them rest again for about an hour and then top them with the za’atar mixture.

 

 

The kids wanted in!

 

 

Za’atar is a popular herbal blend that consists of thyme, roasted sesame seeds, sumac, salt and sometimes dried oregano. For this recipe, the herbal blend is mixed with olive oil then spread evenly on the bread rounds.

 

 

Once your breads are ready to go, place them on the saj and watch them puff…you’ll notice the release of the most delicious aroma. I can only imagine the bready aromas that waft around the streets of Lebanon. I think it would be difficult to eat anything else…

 

 

While the za’atar breads were cooking, Mona made larger loaves. This is where it really got fun and where all those years of practice would pay off.

 

 

Once the dough is stretched to a round of about 12 – 15 inches wide, it’s then placed on a pillow-like surface and quickly flipped onto the saj.

 

 

Luckily Mona’s sister, Theresa, was available to bless and wish Mona well as she took this short but important voyage to the saj. Technique is everything. Flipping this baby is a skill that is built over time. And it never hurts to have a little moral support!

 

 

 

Here we go…

 

 

Can she do it???

 

 

She did it!!!!

 

 

Let the eating commence!

 

 

A little turkish coffee goes a long way!

 

 

“We didn’t have much but we shared whatever we had.”  This lesson, one of many imprinted on Mona as a child, is one she continues to live today. She lights up when she tells her stories about life in Lebanon almost as much as she lights up when she is cooking for you.

Satayn aka Buon Appetito aka Enjoy!