Best Lahuhs Or Yemeni Sponge Breads Recipes

KUBANEH (YEMENITE JEWISH BREAD)

Steps:

• Sourdough Prep
• If you're doing the sourdough version, make the sweet stiff starter the night before you plan to bake. After mixing the ingredients, knead the starter dough a bit on your counter to fully incorporate the ingredients, then place the blob in a jar, press it down with your knuckles and cover loosely. The starter should double (or more) in 8-12 hours, and you can proceed with the rest of the instructions.
• Mixing
• Pull 57g/half stick of butter from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a small plate to soften. Fold the wrapper in half and save it to grease your springform pan and countertop. Reminder: The butter doesn't go into the dough during mixing.
• Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, (yeast), and salt.
• Add the water, whole egg, egg white, (and sourdough starter broken into pieces). Mix thoroughly until the dough is smooth.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of oil on top of the dough, cover, and let the dough rise until it has more than doubled. In a warm summer kitchen, this took 1 hour for the yeast version and 4.5 hours for the sourdough version.
• Shaping and Final Proof
• Smudge a bit of the softened butter onto your saved butter wrapper and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Use this wrapper to lightly grease your countertop too.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl and de-gas it by pressing your palms into it.
• Divide the dough in 12-18 pieces. See the photo galleries for different outcomes with fewer large pieces (yeast) versus more smaller pieces (sourdough).
• Working one piece at a time, spread the dough thin with butter-coated fingertips. Don't worry if you tear the dough a bit.
• Layer more butter on the thin dough, then sprinkle it with nigella seeds. (Have a paper towel nearby to occasionally de-seed your buttery fingers as the seeds will shred the next dough ball.)
• Fold the dough in thirds, and then roll it from a short side.
• Place the roll in your pan, working from the center outward. It's okay if the rolls topple over a bit. You can adjust them later, and a little chaos adds to the appeal.
• When all the rolls are done, cover your pan and let the dough rise until it has more than doubled. This was 1 hour for the yeast version and 2.5 hours for the sourdough version. See the photo gallery for expansion.
• Baking
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of the dough. Sprinkle with nigella seeds and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
• Let the dough cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before you remove the outer ring of the pan. Serve on the base.

LAHUHS OR YEMENI SPONGE BREADS

Steps:

• Measure out a generous 2 cups of lukewarm water.
• Dissolve the yeast in about 5 tablespoons of water.
• Leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until foamy.
• Stir the remaining water, flour salt and butter/oil into the yeast mixture until smooth.
• Cover with a clean dishtower, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Stir the thick batter, and if it seems too thick to ladle out, add a little water to thin it.
• Cover and leave to stand in a warm place for 1 hour.
• In a nonstick skillet, cook the bread by ladling 1/4 cup measures into the skillet over med/low heat.
• When surface has changed color and bubbles have risen to the surface, the bread is done. Traditionally, these breads are only cooked on one side, but you may turn them to brown on the other side, if desired.
• Remove from skillet with spatula, and keep warm under a dishtowel until all breads are cooked.