International Recipes
Arabic Bread
Ingredients
- 5 to 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups water
- 2 packages active dry yeast
Instructions
- Mix flour, salt, oil and yeast (to be mixed into the flour like baking powder)
together and work in the water. The dough should be firm and come off the sides
of your mixing bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured table and knead thoroughly, about
10 minutes. Knead each half by itself and mix them up again.
- Divide dough into small balls a little larger than a squash ball, which you roll
between your palms, applying pressure. Put these balls under a dry cloth. When all
the dough is divided up, take the first ball and roll it out into a small circle
nor more than 1/4-inch thick. Place these circles onto a floured wooden board (use
wood, as plastic material will make dough stick to it and bread will not bake with
a hollow middle). Cover the circles with a dry cloth and let them rest for about
one hour.
- Heat oven on the highest possible heat. Place circles upside down (the top becomes
the bottom on the baking sheet) onto a lightly greased baking sheet and bake them
only until very lightly colored. The bread will rise in the oven into big blown-up
balls, at which time they are more or less baked. Place them on a wire rack, and
when cooled a little, press them together.
These breads can be frozen for weeks
and when needed, just put them into the oven for a moment to get hot and soft.