43 replies to this topic

[reuvens]

i recently bought one of those semi round pita pans. what i need now is a authentic pita recipe to start the feast!

[Smithy]

FoodMan did a great class called Introduction to Lebanese Cuisine and he included instructions on how to make pita bread. Much applause ensued, and many posters have written to say things like "but this is easy! and delicious!" I recommend you try that link first.

[FoodMan]

Thanks for posting the link Smithy.

However, my question is : what the heck is a pita pan?

Elie

[reuvens]

Thanks for posting the link Smithy.

However, my question is : what the heck is a pita pan?

Elie

take a wok and turn it around!
same thing

;-) vue

[Swisskaese]

Those pans are used to make Pita Druzit, not the pita like Foodman makes which is baked in an regular oven (like is recipe) or in a taboon.

From: Daniel Rogov - "Dining with the Druze"

"Made by spreading batter on a specially designed round cooking surface, even the pita bread prepared in the Druze villages are special. Unlike most of the small, plump pita breads served throughout the Middle-East, Druze pitas are paper thin and can be as much as fifty centimeters in diameter and whether eaten plain, spread with clarified butter and dried herbs, or used in making a sandwich, these are special indeed."

I will try and find a recipe for you.

Edited by Swisskaese, 30 September 2004 - 02:40 PM.

[FoodMan]

Ahhh...you guys are talking about a "Saj". Swisskaese is correct, this is used to make a pocketless large, thin bread known as mountian bread or Saj bread. Typically it has a good percentage of wheat flour in it, not just white flour.

I do have a couple of recipes in books but I personally never tried it yet. I will post it when I get a chance.

Elie

[FoodMan]

Speaking of upside down woks, I think Sonia Uvezian in her book mentions that you can use it as a Saj replacement on the stove top and provides a recipe for "mountain bread"...I do have an extra wok. Maybe I'll give it a try soon.

Elie

[Swisskaese]

Thanks Foodman. I am going to go the the food fair down the street from my house and eat some saj with labane and zatar tomorrow!!!! Come for my wedding in November or any time and I will be happy to take you both to Dalayit al Karmel and we will have some amazing Druze specialties.

Edited by Swisskaese, 30 September 2004 - 02:55 PM.

[FoodMan]

Thanks Foodman. I am going to go the the food fair down the street from my house and eat some saj with labane and zatar tomorrow!!!! Come for my wedding in November or any time and I will be happy to take you both to Dalayit al Karmel and we will have some amazing Druze specialties. 

Oh boy this sounds fantastic...I wish I could be there to have some of that. Last time I had some was this past May in Lebanon. Congrats and best wishes on your wedding.

Maybe I can have the next best thing by making it at home.
So I am determined to try the upside down Wok thing (Since I do have an old wok that I only use to steam or smoke stuff), prompted by this thread. I will give it a try using this recipe, scaled down and adapted from a Lebanese Arabic cookbook:

1 Kg flour (half white, half wheat)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Instant yeast
Enough water to make dough, maybe a cup

I also --Swisskaese also beat me to this-- have some fresh homemade yogurt that is draining to make Labneh and I always have Zaatar at hand. When the breads are done I will hopefully enjoy them with a nice spread of Labneh, Zaatar and olives.

I will report on how it worked out later tonight or this weekend.

Elie

[reuvens]

that was exactly where i wanted this topic to be!
thank you all so much !!!

one ore question. i saw at my sisters "pita pan";-) that it became rusty outside the house. is there any tip to keep it nice and shiny as it is now. oil?

[Smithy]

That sounds terrific. Do you suppose a regular small skillet, or a crepe pan, would work instead of the upside-down wok? Or is the curved bottom critical?

[Swisskaese]

that was exactly where i wanted this topic to be!
thank you all so much !!!

one ore question. i saw at my sisters "pita pan";-) that it became rusty outside the house. is there any tip to keep it nice and shiny as it is now. oil?

Firstly, Smithy: You need a concave pan. It is critical. An ordinary wok, as Foodman suggested, that is 18 inches in diameter or more can be used. I would suggest getting a wok with two metal handles.

Secondly, in response to vue_de_cuisine: You need to season the Saj as you would a cast iron pan (Gusseisenpfanne). Heat the pan on high until hot, rub ordinary cooking oil on the concave side so that the pan has a very light coating all over. Carry on heating until the oil just begins smoke, remove from the fire and cool. Wipe it clean with a paper towel. I know this may sound disgusting, but you will have to trust me on this one, do not wash it and do not use the underside for cooking. Just wipe it clean with a paper towel after each use. Good luck.

I will try and take some pictures next week of a very sweet Druze woman making Pitot Druzit.

Take care,

Michelle

Edited by Swisskaese, 01 October 2004 - 09:45 AM.

[reuvens]

I will try and take some pictures next week of a very sweet Druze woman making Pitot Druzit.

Take care,

Michelle

toda! and i am looking forward for the "ultimate saj" (sounds like steingarten?!)

[FoodMan]

I edited the title of the thread to be more descriptive of the subject matter

Also do NOT store the Saj (or Wok for that matter) outside, and keep it dry. This discussion is getting really interesting.

Smithy, I am not sure if a pan would work either but it is worth a shot. Just keep in mind that the pan/Saj has to get VERY hot so as to blister and cook the bread very fast. also the bread needs to be really thin, so you would not be able to get the same size "loaves" that you would get when using a Saj or a Wok. Man am I looking forward to trying this tonight, hopefully I will post some pics as well with my crappy camera.

Michelle, please do your best to post pics from the festival that would be awsome.

Elie

[reuvens]

GUESS WHAT ?

I HAD A FRESHLY MADE PITA WITH LABBANEH AND ZAATAR ON MY WAY BACK TO TEL AVIV TODAY. AFTER IT A SWEET MALABI AND A BLACK COFFEE WITH HEL. HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!

I WILL TRY TO RECREATE THIS IN GERMANY FOR MY FRIENDS THATS FOR SURE

VUE

[FoodMan]

Well, I tried the recipe above and made some very good bread on my upside down wok. It really was much better than I expected but still needs some work. I did get the dough very thin but once it cooked it got a little too thick, so first step is to reduce the amount of yeast and prolong the proofing time for the dough, maybe overnight. The dough really has to be paper thin for it to come out right. This is actually more consistent with the recipe I adapted mine from. The other thing is a matter of taste, I think the wheat flour also needs to be reduced. Maybe use only half of it and replace the rest with white flour.

Here are a couple of pictures. That folded half moon bread is actually stuffed with cheese. I also spread some Zaatar on another round but I did not get a chance tot ake a picture of it before it was gone .




Elie

[reuvens]

i am back in germany and tried my saj for the very first time. the dough i made was a little bit to dry so were the pitas. but believe me folks, homemade pita is the best.

does anybody know what the perfect temperature is?

vue

[FoodMan]

does anybody know what the perfect temperature is?

Very Very hot, you want that loaf to be thin and cook very fast on the saj.

Elie

[reuvens]

finally i tried to make pita again.

we are comin´closer as i told my friend tonight.
the pictures are still warm !






enjoy ! i did !

[zeitoun]

This is really cool!!

I have a question, what is the difference between saj bread and marqouq/lavash bread? I am familiar with marqouq but not with saj bread.

[Wolfert]

I always thought markouk, the Syrian brown-speckled bread is made with yeast, while saj bread is made without yeast. Both are cooked on the upside down wok saj pan.

Also, markouk is stretched over a cushion before putting on the saj while the yeastless saj dough is swirled in the air into a wide round sheet and laid on the saj pan.

BTWYou need a special wooden spatula to turn the bread


A good flour for saj bread is the Indian chapati flour. I have recipes for both breads.

Edited by Wolfert, 25 March 2005 - 01:44 PM.

[zeitoun]

I always thought markouk, the Syrian brown-speckled bread is made with yeast, while saj bread is made without yeast. Both are cooked on the upside down wok saj pan.

Is the yeast what gives marqouq its distinguished tangy taste?

Saj, which is apparently referred to as mountain bread, is found in which regions specifically?

[Wolfert]

uIs the yeast what gives marqouq its distinguished tangy taste?

I have seen saj breads prepared in Konya in central Turkey, and in a Druse village in Israel. Both were made without leavening, on the concave saj and over charcoal. Very similar to Indian chapati with a unique nutty and wheaty flavor and a rippled, bubbly surface.

I've only tasted markouk a few times, but the most delicious was not outdoors on a moutain slope, but at the Hotel Sheraton in Damascus. The chef showed me how to make the bread and shared the recipe. He used white flour and not only yeast but baking soda as well.
tthe bread was so light, it blew up like a giant souffle..two feet in diameter and nearly a foot high. The waiter would run with it to the diner's plate hopefully before it collapsed. Didn'taffect the yeasty and nutty flavor.


I just remembered that I had a similar bread in Istanbul last year when I did the story about Musa the Magnificent, a Kurdish chef for food & wine.. He used semolina flour instead of white flour.

Edited by Wolfert, 25 March 2005 - 03:06 PM.

[reuvens]

The chef showed me how to make the bread and shared the recipe. He used white flour and not only yeast but baking soda as well.
tthe bread was so light, it blew up like a giant souffle..two feet in diameter and nearly a foot high. The waiter would run with it to the diner's plate hopefully before it collapsed. Didn'taffect the yeasty and nutty flavor.

Would you share the recipe with us as well?

I made my "pita" with
450 g all purpose flour
20 g fresh yeast
1 cup warm water
pinch of salt and al little bit of olive oil.

As you can see the "pita" didn´t really puff up, but it was done in seconds and had also a quiet nutty flavour. I am wondering where this flavour is coming from? I also tried a "pita" with semolina but it was to dense for my taste. I like it more fluffy.....

[zeitoun]

I've only tasted  markouk a few times, but the most delicious was not outdoors on a moutain slope, but  at the Hotel Sheraton in Damascus. The chef showed me how to make the bread and shared the recipe. He used white flour and not only yeast but baking soda as well.
tthe bread was so light, it blew up like a giant souffle..two feet in diameter and nearly a foot high. The waiter would run with it to the diner's plate hopefully before it collapsed. Didn'taffect the yeasty and nutty flavor.

That's interesting because my experience of markouk was always of a very thin bread (literally paperlike sometimes), wide in diameter but not puffed up. The giant souffle like bread you had in Damascus was also called markouk?

[Wolfert]

This particular one in Damascus collapsed into a gossamer thin paper like bread. It was just better than the usual due to the method of stretching the dough.
The chef flipped a thin sheet of bread dough back and forth between his arms, making it gossamer thin before placing it on a domed cushioned paddle. then He flipped it over a 30 inch saj to cook in an instant. In that instant it bloomed up and was rushed table side.
Others I have had were not as memorable.

[v. gautam]

The sajj bread you write about is known as rumali roti [rumal = handkerchief] in northern India, and is made with chapati flour.

Traditional varieties of chapati flour wheat matured as temperatures were rising in late spring. A small percentage [6-8] of the starch grains in the wheat is damaged by the high temperatures. Such damage is conducive to a type of hydration that makes particularly toothsome rumali rotis, as wll as soft, puffy chapatis.

[chefzadi]

My relatives in Setif have a similar contraption. They make semolina breads Robz ter dal and kessra on it. The first has yeast, the latter does not.

Are there semolina flat breads in the Middle East as well?

[FoodMan]

I can understand the confusion between the two, Saj Vs. Markouk. In Lebanon, both usually mean the same thing. Saj bread is "Khobz Markouk" literally meaning "hand handled bread". So it basically is hand handled bread and made very thin, then cooked on a saj. Hope this clears it up some .

BTW, that setup looks awsome Vue!! I wish I had it. I would just reommend you make them thinner next time around and they should NOT puff up. Maybe some air bubbles here and there, but that's it.

Elie

[Wolfert]

Are there semolina flat breads in the Middle East as well?

In central Turkey, I have tasted bread made from whole ground durum wheat . Semolina, I believe, is part of durum wheat . Am I correct?


In the window of an appliance store in the town of Konya in central Anatolia, I saw gas-fired domes (saj) on sale foruse in apartment living, along with washing machines, refrigerators, and electric stoves. I was told that villagers from the countryside were willing to move into city apartments for better jobs, better schooling for their children, etc, but they didn't want to give up their breads ma]de on the saj.