Liron,C.

in israel, the bird's nest is usually not made of phillo dough, but from kadaif noodles. these are made of only flour and water, going thrue a sift into a hot circled pan going in rounds and frying these noodles. these are not made at home at all. for making the nest, the noodles are mixed with melted butter, and then baked for a short time in some bowl or rolled up like a stuffed roulade . if u use the bowl method you can fill it with walnuts and pistachios, and then pour on top of it the syrup made of water, sugar, lemon juice, and rose water.

thank you ! for the third try, i'll use italian meringue. i got confused about the meringue, because i read alot of recipes. some say whisk to soft peaks, some say the opposite. some say incorporate the almons and sugar very slow and without knocking out the air out of the batter. some say the opposite. but i noticed that as the batter less stiff, the tops get more smooth and less airy without the little holes on them. so next week i'll try to follow your helpfull tips . thanks, Liron

my second try at macaroons. i'd really like your help at finding out what went wrong. the taste is great, and also the texture is quite good (crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle). but they look like little hamburgers. they don't have the frilly feet, and the surface is not smooth and shiny. i used 200 gr of conf. sugar, 150 gr almonds, 4 egg whites that i left outside the fridge for a day.i used french meringue. pics attached. really would like your help, so next time they will be perfect.

hi all ! i'd like to know your opinion about the type of meringue you use for making macaroons. i want to use martha stuart, or pascal rigo recipe, and i would like to know : which type of meringue is better for macaroons, the italian, or the french one. i think the italian would get me a sweeter and firmer macaroon, and the french one will be softer and milder in taste. i think pierre herme uses the italian meringue, but i want to know if it's better. thanks, Liron

thanks Swisskaese, pam, matt for the warm welcome. Berlinsbreads, the bread you're describing doesn't sounds like a pita. it sounds rather like a Yemenite "Lahooch". just look at the picture in this page and tell me if this is the one. if you're talking about this, i'll translate the recipe for you : http://www.temani.net/http/mahli-timan/macalim/8.htm

p.s. the secret of getting the pita "pocket" is using wet dough so it's not so firm, and rather elastic, and baking at highest temperature for a short time. that allows the pitas to puff up.

if you are using dry yeast instead of the fresh ones, you should try making lebanese pitas. the same proccess as mentioned before, but the ingredient are different : 1 teaspoon dry yeast+1 tablespoon sugar + quarter cup of water. let it sit for a few minutes. then add 3 cups of bread flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and gradually add 3\4 cup of water. knead for 10 minutes. make 8 balls and let rise for an hour. pound the ball and then flatten to 1cm pitas.let rise again for half an hour. bake for 7 minutes at the highest temperture your oven gets (about 250 celsius). make sure the dough never stays exposed to air, so allways cover with a towel.

as an israeli, most of the bread i eat is pitas. the "flufier" pitas are usually the Yemenite kind. they are more soft and thick. for this kind you should try this recipe : 1 kg bread flour 1 tbs fresh yeast 1 tbs kosher salt 1.5 cups water. mix all dry ingerdients. gradually ad the wet ingredients and knead the dough. proof the dough until the dough double in size (at least one hour) and then divide it to 5 portions. flatten each part to 1cm thick. let it rise again for half an hour, using a towel to cover the pita dough. bake at 200 celsius, for about 10 minutes, or until it gets golden color, carefull, do not make them too baked. if you want the outer crust more soft, get the pitas into a plastic bag, or a box as soon as they are out of the oven. Liron.