All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: Israeli

I'm still in catch-up mode in cooking through Flatbreads & Flavors, but I'm happy to say that I'm only 2 days late this time...as opposed to 2 weeks. A notable improvement. And actually, I was really looking forward to baking these sesame rings for one major reason (aside from the freshly baked bread factor which is always tops). That reason? Oddly enough, it was the recommended accompaniment to these tempting, oval rings. Za'atar. Or roasted thyme and sesame blend.

You see, my favorite local market has a pretty impressive aisle housing "international" items. I find many of the imported items that I can't find anywhere else locally. From treacle and English biscuits to golden syrup and "exotic" spices. For months now, I've been eyeing a 16 ounce bag of Green Za'atar. It wasn't expensive or anything...I just wasn't sure how I would use it. I was intrigued by the look and the ingredients of roasted wheat, roasted thyme, and ground sumac (along with sesame seeds and salt). Ground sumac. What in the world is it? Sure, I'd heard of sumac. I knew the word. But what in the heck was it. Really? In the back of Flatbreads & Flavors I found my answer. Sumac is a reddish spice that looks sort of like chile powder and made from dried, ground sumac berries. It gives a pleasant acid taste to spice blends and dishes. Huh.

Well, when Za'atar was listed as a suggested accompaniment, I made a beeline to the international aisle and giddily placed that bag of spice in my cart. While I've included the recipe for making Za'atar at home, if you're unable to source sumac (like me...and no I didn't look online...I wanted it NOW), this is a fantastic option.

This sesame ring dough is simple and very easy to work with. My recommendations are to make sure you have a big, clear work surface for rolling the long ropes - it'll make your life so much easier. And to use a parchment or silpat lined sheet tray to lay said ropes on. The original recipe calls for them to be oiled, but I found that the dough kept sliding and shrinking back when I tried this. The lining gives the dough something to hold onto and lets the rings keep their long, brilliant shape. My rolls weren't perfectly even from top to bottom on this first try - why I'm recommending you give yourself a nice, clear, BIG work surface. I'll follow my advice next time. It didn't affect their baking or taste, though. Merely the aesthetics.

I will definitely be making these again - they are wonderful while warm. Good and chewy and perfection when ripped and dipped into olive oil and touched to the Za'atar. My kind of snackin' food. Or a meal (I've mentioned that I can make a meal out of bread once or twice before, no?).

Savory Sesame Bread Rings (Ka'kat)

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 15-17 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegetarian sesame seeds Israeli

Ingredients (4 oval rings - ~12" long)

1 tsp. dry yeast
1½ c. warm water
2 c. bread flour
1-2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbs. water, for egg wash
4-5 tsp. sesame seeds

accompaniments:

extra-virgin olive oil
Za'atar (Roasted Thyme & Sesame Blend)- recipe follows or pre-made (I like Ziyad)

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium to large bowl. Combine bread flour and salt in a small bowl and add to the yeast, one cup at a time, stirring in one direction with a wooden spoon to help activate gluten. In the same manner, stir in one cup of the whole wheat flour. Now, stir in the remaining cup of whole wheat flour a little at a time until the dough will no longer hold any flour (you may have some flour left over).

Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 7-8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. If dough seems sticky when you're trying to knead, add in a bit more of the flour that you haven't used yet.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, ~1 hour.

Punch down the dough and divide into 4 fairly equal pieces. On your work surface, roll each piece under your palms into a long rope, 24"-36" long. Pinch the ends of each rope together to make a loop. Place the rings on two trays that have been lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400° F during last 15 minutes or so of rise time.

Brush each bread liberally with egg wash and sprinkle with about a quarter of the sesame seeds. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. If both sheets don't fit on the same rack, switch them halfway through baking. Cool slightly on a rack before serving.

Serve with olive oil and a little cone of Za'atar for dipping (dip bread in oil, then touch to the herb...or simply let the herb cling to the moist crumb of the bread if you don't want to use the oil).

Za'atar (Roasted Thyme & Sesame Blend) yield: ¼ cup

2 Tbs. sesame seeds

3 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves or 2 Tbs. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

½-1 tsp. ground sumac, to taste

Place a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds and toaste, stirring or shaking constantly until they start to give off an aroma. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

Grind thyme leaves to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Add sesame seeds and salt and grind to a powder. Add the sumac. Store in a tightly sealed spice jar or glass container.

adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors

Check out more posts from the Flatbreads & Flavors group for the month of March:

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Flatbreads & Flavors Group
Yeastspotting

BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine is a fabulous group of international food bloggers who are "determined to make a difference in aid of world famine." Although I believe that there is something each and every one of us can do to help those less fortunate than we are both close to home and abroad, BloggerAid-CFF is on a mission to make a positive change all over the world by raising both money and awareness! One of the really cool aspects of BloggerAid-CFF is called BBFF...or BloggerAid Best Friends Forever. Members are pairing up with another member from a different country and getting to know one another through emails, blogging and dialogue; this is just one step in fostering an understanding in culture and cuisine we're not necessarily familiar with. I am one who yearns to travel...to absorb...to immerse...to learn and to respect and participate in other cultures and inevitably other cuisines, so I jumped on the chance to meet a new BBFF! If you are interested in joining BloggerAid- Changing the Face of Famine, please click on one of the links and get involved. Immediately! Without further ado, let me introduce you to my BBFF, Val. You may know her from her blog more than burnt toast, set in the breathtaking Bellini Valli...British Columbia, Canada.

Val is one of the founders of BloggerAid-CFF and has a passion that flies from her fingers when she writes about the need to do something tangible to raise funds for the world famine & poverty crisis. Val grew up idolizing the Galloping Gourmet, collecting recipes and dreaming of throwing dinner parties (fostering her future foodie). When she moved out on her own, she began to experiment with food and realized that the blah and bland food that she grew up eating was not the food she wanted to continue to eat! This girl discovered flavor...think Middle Eastern and Greek foods, which are her favorites. I wanted to make a dish that reflected one of Val's favorite foods today, so I decided on Falafel.

I only recently tried it myself when a gal from Jerusalem (who I work with) brought some in for a guy who always asks her to bring them. My first try...and let me tell you...I loved them! I was hooked. I'd been wanting to actually make some myself and figured this was definitely the right time...I was waiting for this happy coincidence! I emailed an elementary school friend (Midwestern girl, met a man, converted to Judaism, married that man, moved to Israel, recently re-connected via the wonder-that-is-Facebook after 21 or so years, who has a blog-but doesn't update it very often) and asked if she had a good falafel recipe she could send me. She was more than willing to pass one on to me...along with a recipe for Matbucha (an awesome relish-like dish) that I served up with it...along with an Israeli Salad. So Val, this plate's for you! Falafel Plate by girlichef- slightly altered from an old friends recipe Falafel yield: ~4 dozen falafel 2 cups dried chickpeas (soak them overnight in water first) 5 cloves minced garlic small handful Parsley small handful Cilantro Juice of 1 1/2 Lemons 3 Tbs. tahini 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1 tsp. cumin 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt 2 eggs 4 slices bread (whizzed in food processor into fine crumbs) Drain any excess water from chickpeas. Place in the bowl of a food processor with all ingredients except eggs and bread crumbs. Grind well. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Add eggs and bread crumbs and process again to combine. Mixture should be firm enough to hold together. Transfer to a bowl, cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to make it easier to work with.

Heat ~1 1/2" of vegetable oil in large skillet w/ sides. Using a 1 Tbs. measure, scoop mixture then form into balls using wet hands. You may leave them in balls or flatten them into disks. Fry until golden on each side, turning halfway through in batches. Transfer to paper towel lines plate to drain.

In the meantime, make your: Matbucha (pron.- maht boo kha) 3 medium red bell peppers 1 medium onion 4 Roma tomatoes 1 jalapeno 4 cloves of garlic Olive Oil 2 Tbs. Paprika 1 tsp. Sea Salt Blend first 5 ingredients in food processor until well-chopped.

Heat a skillet over medium-high and add a good coating of olive oil to the bottom. Pour in mixture and add paprika and salt. Let it cook down until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and it becomes relish-like. Set aside.

Next make some Hummus.

Then make a quick: Israeli Salad 1 cucumber, peeled & chopped 2 tomatoes, core, seed & chop 1/2 small onion, slice thin good handful of cilantro, chop juice of 1/2-1 lemon olive oil sea salt Toss together veggies & cilantro. Add a glug of olive oil and squeeze in lemon juice to taste. Season with salt. Toss again.

Okay, toast up some pitas until warm and fragrant. Cut if you wish.

Serve all together...pile your Matbucha onto your hummus. Eat all separately...

Or pile together into the pita. Enjoy!

It has really been a joy getting to know Val. We obviously have that common thread of being foodies and bloggers ...but we also both want to take a culinary tour of the world!!! Since this is tops on my "to do before I die list", I was very excited to learn that it is also one of Val's goals. Maybe one day we can meet up in some other country and take a leg of our culinary education tour together!