Freshly baked flatbread
Freshly baked flatbread

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Eat Like A Local: Recipe For Ancient Egyptian Flatbread

This earliest version of this recipe was found on the wall of Senet’s tomb in Luxor, Egypt. The original recipe called for bakers to “crush the grain with sticks, using a grindstone crush the grain still finer until you have a heap of white flour”. If you would like your bread to be more authentic - and have plenty of spare time - you are more than welcome to do so, but everyday all-purpose flour will work just as well...

Similar to pita and known as Aish Baladi, this is a delicious ancient bread recipe that can be recreated at home with our easy guide.

Ingredients

  • 6 fl oz warm water
  • 1 tbsp mild honey
  • 7g tsp active dry yeast
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Mix the warm water, honey, and yeast together using an electric mixer (you can beat it by hand, but this will take longer) and let it rest for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy. Add the flour, salt, and oil and mix until it comes together to form a smooth dough. If the dough feels too sticky, add a few more teaspoons of flour.

Grab a clean bowl and lightly oil the inside. Transfer your dough to the bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave the dough to rise in a warm area of your house for around 2 hours – until it has doubled in size.

Place two baking trays into your oven, and preheat it to 220°C (200°C for fan ovens). Knock the air out of your dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half, cover both pieces in clingfilm, and leave for a further 10 minutes. Roll out one piece of dough (keep the remaining piece covered) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a thin rectangle (around 40cm by 25cm).

Transfer the dough to one of your baking trays and then repeat with the second half of your dough. Bake the bread for 20 minutes, until it is golden brown in colour. Turn halfway through cooking to ensure an even bake. Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving. The bread is delicious served warm, with olive oil. You may also like to try it with some dukka. The intensely flavoured Egyptian blend of toasted nuts and seeds makes a delicious accompaniment to the bread.

Why not make some dukka to accompany it?

  • 2 tbsp whole hazelnuts
  • 1 & 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tbsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns

Method

Using a food processor, pulse all the ingredients until they are finely ground. They should still be dry, so don’t grind them to a paste. That’s it! Tear yourself a good chunk of bread, drizzle on some olive oil, then dip the oiled bread into the dukka. Enjoy!

If you're craving an authentic taste of Egypt, why not join us on one of our Egyptian adventures this year? Search "Egypt" on our site today. 

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