Israeli Kubaneh Recipes

KUBANEH (YEMENI PULL-APART ROLLS)

Steps:

• Prepare a 9-inch springform cake pan by buttering it and placing it on a sheet tray. In a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, mix water, yeast, flour, sugar, salt and 1 egg (reserve the other egg for egg wash) on low speed. Once they're combined, turn up to medium-high, and knead for 10 minutes. With the machine running, add the 2 tablespoons of butter a bit at a time, waiting until it's fully incorporated before adding more. Continue to knead until the dough balls together and becomes very elastic, or 5 more minutes. Remove the hook, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
• Use lightly floured hands to turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board. Cut in half, and again, and again, until you have 16 even-size pieces. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. Spread 2 tablespoons of soft butter across your work surface, and place a piece of dough in the center. Cover the palms of your hands with another tablespoon of soft butter, and without lifting the dough off the counter, use your fingers and palms to flatten and smear the dough out, until it is smooth and thin and sheer in places, or approximately 12 inches in diameter. The exact shape doesn't matter much, and neither do some small rips here and there in the dough. Sprinkle some nigella seeds over the dough, then roll the dough into a long, skinny log: starting from the end farthest away from you, push the dough toward you with 8 fingertips until it gathers up into a thick enough piece to begin rolling it, then roll it all the way toward you. Wind the log up into a snail shape, and place it in the center of the prepared pan.
• Repeat the process for the remaining 15 pieces, buttering your work surface and hands each time as needed, and continue arranging the finished buns loosely around the first. Cover the pan with a towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until the buns have almost doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk remaining egg with a tablespoon of water, then gently brush the egg on top of the buns. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the buns at the center are as puffed asthe buns on the edges. In the meantime, grate the tomato, then season it with olive oil and salt. Allow the kubaneh to cool for a few minutes, then serve with the tomato on the side.

KUBANEH (YEMENITE JEWISH BREAD)

Steps:

• Sourdough Prep
• If you're doing the sourdough version, make the sweet stiff starter the night before you plan to bake. After mixing the ingredients, knead the starter dough a bit on your counter to fully incorporate the ingredients, then place the blob in a jar, press it down with your knuckles and cover loosely. The starter should double (or more) in 8-12 hours, and you can proceed with the rest of the instructions.
• Mixing
• Pull 57g/half stick of butter from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a small plate to soften. Fold the wrapper in half and save it to grease your springform pan and countertop. Reminder: The butter doesn't go into the dough during mixing.
• Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, (yeast), and salt.
• Add the water, whole egg, egg white, (and sourdough starter broken into pieces). Mix thoroughly until the dough is smooth.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of oil on top of the dough, cover, and let the dough rise until it has more than doubled. In a warm summer kitchen, this took 1 hour for the yeast version and 4.5 hours for the sourdough version.
• Shaping and Final Proof
• Smudge a bit of the softened butter onto your saved butter wrapper and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Use this wrapper to lightly grease your countertop too.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl and de-gas it by pressing your palms into it.
• Divide the dough in 12-18 pieces. See the photo galleries for different outcomes with fewer large pieces (yeast) versus more smaller pieces (sourdough).
• Working one piece at a time, spread the dough thin with butter-coated fingertips. Don't worry if you tear the dough a bit.
• Layer more butter on the thin dough, then sprinkle it with nigella seeds. (Have a paper towel nearby to occasionally de-seed your buttery fingers as the seeds will shred the next dough ball.)
• Fold the dough in thirds, and then roll it from a short side.
• Place the roll in your pan, working from the center outward. It's okay if the rolls topple over a bit. You can adjust them later, and a little chaos adds to the appeal.
• When all the rolls are done, cover your pan and let the dough rise until it has more than doubled. This was 1 hour for the yeast version and 2.5 hours for the sourdough version. See the photo gallery for expansion.
• Baking
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of the dough. Sprinkle with nigella seeds and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
• Let the dough cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before you remove the outer ring of the pan. Serve on the base.