Sunday, September 2, 2018

Aish Baladi/Egyptian Flatbread

Cant believe we are already in September, how fast na! looks like  just now we had a month of blogging marathon in April and here comes an another month of Blogging marathon. If you are a follower of my space, you might have noticed that i will be running two months of Mega marathon with different interesting theme for 26 days. And here comes an another Mega marathon and this time i will be running with A-Z International flatbreads. How exciting na, i have spend enough time to grab some interesting flatbreads around the world and am very much to happy to showcase them in my space. Though Valli gave three themes which includes:
1)A to Z Indian flatbread (excluding dosas,crepes and pancakes)
2) Ato Z International Flatbreads (with 1 Indian bread) and
3) A to Z Indian bread (includes dosas, crepes and pancakes)

But my pick was International flatbreads. Seriously its really interesting to dish out some flatbreads which are quite unknown for my knowledge. Trust me, i enjoyed thoroughly to dish out those 26 flatbreads from various International Cuisine.

Am kick starting this month's Mega marathon with Aish Baladi from Egypt. Baladi means traditional or authentic in English, but the word “Aish” is the key to understanding the special place of bread in Egyptian heritage. Aish means “life”, which is how Egyptians have perceived bread since ancient times. Bread is considered aa a commodity that Egyptians cannot live without in their daily meal. Its a must for them and you can see bread on every table, from breakfast to dinner.“Aish Baladi” has been a dear friend to Egyptians since ancient times. Aish Baladi is not only a food item for Egyptians; it is a reflection of Egyptian culture and a significant meaning of life

Aish Baladi, Egyptian Pita Bread
Poor or rich, everyone eats bread. If a person doesn’t have money and hungry, just get a loaf of “Aish baladi” and a cup of tea. If a farmer or a worker wants to take a break from his work, they eat this bread with some onion, arugula, or cottage cheese. Bread is the sign of friendship, love, loyalty, and long-lasting relations in Egyptian culture. Aish is a symbolic expression of prosperity, as it has always been a secure job and income source for Egyptians of all ages.Ancient Egyptians baked bread from emmer wheat or barley, in which they have added wild yeast to help the dough rise. They used to flatten the dough on a round baking board and bake it on high temperature in ovens built from Nile red mud. The baking method and ingredients have remained the same in every farmer’s house in both lower and upper Egypt since the pharos started the tradition.Bread in Arabic is “Khobz”, which is the most common word for bread in Arab countries, except in Egypt. Egyptians call bread as “Aish baladi” as bread is considered as their life.

Egyptian Aish Baladi, Egyptian Pita

Recipe Source: Here
3cup Whole wheat flour
3/4tbsp Instant yeast
1/2 tbsp Salt
Luke warm water (as per need)
Wheat bran for coating 

Take the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water, mix with your hand well and knead until the dough turns soft.

Arrange in a bowl, cover it and let it sit in a warm place for an hour.

Keep a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven, and preheat the oven to as high as possible.

Punch the dough and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Cover with plastic wrap.

Sprinkle  wheat bran on a working place, drop a dough ball and flatten it as much as like pita bread.

Egyptian Flatbread, Aish Baladi

Arrange this flatten dough on a two baking sheets and let them sit for half an hour until they turns puffy.

Place the baking sheet on the baking stone and bake for 6-8minutes until the crust turns brown.

Serve with your favourite filling.

You can freeze these breads for making your sandwiches later.

Just thaw them completely and heat them in a toaster before serving.

Aish Baladi, Egyptian Flatbread Pita

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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 92

12 comments:

Sandhya Ramakrishnan said... Reply To This Comment

Priya, what an amazing looking bread this. Same pinch on the first alphabet. I love the deep golden color of your bread and can't wait to see what else you have in store for the month.

Sowmya :) said... Reply To This Comment

That looks so delicious Priya! I recently saw a documentary on ancient Egypt and was amazed to see how the breads have evolved since then...yours looks fabulous!! And wheat bran for coating would have given it a lovely texture!!

Gayathri Kumar said... Reply To This Comment

Same pinch Priya. Even I am doing international breads. Can't wait to see the list of breads you have come up with. These aish baladi looks amazing. The coating with wheat bran adds a nice texture to the crust..

vaishali sabnani said... Reply To This Comment

Egyptians have a treasure of breads and I am loving this rustic and earthy bread from their cuisine . It sounds simple yet has something that kind of attracts you , guess the earthy look of the bread .
What a wonderful beginning for the Mega Marathon.

Srivalli said... Reply To This Comment

What a fantastic start to the marathon Priya, even though I have done this series before, I am eagerly waiting to see what new dishes you guys come up with. This one is yet to be done as I had something else. Bookmarking it for later, the bread looks so inviting. Loved reading the intro, so much there to the different culture in different cuisines right. Wonderful start!

Harini R said... Reply To This Comment

Wow! Priya. This bread looks like a distant cousin to Bhatura but baked in oven. They look so appetizing. A fantastic start to the mega bm.

Ritu Tangri said... Reply To This Comment

An elaborate and nice description of the bread making us well verse with Egyptian culture. It is just like we make kulcha, but wheat bran on the top has given it a nice look.

Padmajha said... Reply To This Comment

What an delicious way to start the mega BM Priya! The bread looks superb and I am waiting to see the other recipes that you have planned for this series.

CookwithRenu said... Reply To This Comment

This looks so much like Puri...they are perfectly baked...all the best, even I am doing International flatbreads.

Mayuri Patel said... Reply To This Comment

A new kind of flatbread for me and loved to read all about aish baladi. The bread looks perfect and is so tempting.

code2cook said... Reply To This Comment

wow this is so wonderful to see other cuisine's flatbreads. This aish Baladi came out puffed beautifully. Loved reading about its origin. You only can dare to choose such a theme. A great kick start for the BM dear. Looking so tempting and mouthwatering flatbread must say.

preeti garg said... Reply To This Comment

This bread looks so rustic, and interesting outlook. love the way you start this series.