There’s nothing quite like fresh bread, the way it hits all five senses. First, the smell — warm and earthy, straight from the oven. Then the feel — a dusting of flour on the crust, a little crunch between your fingertips, maybe a soft and springy interior. The sound — a satisfying crack as your knife bites into the loaf or your hands break a crisp flatbread. The sight — so many types! Small rolls, large boules, long loaves, flatbreads, circles and rectangles in light and dark shades, some flecked with seeds, or pocked with broken bubbles and singed edges. And finally the taste, oh the taste — so delicious.
I grew up loving fresh bread, digging my fingers into dinner rolls and sourdough loaves. Or carving off a thick slice, then covering it with a generous portion of butter. I inhaled bagels with cream cheese, made sandwiches with seeded bread, and dunked crispy baguettes into warm soup.
And so, when I first traveled to the Middle East, imagine my joy at discovering an entire new world of bread. Styles I’d never tasted. New textures, new flavors, and new ingredients.
Yes, there are a LOT of different kinds of Middle Eastern bread. Obviously. Today, we explore a few of my favorite types and share some recipes for you to try as well.
Pita Bread
This is what people usually picture when they think about Middle Eastern bread. Some loaves of pita are small, perhaps wallet-sized. Other pitas are large and thin, the size of a dinner plate or bigger. Personally, I enjoy heartier pitas, like the one pictured above, although pitas from white flour are equally delicious.
To make your own, start with Maureen Abood’s recipe for small white pita bread or this recipe from Food.com for a basic whole wheat pita.
Msemen
When I lived in Algiers, I loved this multi-layered flatbread, one of the foods featured in my post on Algerian street food. Snack shops and small street-side restaurants across North Africa serve msemen (also known as maarek or rghaif). This bread can be savory or sweet, stuffed with a spicy onion and tomato sauce, or eaten plain with a drizzle of honey.
Better yet, all you need to make msemen is a large frying pan, the basic dough, a little oil, and a few minutes of cooking time. Check out the website Taste of Maroc for a nice msemen recipe.
Sangak
This large Iranian flatbread is made with wheat flour and traditionally cooked on a bed of hot stones, which gives the loaf its signature bumps and holes. In fact, as this MasterClass recipe describes, the bread’s name comes straight from this cooking method. The Farsi word “sang” means little stone or pebble.
I love the texture of sangak — not too thin, not too thick. Just perfect for soaking up sauces, dunking into soups, or eating with fresh cheese and veggies.
Barbari
Another Iranian flatbread, this loaf is oval in shape and thicker than sangak. In addition, a barbari loaf is marked by sharp lines or grooves, and sprinkled with sesame and nigella seeds for added color and texture. Bakers also brush the top with a light glaze, giving a barbari loaf a delicious crunch and a soft interior.
Want to try your hand at this loaf? Check out this recipe from Cooking With Ayeh.
Simit
As you might recall, we included this Middle Eastern bread in our list of iconic Egyptian street food. Shaped like large bagels, simit are covered in sesame seeds and are found across the region, from Turkey to Jordan to Egypt and beyond. I love using them for sandwiches, slipping in some cheese and cucumbers, a boiled egg, or some butter and jam.
And they’re easy to bake too. I like this simit recipe from Nermine Mansour of the website Chez Nermine. Her loaves were delicious when I made them at home.
Lavash
Lavash, a paper-thin flatbread, is very popular in Armenia, but is also eaten in Lebanon, Syria, and across the Levant. It’s light and comes in large sheets, making it easy to use for wrapping barbecued meat and kebabs. All in all, it deliciously soaks up the flavors and juices of whatever it’s paired with.
Making good lavash at home is a challenge, however. Traditionally it’s baked in an enormous tandoori oven. Some supermarkets in the U.S. do offer lavash bread, but your best bet for top-quality lavash is an Armenian or Middle Eastern grocery store, if you have one in your area.
Saj Bread
This Middle Eastern bread is a small disc cooked over a convex pan or griddle. The standard recipe has just three ingredients: flour, water, and salt. Names for this bread vary by country, however, with each region’s loaf differing slightly in shape and thickness. There’s shraak in Palestine and Jordan, markouk in Lebanon and Syria, yufka in Turkey, etc. The word saj is simply the Arabic name for the pan or griddle over which the bread is made.
You can try making saj bread yourself with this Los Angeles Times recipe.
What Next?
Hungry yet? I know I am! Let me know which breads you’ve had before and which are your favorites. Me, I love eating a warm pita with a juicy lamb kebab or a fresh piece of sangak to dunk into a spicy stew.
Check out the recipes linked above to try these loaves for yourself. Or look for bread recipes in your favorite Middle Eastern cookbooks. I’m partial to Anissa Helou’s Feast (incredibly comprehensive!) and Joudie Kalla’s Palestine on a Plate. But you can find more bread recipes in my two-part series The Ultimate List of Middle Eastern Cookbooks.
And take a minute to read older posts from the Other Things archives. Some of my favorites include powerful examples of street art in Amman, a look at four songs by musicians from Morocco, and a trip to the date palm oasis of Al-Ahsa in Saudi Arabia.
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