Rukhal bread

Ingredients

The batter

• 400 gplain flour
• about 800 ml water
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonoil
• optional

Sometimes added

• 1egg
• for strength
• a little sugar
• for browning

The equipment

• a domed metal plate
• a saj or an upturned wok
• or a large flat griddle
• a cloth, to wipe

To serve

• honey, to drizzle
• or with curry
• torn into pieces

Directions

1. Pour the batter and spread it fast. Use a ladle and a wooden spreader. That keeps hands off the hot metal. Keep your face well clear of it. The bread cooks in about thirty seconds. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the water gradually at first.
2. Whisk it into a smooth thick paste. Lumps never come out of a thin batter. Whisk in the rest of the water. Add it gradually while whisking. It becomes extremely thin and loose.
3. Pour the batter through a sieve. Lumps tear the thin sheet on the plate. Cover the batter and let it rest. Give it at least thirty full minutes.
4. Whisk it again before you start. Whisk it between breads as well. Otherwise the last ones are watery. Heat the dome until genuinely hot. It must be hot enough to set instantly.
5. Wait for longer before starting. The plate is used dry rather than oiled. Oil makes the thin batter slide about. It also stops it spreading thin. Ladle batter onto the hot dome. Pour it in a thin stream as you move. Work outward in a spiral pattern.
6. Start pouring at the top of the dome. Let it run right down the sides. Spread it immediately with a spreader. Work fast before it sets solid. Do not try to patch every gap.
7. Lift the edge up with a spatula. It should release cleanly on its own. Work round the edge to loosen it. Lift it off in one whole sheet. Lay them all out on a wire rack. Stacking them hot traps the steam. Let the air get all round them. Do not overbake looking for crispness.

Technique

• The batter is roughly two parts water to one of flour and looks far too thin — it is genuinely meant to pour like thin cream, and that thinness is what gives the tissue texture. Rest it thirty minutes so the flour hydrates and it spreads evenly, and whisk it again between breads since the flour settles and the last ones come out watery.
• The plate reaches extreme heat and the traditional method smears batter across it with the bare hand — a real and serious burn risk done with long practice. Ladle it and spread it fast with a wooden spreader instead, which keeps hands off the metal, and keep your face clear of the steam that rises the moment batter meets the plate.
• Use the plate dry rather than oiled, since oil makes the thin batter slide about and stops it spreading; wipe it with a dry cloth between breads.

Substitutions

• An upturned wok gives a similar convex surface to a saj; a flat griddle works less well, since the batter pools rather than spreading and gives a thicker bread. It is still good but not the same, and the atlas gives that route plainly rather than pretending they match.
• The dome is what makes the bread tissue-thin: it sheds the batter outward so the excess runs off rather than pooling, spreading it thinner than a flat plate can.

Variations

• It is cooked on one side only and never turned, the top cooking from the plate’s heat — turning it would toughen it entirely. Small holes and gaps are normal and the lacy texture is characteristic, so do not try to patch them.
• Cool them on a rack rather than stacking them hot, which traps steam and softens them within minutes; they crisp further as they cool, so judge by colour rather than overbaking in search of crispness.
• The bread carries little flavour of its own, which is exactly why it works both with honey as a sweet and torn to scoop curry — a flavoured bread would only work one way, and the plainness is deliberate.

History

Paper-thin bread baked on a domed metal plate over a fire, eaten with honey or curry.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rukhal bread?

Rukhal bread is a bread & pastry from Oman: tissue-thin crisp bread eaten with honey or curry. Paper-thin bread baked on a domed metal plate over a fire, eaten with honey or curry.

How long does Rukhal bread take to make?

Rukhal bread takes 20 minutes plus resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 10 breads. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Rukhal bread?

Yes, within limits. An upturned wok gives a similar convex surface to a saj; a flat griddle works less well, since the batter pools rather than spreading and gives a thicker bread. It is still good but not the same, and the atlas gives that route plainly rather than pretending they match. The dome is what makes the bread tissue-thin: it sheds the batter outward so the excess runs off rather than pooling, spreading it thinner than a flat plate can.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rukhal bread?

Whisk it into a smooth thick paste. Lumps never come out of a thin batter. Whisk in the rest of the water. Add it gradually while whisking. It becomes extremely thin and loose.