Khameer

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• or half wholemeal and half white
• 80 gsugar
• 7 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 350 mlwarm water
• or 350 ml warm milk
• 4 tablespoonsoil or melted ghee

Flavourings

• 1 teaspoonground cardamom
• a good pinch of saffron
• soaked in warm water
• 1 teaspoonfennel seed, optional
• 1 teaspoonnigella seed, optional

To top

• 4 tablespoonssesame seeds
• 1beaten egg or milk, to brush

To fill

• cream cheese or fresh cheese
• date syrup or honey
• fried eggs
• butter

Directions

1. Crush the saffron threads between your fingers. Put the threads into a small bowl. Pour on two tablespoons of warm water.
2. Let them steep for twenty minutes. Saffron needs liquid to release its colour. Warm water works faster than cold. Warm the water or milk gently. It should be warm rather than hot. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar in. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam.
3. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the cardamom to the dry ingredients. Add the fennel and nigella if using them. Make a well in the middle of it. Pour in the foaming yeast liquid. Add the steeped saffron and its water.
4. Add the oil or the melted ghee. Bringing it together takes a moment. Work the flour into the liquid gradually. Bring it together into a soft dough. It should be soft but not wet. Turn it out onto a floured surface.
5. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Add a little flour if it clings badly. This dough should stay quite soft. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover it well with wrap or a cloth. Leave it somewhere cool to rise slowly. Give it at least four full hours.
6. Bring it back to room temperature before shaping. Shaping them is all done by hand. Divide it into even sized pieces. Roll each one into a smooth ball. Let them rest for ten minutes. Flattening them takes a light touch. Press each ball out with your palm.
7. Work it out into an even round disc. Aim for about a centimetre thick. Keep the thickness even across it. These are thick soft breads, not thin flatbreads.
8. Set the discs on a lined tray. Brush the tops with egg or milk. Scatter sesame seeds generously over them. Press the seeds down lightly to stick. Cover the tray loosely with a cloth. Let them prove for about forty minutes. They should look visibly puffed.
9. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees. Bake them for about fifteen minutes. They should be pale golden on top. Cover them with a clean cloth as they cool. That steam keeps the crust soft. Fill it with cream cheese or fresh cheese. Butter alone is a common filling. It keeps two days in a sealed bag. Warm it briefly to soften it again.

Technique

• The long rest is what defines this bread: yeast produces acids and aromatic compounds alongside carbon dioxide, and those build up slowly over hours while enzymes break down starches, giving a sweeter and more complex flavour than a fast rise can.
• These are thick soft breads rather than thin flatbreads, at about a centimetre or more, because they must be thick enough to split open and hold a filling; a thin bread will not.
• They are not meant to brown deeply, since the sugar browns faster than plain dough and a dark top means it has dried out; cover them with a cloth as they cool so the trapped steam keeps the crust soft.

Substitutions

• Warm milk in place of water gives a richer softer crumb.
• Half wholemeal flour is used in many households for a fuller flavour.

Variations

• Fennel and nigella seed are added in some households and not in others.
• It is filled with cheese, date syrup, honey, eggs or simply butter.
• Qatar, the Emirates, Bahrain and Oman each make their own version.

History

A dough rested long before baking, shared across the lower Gulf coast and eaten with cheese, honey or eggs.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khameer?

Khameer is a bread & pastry from Qatar: soft slightly sweet yeasted bread topped with sesame, split and filled. A dough rested long before baking, shared across the lower Gulf coast and eaten with cheese, honey or eggs.

How long does Khameer take to make?

Khameer takes 30 minutes plus long resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 10 breads. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Khameer?

Yes, within limits. Warm milk in place of water gives a richer softer crumb. Half wholemeal flour is used in many households for a fuller flavour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khameer?

Let them steep for twenty minutes. Saffron needs liquid to release its colour. Warm water works faster than cold. Warm the water or milk gently. It should be warm rather than hot. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar in. Let it stand until it foams up. Give it about ten minutes to foam.