Sabayad

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 300 mlwarm water
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tbspsugar
• 1egg, optional
• 3 tbspoil

For layering

• 150 mloil, or melted ghee
• a little extra flour

To serve, sweet

• sugar
• honey
• sesame oil

To serve, savoury

• suqaar, spiced diced meat
• beans
• tea with cardamom

Equipment

• a large oiled surface
• a flat heavy pan

Directions

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar, warm water, egg and oil into a soft dough. Knead it hard for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Knead it properly. The dough has to be stretched or rolled very thin, and an under-worked one tears.
2. Divide it into 8 balls, coat them in oil, cover, and rest at least an hour. Now oil a large smooth surface rather than flouring it.
3. Oil rather than flour. Flour makes the dough grip and tear, while oil lets it slide out thin. Flatten a ball and roll or stretch it into a large thin round, as thin as you can manage.
4. Brush the whole surface generously with oil. Be generous with the oil, because it is what separates the layers. Rest the folded pieces 15 minutes. Rest them before flattening, or the layers merge back into one another. Now flatten each piece gently with your palm and then a rolling pin, to about 4 mm.
5. Press gently and stop as soon as it is the right size. Heat a heavy flat pan over a medium heat. Cook the sabayad 3 to 4 minutes a side with a little oil, until golden with dark blistered spots.
6. Press it down with a spatula as it cooks so it makes full contact. It should puff in places, which is the steam separating the layers. Keep the heat moderate. Too hot and the outside colours before the inner layers have cooked through. Stack them under a cloth as they come off, which keeps them soft.
7. Serve them sweet with sugar and a drizzle of sesame oil, which is the Somali breakfast habit and surprises people. They freeze well cooked and are reheated in a dry pan.

Technique

• Sesame oil poured over a sweet flatbread is standard across Somali cooking and is worth trying.
• The dough can be made the night before and rested in the fridge.
• They go leathery as they cool and are best straight from the pan.

Substitutions

• Ghee in place of oil for layering, which is richer.
• Frozen roti canai or paratha, which is the same idea.

Variations

• Made as a coil, which gives more layers.
• With egg cooked into the folds.
• Malawah, the Yemeni relative.

History

Flaky layered flatbread built by oiling and folding dough, a technique carried from Indian paratha along Indian Ocean trade routes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sabayad?

Sabayad is a bread & pastry from Djibouti: flaky layered griddle flatbread served sweet or savory. Flaky layered flatbread built by oiling and folding dough, a technique carried from Indian paratha along Indian Ocean trade routes.

How long does Sabayad take to make?

Sabayad takes 40 min plus 1 hr resting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 breads. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sabayad?

Yes, within limits. Ghee in place of oil for layering, which is richer. Frozen roti canai or paratha, which is the same idea.

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

Divide it into 8 balls, coat them in oil, cover, and rest at least an hour. Now oil a large smooth surface rather than flouring it.