Ka'ak Al-Quds
Fluffy ring shaped bread with a sesame seed crust found all over the streets of Jerusalem!
Ingredients
Yeast mixture:
- 2 cups Warm water
- 1 tbsp Active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Rest of dough ingredients:
- 5 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 3 tbsp Powdered milk
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup Water if you feel like your dough is a bit dry, start with adding an extra 1/4 cup of water and go from there. The factors of where you live (the climate/altitude plays a big part in most bread recipes)
Topping:
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 8 oz Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together warm water, active dry yeast, and sugar. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Add all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, olive oil, and powdered milk to the bowl.
- Mix the ingredients together using your hands or a stand mixer.
- If the dough feels dry, gradually add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of warm water. (i personally only needed an extra 1/4 cup of water).
- Knead the dough on a clean surface with a little olive oil for 10-15 minutes until smooth. oil your hands as well.
- Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for about 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
- After the dough has risen, gently release the air and divide it into 12 medium-sized balls.
- Let the dough balls rest for another 10 minutes on a floured surface.
- Shape the dough by gradually stretching it into a ring shape, similar to the process I've shown of shaping a bagel in the past.
- Place the shaped dough on a prepared sheet pan.
- Brush the dough with a mixture of honey, pomegranate molasses and water, then dip it into sesame seeds.
- Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes in your prepared sheet pan.
- Bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly browned.
- Keep an eye on them as every oven performs differently.
- And you’re done!
How to store them:
- Cover any left-overs, or store them in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for a couple days, or in the refrigerator for about a week. You can of-course also freeze them.