GORDON RAMSAY RECIPES | Taboon Bread with Za’atar by Gordon Ramsay

Taboon bread is a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine traditionally baked in a taboon oven. In the old days these ovens were built below the ground, and a key to heating them was hot, smooth stones that were at the bottom of the oven. The bread dough would be placed directly on the stones creating the signature bumps that distinguishes taboon bread from other types. Taboon ovens these days are built above ground, but the hot stones remainded as a way to bake the bread.
While most of us don’t have such a clay oven at home, we can still use the conventional oven with a tray of pebbles (or a pizza stone or a cast iron skillet) to bake these Palestinian flatbread.
You can serve this flatbread with yoghurt, olive oil with zaatar (it’s pronounced za-ah-tar), hummus, sumac chicken or even use it to make Turkish Lahmacun.
Za’atar, the Middle Eastern spice mixture is a blend of dried herbs (thyme, oregano or marjoram), sumac, cumin and coriander with sesame seeds. You can purchase pre-made za’atar or easily make your own.

Bread	Za’atar
500 g Plain flour (all-purpose flour), plus extra for dusting 7 g Dry active yeast 3/4 tbsp Raw sugar 2 tbsp Za’atar 3/4 tsp Sea salt 320 ml Warm water 2 tbsp Olive oil, plus extra for oiling bowl 3 tbsp Za’atar for topping 2 tbsp Sumac for topping	1 tbsp Dried thyme 1/2 tbsp Dried oregano 1/2 tbsp Dried marjoram 1/2 tbsp Whole cumin seeds, toasted and crushed 1/2 tbsp Cumin powder 1/2 tbsp Whole coriander seeds, toasted and crushed 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted 1 tbsp Sumac 1/2 tsp Salt

Mix all the ingredients for the spice blend together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container. Store the za’atar in a cool, dark place in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
For the dough, sieve the plain flour into a large bowl. Mix in the yeast, raw sugar, za’atar and sea salt. In a separate bowl mix the warm water and olive oil together before adding to the dry ingredients. Mix until you have a soft, sticky dough then cover with a cloth and set aside to prove for 10 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface, and knead the dough for 10 minutes until you have a soft, shiny dough.
Grease a bowl with a bit of olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn it round so that its entire surface has a thin coat of olive oil. Cover with cling film and set aside to prove for up to an hour.
Flour your hands and knock back the dough by turning it over three to four times in its bowl. Turn out onto a floured work surface and divide the dough into 4-6 equal pieces and form each piece into a ball. Roll each ball out to form a rough circle approximately 20 cm. Place the bread circle on a lightly floured cloth.
Spray the dough circles lightly with water and sprinkle za’atar and sumac over the surface. Leave to prove again for 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 275C/525F or to maximum temperature. The oven needs to be very hot. Place a roasting tray lined with pebbles, a cast iron skillet, or pizza stone on the middle shelf. Leave it to heat up for 20 minutes before baking the flatbreads.
Bake two flatbreads at a time for 5-7 minutes, or until the flatbreads are puffy and brown spots start to develop. Remove the flatbreads from the oven and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft. Bake the remaining dough circles.

Chef Gordon Ramsay Recipes

Taboon Bread with Za’atar by Gordon Ramsay

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