Almost nearing the end of week 1 and before I even start writing about this recipe, I have to tell you this. This Emirati Khameer is one of the softest oven-baked flatbreads that I have made for this A to Z International flatbread series. I am saying oven-baked because I have another very soft flatbread coming up that is pan-cooked. The Emirati Khameer, which is a popular flatbread from the United Arab Emirates is so simple and quick to make. It took me just 3 minutes per flatbread to bake in the oven and this is the first time I baked a flatbread on a cooling rack. This mega Marathon has taught me so much about flatbread and handling the dough. This is the first time I am not using a pizza stone or baking sheet to bake bread. I was so worried that the bread would stick to the rack, but no…It was perfectly fine and came out beyond perfect. I wish there was a way to show how soft these flatbreads were. Despite eating flatbread every other day (this is what happens when I don’t plan ahead for month-long marathons), we still finished this bread in no time. My little one was fighting with my portion of the bread and trying to claim it. I served this Khamir Flatbread after school with some honey to the boys and they said that this was the best combination they had eaten in a while. My neighbor has a bee farm and he sold us some local fresh honey. The honey was so mild and delicious that even my honey-hating son (and add the mother too) ate quite a bit of honey with the bread. Hopefully, it will do us some good for the allergies. I will highly recommend trying this Khamir Flatbread as I am very positive that you will love it. Preparation time - 15 minutes plus 1 ½ hours of resting timeBaking time - About 3 minutes per flatbreadDifficulty level - EasyRecipe adapted from - Amira’s Pantry B for Boulanee Katchalu C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca D for Dhal Puri
Ingredients to make Emirati Khameer - Makes 4 flatbread
Bread flour (can be substituted with All purpose flour) - 2 cups Instant Yeast - ½ TBSP Sugar - 3 TBSP Salt - ½ tsp Baking Powder - ½ TBSP Milk - ½ - ¾ cup (warm) Olive oil - 2 tablespoon plus more to grease the bowl Cardamom powder - ½ tsp Saffron threads - ¼ tsp Sesame seeds - 2 tablespoon ( I used black and white)
Procedure to make Emirati Khameer
To Make the Dough
I made my dough in the food processor. You could knead it by hand or use the stand mixer as well.
In the bowl of the food processor, add the flour, Instant yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cardamom powder.
Pulse the machine a couple of times to combine.
Add the oil to the flour and mix once. Now slowly add the milk and make a soft dough. Add just enough milk to make a soft and slightly sticky dough.
Bring the dough out and knead for a couple of minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half.
To Shape and Bake
Preheat the oven to 500 F.
Take about 3 tablespoon of warm milk in a bowl and add the saffron thread to it. Mix well and keep it aside
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape them into a ball. Let the balls rest (covered) until the oven is preheating.
Using a little flour to dust, roll each piece of dough ball into a ¼-inch thick circle. My flatbread was about 6 inches in diameter. Make sure to keep them ¼ inch thick and not to make them thin.
Keep the rolled flatbread covered with a cloth to avoid drying out.
Pick one piece of the rolled dough and flip it in your hand. Now place it on a cooling rack. The side that was touching the surface when rolling will be the top when baking.
Brush the top of the dough with the saffron milk and sprinkle the sesame seed on the surface.
Carefully place the cooling rack directly on the rack inside the oven. Let it bake for about 3 minutes. Check to see if the Khameer is evenly browned on all sides. I rotated the pan once in between the baking for even browning.
Remove the khameer from the oven and let it cool. Repeat the same with the rest of the rolled dough. I always allowed the oven to heat for about 3 to 4 minutes before placing the next flatbread.
I also used two cooling racks to alternate the baking, so one rack could cool to room temperature before placing the next flatbread.
Serve the Emirati Khameer at room temperature or slightly warmed with cheese or jam. I served it with some fresh local honey, and it was the best thing we ate.
Other Flatbreads
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X
Recipe
