Ka’ak is a very famous and popular street bread sold all over the city of Beirut. It is mostly sold by street vendors on a bicycle where they hang the bread from a pole for easy transportation. The Ka’ak bread is also called the handbag bread or the purse bread because of its shape. The vendors would happily slit the bread and coat it with Za’atar or local cheese. The bread is a very basic simple recipe that is slightly crusty on the outside and has a great airy crumb inside. This Lebanese Purse Bread has a 3 rise instead of the regular 2 rises and that really makes a difference in the flavor. I totally enjoyed shaping the bread and it was such an awesome bake. The images of the bread hanging from the carts of the street vendors were so appealing and I now have even more reason to go visit these cities to enjoy the local food. The texture of the bread is greatly enhanced when baked with steam. The steam can be skipped and the bread can be baked as is, but I would personally recommend baking it with the steam. Preparation time - 15 minutes plus about 3 hours of resting timeBaking time - 10 to 12 minutes per batchDifficulty level - IntermediateRecipe adapted from - My Diverse Kitchen B for Boulanee Katchalu C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca D for Dhal Puri E for Emirati Khameer F for Fruit Focaccia G for Gozleme H for Himbasha I for Indian Fry Bread J for Janta Roti
Procedure to make Lebanese Purse Bread -
Making the Dough -
Measure the milk and warm it just enough to proof the yeast. Add the sugar and the yeast and mix well. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the mixture should be frothy. If not, the yeast is not active and you will need to start with a new batch of yeast.
I made my dough in the stand mixer. Add the flour, salt, oil, and yeast mixture to the bowl of the mixer. Using a dough hook, start mixing the flour until they come together. you might need a little more warm water to make a soft dough.
The dough should be quite soft, but not sticky. Knead the dough for about 7 to 8 minutes and then place it in a greased bowl to rise. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until it doubles in volume. I love using the proof setting in my oven. The dough every time proves perfect in the setting and does not take more than an hour.
Bring the dough out after the first rise and knead it gently for a minute. Form it into a ball and place it in a greased bowl for the second rise. It took me less than an hour for the second rise.
Shaping and Baking -
After the second rise, place the dough on a floured surface. Divide it into 4 equal-sized balls.
Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Working with one piece of dough, flatten it and roll it into a teardrop shape. Keep the thickness of the dough to about ½ inch. My dough was rolled to about 6 inches long.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out a ring from the narrow part of the rolled dough. Slightly pull the dough to elongate the shape and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat the same with the rest of the dough, keeping 2 pieces per tray.
Cover the trays and let the shaped bread proof for about 30 minutes or until slightly puffy.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 F. I used steam to bake the bread. To create steam, I place an aluminum tray half filled with water on the bottommost shelf of the oven when it is preheating. The water also heats up and there is enough steam inside the oven when we are ready to place the bread inside.
When the bread is done rising, brush it with egg wash or I just use milk to brush my bread. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
When the oven has preheated, bake one tray at a time for about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating once in between for even baking.
The bread should appear golden brown when done.
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