Iraqi Samoon Bread
Iraqi Samoon Bread is part of my series of “Breads across the Arabic Speaking World”. This bread is very similar to the way we make pita bread in Lebanon, the only difference is the shape and thickness of Samoon. Samoon is popular in Iraq and can be found in Iraqi bakeries and resturants. It’s shaped into a long diamond like shape and it’s often split on the side to stuff it with kababs, doner, or falafels.
In my opinion this bread shape is genius and very convenient (and beautiful!) when stuffing a sandwich. Using a strong bread flour in this recipe really helped to make it hollow and give it the unique bread color on the outside. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it. Sahteen!
Note: this is a fresh bread without preservatives, so it will last you only 2 days. Place extra bread in the freezer.
Recipe:
(makes 8 breads)
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
3 3/4 cups Artisan Bread Flour
Directions:
In a bowl or a stand mixer with a hook attachment, add water, yeast, and sugar . Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
Then add salt and olive oil. Add the flour one cup at a time while mixing or kneading.
Mix the ingredients lightly with a spoon until they come together. Then cover it for 10 minutes. After this resting period you can knead the bread.
Place the dough on a clean surface (or if using a mixing bowl then turn it on to medium) Knead the dough for minutes.
Place the dough on a clean surface (if in a mixing bowl), and stretch and fold the dough a couple times.
Allow the dough to rest for 2 hours covered in a warm and dark space (for example in an oven that is turned off) or place it in the fridge overnight.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and create each piece into a dough ball.
Stretch the dough ball lengthwise and create two pointy ends. Then press the middle part flat. You can use a rolling pin to help you get the desired shape below. (Note: you don’t want the dough to be too thin or too thick, otherwise it wouldn’t rise when baking. 1 cm or 1/2 inch is enough thickness)
Directions for baking:
Pre-heat your oven to 480 Fahrenheit. It’s important to have a hot oven to aid the bread in creating a hollow center. If you have a baking stone or baking steel than that would be helpful. If not, then a dark colored pan will do.
Place the dough on the pan and then place the pan into the oven on the highest rack. Bake for 5 minutes or until it puffs up and creates a hollow center. Then remove the pan from the oven, flip the bread, and bake it again for 3 minutes.
Please note that each oven is different and each kitchen has a different environment. So adjust your oven accordingly. If you’re baking one by one then the oven might get too hot after a while so decrease the temperature to 450 F.
Continue until you bake all the dough. Once the bread is out of the oven, place it on a dry and clean kitchen towel and cover it.
Enjoy your bread!
