Jachnun Recipe

The Jachnun is one of the ancient dishes found in the Yemenite cuisine that has taken root as a family tradition in Israeli culture. With a simple technique and a very long baking time, you can now make your homemade Jachnun at home, and wake up in the morning to the irresistible smell of fresh Jachnun.

• Total: 15 hrs
• Prep: 1 hr
• Cook:12 hrs
• Resting Time: 2 hrs
• Yield: 12 servings

 Ingredients

• 1 Kg flour
• 25 grams (1.5 tablespoons) fine salt
• 30 grams (2 flat tablespoons) granulated brown sugar
• 600 millilitres (2.5 cups) warm water
• 300 grams of butter
• 2 x 20 grams (2 tablespoons) honey

Make the Dough

1. In a large bowl, place the flour, sugar, one portion of the honey, and salt.
2. Add the water to the bowl and stir until the dough is shaggy and the water has been absorbed.
3. Knead the dough in the bowl for around 10 minutes, until the batter becomes uniform.
4. Set the dough aside at room temperature to rest for 30 minutes. Make sure the dough is covered with a plastic bag and Illustrated from the air.
5. Open the cover of the plastic bag and knead the dough for another 10 minutes. After covering the bowl again with the plastic bag and let the dough rest aside for another 30 minutes.

Divide the Dough and Shape It

1. Melt the butter to liquid, but make sure it is not hot and almost in room temperature.
2. Lightly spread butter on a large tray.
3. Grab a corner of the dough and break off with your hands a piece of dough with the size of a tennis ball, should be the size of a handful.
4. Round the ball in both hands and place the ball on the tray.
5. Repeat the process until you will have 10-12 balls.
6. Butter your hands with the liquid butter and slightly cover each ball with butter. Make sure each ball is fully covered with no dray areas.
7. Cover the tray with the dough with clinging film, make sure there are no hols for air and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

 

 Stretch and Shape the Dough

1. Take a 20cm Jachnun Pot and butter its bottom and all sides.
2. Heavily butter your work surface and set a ball of dough in the middle.
3. Butter the top of the dough and use your hands to push and stretch the dough into a very thin—paper-thin—rectangle (stretch it as far as you can without the dough tearing, adding more butter as needed to prevent tearing—but don’t worry if it tears).
4. Fold the left side of the rectangle over the centre, lightly butter the top of the fold, then fold the right side over (creating a simple fold) and lightly butter the top.
5. Starting at a narrow edge, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Set the cylinder in the Jachnun Pot.
6. Repeat with 3-4 more balls, until the first layer is full.
7. Once the first layer of the pot is full, set the next layer on top of the first, across the first layer in a crosshatch pattern.
8. Place the final cylinders around the edges of the pot.
9. Spill the second portion of the honey, 20 grams, on the Jachnun pieces and close the Jachnun pot with its lid.

Bake the Jachnun

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Place the Jachnun Pot in the middle of the over and put a timer for 30 minutes.
3. After half an hour with 200 degrees Celsius, lower the temperature to 100 for another 11 and a half hours.
4. It is recommended to flip the Jachnun Pot after 6 hours, so all the butter will leak equally to all the Jachnun pieces.
5. Total baking time is 12 hours.

Serving

1. The next morning, remove the Jachnun from the oven.
2. Uncover the pot and flit it on a plat to release the Jachnuns lump out of the pot.
3. Gently separated each Jachnun piece from the lump.
4. Place the Jachnuns on a platter and serve with boiled egg, tomato sauce and Spicy Schug.