Malawach (Flaky Flatbread)
Malawach is a layered, flaky flatbread that is popularly eaten in Israel, and now made popular in other regions. It is typically brushed with oil or fat and cooked flat in a frying pan.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 37 min
- Total
- 1 hr 52 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and water, starting with only 2 cups of water. Knead the dough well, adding additional water if necessary to make it soft and pliable.
Procedure
Cover and let dough rest until it doubles in size.
Procedure
Take up dough and begin to knead it by hand. Divide dough into 12 smaller portions and place upon oiled surface. Let dough rest until each portion rises and doubles in size, occasionally oiling the surface of dough.
Procedure
Grease a work surface with oil. Roll out each piece of dough with a rolling pin to get very large, almost paper-thin, rounds of dough.
Procedure
Brush each round liberally with melted butter. Fold the dough in half, from the top towards the bottom. Then, roll it up from the top towards the bottom as one would roll-up a sleeping bag, forming a rope. Coil the rope around itself into a spiral.
Procedure
Cover and allow the dough to rest until it rises and doubles in size.
Procedure
Roll each spiral out again into a thin round. Brush again with butter, then repeat the rolling and coiling process.
Procedure
Allow the dough to rest once more while covered until it rises.
Procedure
Heat a skillet with a little vegetable oil.
Procedure
Use your hands to flatten out the dough coils on a greased surface.
Procedure
Place flattened dough portions in skillet and cover with lid. Fry the dough on a medium to low heat until the bottom turns an amber color. Flip over and fry on reverse side without the lid.
Procedure
Serve hot.
Notes, tips, and variations
Malawach is often served with a hard-boiled egg, along with tomato salsa that has been flavored with freshly-chopped coriander.
Photo: Ayala Sender · CC BY 2.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 13 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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