Yemenite Kubaneh Bread
Experience the ultimate comfort of slow-baked Yemenite pull-apart bread, rich with butter or olive oil and traditionally served on Shabbat morning.
Ingredients
- •4 cups all-purpose flour (500g)
- •1 tbsp active dry yeast (10g)
- •3 tbsp sugar (36g)
- •1 1/2 tsp salt (9g)
- •1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (360ml)
- •1 cup unsalted butter or vegan butter, melted (225g)
- •1 tsp honey (optional, for yeast activation)
Instructions
- 1
In a large bowl, combine the lukewarm water, sugar, and active dry yeast, letting it sit for about 5 minutes until frothy.
- 2
Add the all-purpose flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes until smooth, soft, and slightly elastic.
- 3
Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
- 4
Grease a traditional kubaneh pot or a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot with tight-fitting lid generously with melted butter or oil.
- 5
Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 equal balls.
- 6
Take one ball of dough and, on a lightly greased surface, flatten and stretch it as thin as possible using your oiled hands.
- 7
Drizzle the stretched dough generously with melted butter, then roll it up tightly like a cigar.
- 8
Coil the rolled dough into a snail shape and place it at the bottom of the prepared pot. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, stacking and nesting them together inside the pot.
- 9
Cover the pot and let the shaped bread rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- 10
Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Cover the pot securely with its lid (and optionally a layer of foil under the lid to seal in steam).
- 11
Bake overnight for 8 to 10 hours, or at 400°F (200°C) for the first hour and lowered to 250°F (120°C) for 4 to 5 hours if making it during the day.
- 12
Remove from the oven, let rest for 10 minutes, then invert the pot to release the golden-brown, buttery loaf.
💡 Chef tips
- To make this recipe pareve, substitute the butter with an equal amount of good quality olive oil or vegan plant-based butter.
- For the authentic traditional experience, place whole raw eggs in their shells between the dough layers before baking; they will brown and turn into delicious brown eggs (huevos haminados) by morning.
- Leftover kubaneh can be stored tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days, and easily reheated in the oven.
✅ How it should turn out
The finished kubaneh should have a deeply golden, caramelized crust, a rich buttery aroma, and layers so tender and flaky that they pull apart effortlessly in your hands.