The Somali flatbread known as sabaayad is produced from flour. It has a golden brown exterior that is flaky, crispy, and flaky, with a soft interior. You can eat it with nearly anything, including stew, sauce, honey, cinnamon sugar, and a cup of tea. We enjoy eating it while it’s still hot with honey, especially my husband. My kids enjoy breaking them up into small pieces, placing them in a bowl, and then eating them that way while drinking shah (Somali tea).
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 7 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 flatbreads |
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided, or more as needed (Optional)
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in olive oil and honey. Mix in water gradually until dough comes together and is the consistency of pizza dough. Knead by hand until soft and very smooth, about 10 minutes.
- Brush top of dough with a little bit of canola oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll out 1 piece into a circle on a lightly floured work surface. Brush the top of the dough evenly with canola oil. Fold sides in to meet in the center. Fold top and bottom edges to meet in the center to make a square shape. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Roll 1 square of dough into a circle again on a lightly floured work surface. Place in the skillet and cook until slightly puffed, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle a little bit of oil on top and flip; continue cooking until golden brown and crispy, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep sabaayad warm and soft. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- You can use bread flour instead of the all-purpose flour if desired.
- You can substitute coconut oil for olive or canola oil or omit the oil entirely if preferred.
- Use an electric mixer to mix and knead the dough until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes, if preferred.
Reviews
I really like the taste of these; the sugar made them different from other flatbreads. As said in the caption, we ate them as a teatime snack with cinnamon sugar on them. In order for the cinnamon sugar to stick, I brush some butter on them first.
Delicious! Soft and tender. Yummy on its own or as a flatbread.
I have made these a few times now and they have quickly become one of my favorites.
I make this often. I wanted to give 4 stars because of the suggestion that you can do without the oil and also use a mixer. I’ve never been able to make this with a mixer although if you have a mixer that is used to make dough, I suppose it can be done. I did not want to take away stars because I have tried neither suggestion. I fry the bread using oil liberally. It is a good recipe, and the bread is so versatile. The recipe is not as complicated as it seems but there is no way of getting around all the steps. It actually goes quite quickly once you get the hang of it. We eat it with breakfast, snacks, chai, and stews. Yum!
Other than cutting the recipe back to four portions I made this as written. While I did like the bread on it’s own I do think that it would be much better served with soup or stew. Not counting the resting period this came together very quickly and I will make this again.