Arab bread 'Hurs'

Arab bread 'Hurs'

Hurs (Yemeni Bread) (Multi-layered bread)

Hurs is an Arab bread made up of very thin layers. It is a very popular addition to the meal at Iftar time and can be served with a number of garnishes, sweet or savoury.

Ingredients:

3 cups of warm water
1 tblsp yeast
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1.5kg of plain flour
1 ¾ butter - (melted)
Milk or egg

Making the bread:

1. Mix together the warm water, yeast, salt, egg and plain flour to form a dough.

2. Add more warm water if dough feels too dry.

3. Leave flour to set for about 30 minutes.

4. Make a few small balls out of the dough and roll out thinly to the size of the baking tin.

5. Place each sheet of dough into the baking tin creating layers, adding 1 tblsp of butter (melted) in between each layer.

6. Continue this procedure until all of the dough is used up. You will be able to make roughly 60 sheets.

7. Glaze with milk or egg. Place in the oven for about 40 minutes or until top of bread is crispy and golden brown.

8. Bread is now ready and can be eaten on its own or served with heated honey.

'Hurs' or 'Yemeni Bread' is very popular amongst Yemenis but is eaten throughout the Arab world. It has more taste than ingredients that go into it.

It is usually made in much larger tins than the common British cake or pastry tins. These larger tins are widely available in the Arab world and may be available in some Arab stores in Britain.

The larger the tin the thinner the layers of the bread can be, making it quite possible to use all of the dough on 30 sheets/layers. 'Hurs' is pronounced similar to the word 'horse' but with a much stronger 'r' sound and the 'or' replaced by an 'oo' sound.