Enjoy Shabbat with delicious, traditional Yemenite Jachnun, seen all over Israel in the “Shuk”,or open air market, and bakeries. Jachnun is a flaky, rolled pastry that is delicious served warm with condiments. Although it is fun to eat, we think that the real fun is in making it yourself! If you feel like getting your fingers sticky, then let’s get started. Remember this is the traditional way to make and serve Jachnun, so feel free to add different condiments or side dishes and make it unique to you!
500 grams (3.25 cups) whole wheat flour (alternative: white flour)
1/4 cup date honey a.k.a. silan (alternative: sugar)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup water, or enough to give you a springy dough
1/4 cup oil, or more if needed (alternative: about 100 grams margarine or butter)
dried powdered yeast (optional)
stale bread or pita to line the pot
Condiments (which we’ll use later):
eggs
tomatoes
skhug
Mix the flour, date honey, baking powder, salt and water to form a dough. It will be sticky, and that’s OK. Knead and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Some people say it needs to sit overnight, but that’s not a consensus; I strive for an hour. Knead again and let sit again. The waiting makes the dough easier to work with and lets the gluten develop.
Divide into six balls. They’ll be about the size of tennis balls.
Oil your work surface. Using your hands and/or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 40-by-40 centimeter (16 inch) square. Oil it as needed. The dough should be very thin. If it tears, try to push it back together, but it doesn’t really matter — once it’s folded, the imperfections won’t be noticeable.
Rub liberally with olive oil (or softened margarine or butter — about 1-2 teaspoons oil, 2 teaspoons butter or 1 tablespoon margarine); sprinkle lightly with yeast (if using). Fold over into thirds. You now should have a long, narrow strip. Brush oil on the top layer. Roll out again in both directions. Your strip should now be wider and longer. The width of the strip will be the length of your finished jachnun.
Start rolling up the strip. Pull the dough as you go, to stretch it out even more.
Arrange a thin layer of stale bread on the bottom of your baking dish or slow cooker. The bread pads the jachnun and absorbs excess oil. The traditional jachnun pan is a cylindrical metal tub with a tight-sealing top, but you can use any oven-safe dish with a tight lid.
Cut strips of baking paper slightly larger than each jachnun. Rest each roll on its strip of paper — this isn’t necessary, but it will keep them from sticking to each other and falling apart when you remove them from the pan.
Arrange the paper-coated jachnuns in the dish. They should be packed relatively tightly.
If you want, arrange a few clean eggs in with the jachnun. They’ll come out hard-boiled.
Cover with tinfoil to help preserve moisture, seal the pot and bake overnight, for 10-12 hours — on the low setting of your slow cooker, or at 100 to 110 degrees Celsius (210 to 230 Fahrenheit) in your oven. Once baked, whole wheat jachnun will come out nearly chocolate colored; white flour jachnun will be light golden.
Serve with grated tomato, skhug or hot pepper sauce, and hard-boiled eggs.
To grate the tomatoes, simply slice them in half and grate the cut side. You’ll get tomato pulp, and the peel will be left in your hand.
Traditionally, one serving is one jachnun, one grated tomato and one egg, but feel free to eat as much as you want!
