Khaliat Nahal Yemeni Honeycomb Bread
Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 1.5 hours rising time
Cooking time: 25 minutes
- 1.5-2 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup warm milk
- 1 tablespoon yogurt
- 1 egg
- 45g/1.6ozs butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 170g/6ozs. cream cheese, cut into 24 cubes
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons sesame or poppyseeds
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Step 1 - Line the base of a 20cm/8inch round tin and grease the sides. Place 1.5 cups of flour, yeast, sugar in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whisk the milk, yogurt, egg and butter together and add to the flour mixture and knead for 6-8 minutes until elastic (longer if you are doing this by hand). Shape into a ball and place in a bowl and allow to prove in a warm, draught free area for 1 hour or until double in size.
Step 2 - Knead in the salt and shape into a long log on a floured surface. Cut into 24 even pieces. Roll each piece out into a round and place a cube of cream cheese in the centre. Roll into a ball and repeat for the rest of the dough. Brush with milk and sprinkle seeds on top. You can also cover this and place it in the fridge to bake fresh in the morning if you would like. Allow to rise again for 30 minutes.
Step 3 - Bake for 25 minutes until golden on top. Meanwhile while it is baking, boil the sugar and water in a saucepan for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Add honey and orange blossom water. When the bread has finished baking pour the sugar syrup over the hot rolls and allow to seep in through the sides. Serve warm.