I love bread. After all it is the staff of life, as I always say to my fiancée’ as she lovingly mocks my addiction to good fresh bread!
I especially love Khubz, the bread my Tateh (grandmother) made her entire life. It is a style of bread that comes from Palestine and the Middle East. A type of Pita bread, there are several types of Khubz, this version is the Taboon style bread baked over small hot stones.
My memories of my childhood and into adulthood are of her waking up in the morning getting out her trusty giant metal bowl, carefully placing it between her knee’s on a chair and vigorously kneading dough to make freshly baked khubz. She had these round river stones in her oven and she would place the fresh dough on the stones and bake the dough into a puffed, bubbly browned pillow of deliciousness! Hot fresh and stacked high for all of my large extended family to devour in one day!
Well, I decided in all my years of culinary adventures to attempt to make khubz for the first time! I found a lot of stones in a nearby park. “Wild ones” as my Aunt Mary curiously noted, because the store-bought ones tend to explode more in the oven. I laughed at the thought of “wild stones”.
I washed them 3 times and then boiled them for 15 minutes to disinfect them. I then tested them in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, no explosions! I was free to bake, and excited to taste my newly created masterpieces. I think I may have a new addiction, ha!
My wok doubling as a mixing bowl.
I made 10 smaller loaves out of that big pile of dough. Six cups of flour made 8-10 loaves just depends on your preference.
My shapes were very rustic and they varied greatly, I do believe Tateh’s shapes were more round and consistent, but who’s knocking rustic!
Carefully placed 2 at a time, if I had a bigger oven it would go faster, some day.
Through the glass of my oven. A beautiful golden color developing.
Crusty, fresh and hot outta the oven, the best way to enjoy freshly baked Khubz, yum and double yum!
Look who popped up, he couldn’t wait to take a BIG bite.
Stacked high and ready to devour. I love rustic and these loaves live up to that, for sure. I believe Tateh would’ve loved them too. I will keep perfecting and experimenting with baking khubz (Taboon style) and look out for my future posts about the uses of this versatile and ancient style of bread.
Yum Food!! Yum Art!!
© [Jay Mora-Shihadeh] and [artistfromtheinsideout.wordpress.com], [2012]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, artwork, or photo’s without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Jay Mora-Shihadeh] and [artistfromtheinsideout.wordpress.com] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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The Artist From The Inside Out 
Your Tateh’s bread looks awesome. What do you think would happen to the oven if one of those stones did explode? I’ve got a collection of rivers stones that eroded out of the road on my place. Are your stones a similar size to the ones your Tateh used? Very excited to try making these. Found these ingredient proportions, do they look like your Tateh’s? Ingredients
1 ¾ cup warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp oil (plus extra for greasing bowl) safflower, organic canola, sunflower, or any other mild tasting oil
4 cups bread flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour can be substituted with all purpose, if needed
3 tsp kosher salt
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