ZA'ATAR SWIRLS

About za’atar:

Discover the taste and be inspired! Za’atar has a fresh herby taste with a zing. Za’atar, is Arabic for wild thyme and is common to Middle Eastern cooking. Usually it is combined with thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds. The thyme gives it an elegant perfume and the sumac a slight lemony edge, while the toasted sesame seeds provides that oh so wanted crunch. The flavors work together beautifully. Za’atar is served with bread and olive oil. Dip the bread in the oil and then the herb mix; or make a paste of the oil and za'atar, brush it over bread or pita and grill for a few minutes. You can also enjoy za’atar sprinkled on ripe tomatoes or dusted over thick labaneh (a thickened yogurt: just sprinkle yogurt with a pinch of salt and drain it in a cheese cloth overnight in the refrigerator).

I often wake up earlier on weekends, so I can bake za'atar swirl for breakfast. They are such a wonderful treat for all the family after a hard and hectic work week. Sometimes I add some variations to the swirls with adding some feta cheese to za'atar or just make some ham&cheese swirls, too. YUM!!!

Za'atar Swirls

ZA’ATAR SWIRLS

Ingredients for dough:

4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp dry yeast

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

Yeast slurry ingredients:

2 tsp dry yeast

2 tsp granulated sugar

½ cup warm water

Directions for dough:

First, combine all the ingredients for yeast slurry in a cup and let the slurry rest covered with plastic warp for 5 minutes, so that the yeast starts reacting.

Put all dry ingredients for the dough in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add water and yeast slurry. Mix with wooden spoon until the ingredients come together and then continue working the dough by hand for at least 10 minutes to develop the gluten. The dough has to be smooth and elastic. If the dough is too wet and it still sticking to the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides.

Let the dough rise, covered, until double in size or at least for one hour in a warm place.  

Ingredients for filling:

½ cup za’atar

½ cup oil

1 tsp sumac

Directions for filling:

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Directions for swirls:

Divide the yeasted dough into two equal parts. With a rolling pin roll the dough into a nice rectangle, spread the za'atar filling over the dough, and roll it into a loaf.

Brush with some olive oil, sprinkle sesame seeds or black nigela seeds over the loaf, and bake in 425*F preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Let the loafs cool down for 5 - 10 minutes, then cut them into delicious slices and enjoy for breakfast with  a cup of tea and chat with your loved ones.

For ham&cheese filling I used 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, and 9 slices of smoked turkey ham.