How to make Lebanese markouk saj bread at home with just 6 ingredients and an inverted wok/kadai or pancake pan. This thin Middle Eastern flatbread is fairly simple to prepare and perfect for making in large batches to serve with any meal of the day!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Rising Time (minimum)5 hourshrs
Total Time6 hourshrs20 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, DIYs, Side, Snack
Cuisine: Arab, Lebanese, Levantine, Middle Eastern
Sift both types of flour into a large bowl. Then add the salt, sugar, and yeast and whisk well to combine.
Add the cold water gradually, incorporating it into the dry ingredients until a soft dough has formed.
Knead the dough for between 6-10 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough. You could also do this using a mixer for a few minutes.
Step 2: Divide and rest the dough
Divide the dough into (around) 40 even pieces. For perfectly even pieces, weigh each one out. If you aren't too bothered about uniformity, you can do this by eye.If your wok/Kadai cooking tool is much smaller than 24 inches/60 cm then you can adjust the size of each dough ball accordingly (making them smaller).
Dip your hands into water before shaping each dough piece into a ball- folding the edges underneath and pinching them together. Then roll/ sprinkle each ball with cornmeal and place them into a large flour-dusted bowl. Once all the dough balls are in the bowl, cover it with a clean, damp kitchen towel and leave it to rest for at least five hours – or overnight.
Step 3: Shape the flatbread
Dust your working surface with some whole wheat flour. Then, working with one dough ball at a time, punch it down onto the surface to release extra air.
Using your fingers, press the dough down on the edges (not the middle), rotating it often to stretch it into a large circular shape (similar to shaping pizza dough). Sprinkle the dough with flour often so it doesn't stick.
Once it is as thin as you can get it with just your fingers dimpling the dough, it's time to use your whole hands to stretch it further. Place the dough in your left hand (you can do it from the palm or the top, whichever feels easiest for you) and then twist it quickly to transfer it to the palm of your right hand and back and forth, stretching the dough.
Transfer the thin dough to your round pillow. Meanwhile, preheat your pan. If you’re using a wok/Kadai pan, it will need to be inverted and over an open flame (gas stovetop or camping stove).
Once the dough is on the pillow, use your hands to gently pull it at the sides to stretch it over the pillow until it's paper-thin and can be seen through.Don't worry if you get a couple of tears in them; this will still work fine. Just be gentler with the next one, and you'll have the method sorted in no time.
Step 4: Cook the bread
To transfer the dough from the pillow to the wok/Kadai/crepe pan, pick up the pillow and flip it over onto the pan. Leave it to cook untouched until you can see that the underside of the bread has browned and is beginning to get a little "crispy." This will take between 1-2 minutes using an inverted work, but with a Saj, it can take as little as 15-20 seconds.
As one flatbread cooks, you can shape and stretch the next dough piece.
Once cooked, peel the markouk from the pan and set it aside over a clean kitchen towel (or surface). Wipe away any dough/mess left on the pan, and then repeat the above step with the remaining dough balls until all the bread is cooked.
Step 5: Fold the flatbread
Once the markouk has cooled down, you can fold it (since this makes a large batch, not all will be used immediately) - fold either into triangles or rectangles/squares.Triangle: Fold in half, then half again, and once more.Square: Fold both sides into the center (one folding over the other). Then fold the tops in towards the center to form a square.You can then store it for later.
Storage Instructions
To Store: Transfer the fully cooled markouk bread to an airtight container/bag and store it either in the cupboard for about a week or in the fridge for longer. Make sure to keep it well covered, or else the bread can dry out.To Freeze: Freeze in an airtight bag/container for up to 6 months (possibly longer, but I've never tried). Allow the bread to thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before using.
Notes
Try to roll it as thin as possible: The first few times you roll the dough, you might end up with thicker bread than expected (closer to a tortilla) – but the aim is for it to be almost paper-thin and to be able to see through it.
Only cook on one side: Because the saj bread is so thin, there’s no need to flip it over. If you did, it would become too hard/crispy and wouldn't fold/be pliable.
The best pillow to use: When making traditional markouk bread, you’ll need a very large pillow (close to 24 inches/60cm diameter). However, when making the bread at home with a smaller wok/kadai, you could use a large naan pillow. Even better, try to find one with a handle. That way, it's easy to flip the bread onto the pan.
For a quick rise process: I like to leave the dough to rise overnight to break up the process. However, you could also speed up the process by using warm water instead of cold water in the dough and leaving the balls to rest for about 2 hours.
Check the blog post for more tips and serving recommendations!