Palestinian Taboon Bread

Step 1

To start, begin by adding the flour and salt together to a large bowl. Mix well.

Step 2

Then, warm up the water and make sure it's warm, not hot. Hot water can kill the yeast. Dissolve the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Cover and let it activate for 10 minutes, or until frothy.

Step 3

Now, combine the activated yeast mixture to the flour. Start kneading.

Step 4

Gradually drizzle in the oil as your kneading to help the dough form.

Step 5

Transfer the dough to a clean, dry and floured surface. Knead for a few minutes and pull the dough together, if your hands are too sticky, oil them.

Step 6

Now, knead the dough until its completely soft. If the dough is too sticky and you cant shape it into a soft ball, add more flour, 1 tbsp at a time. Keep in mind it needs to stay a little sticky/soft.

Step 7

Once thats done, cover and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

Step 8

In the meantime, clean and dry the river rocks. Place them in a round tray and place them in the oven. Now turn on the oven to preheat to the highest setting your oven goes to. Let the rocks preheat until the dough is ready, about an hour.

Step 9

Once the dough has risen, divide into 10 equal pieces. You can also divide them into 6-8 pieces for very large pieces of taboon.

Step 10

Let them rise again for 10 minutes. When ready, take one ball and flatten it into a round circle, not too thick and not too thin. Place ontop of the preheated rocks, and bake until it puffs up, flip over to let it develop some color and remove immediately. Place in a clean kitchen towel and close the top so it doesnt dry out.

Step 11

Serve with Musakhan, or top with olive oil and zaatar while making to make manakeesh, or use it to eat breakfast.