Jachnun
Jachnun was brought to Israel by Yemenite Jews, who kept the custom of baking this rolled dough overnight from Friday to Saturday morning, respecting the prohibition against cooking on Shabbat while still enjoying warm food. The extremely slow, low-heat baking method is what transforms plain dough into a sweetish, almost caramelised dish. Today jachnun is served across the whole country, not just in Yemenite communities, often as a Saturday morning breakfast, alongside freshly grated tomatoes and extremely spicy zhug sauce, which balances the dough's sweetness.
Bakes all night long
The rolled dough bakes at a low temperature for over twelve hours, traditionally overnight into Shabbat morning.
Layers brushed with clarified butter
The dough, stretched extremely thin, is brushed generously with clarified butter before being rolled up tightly.
A whole egg bakes on top
A whole egg, in its shell, bakes on top of the roll and turns a deep caramel brown with a distinct flavour.
Served with spicy tomato sauce
Warm jachnun is torn by hand and eaten alongside spicy tomato sauce, zhug, and the baked egg.
Ingredients 4 servings
- 500g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 300ml lukewarm water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 200g clarified butter, melted
- 4 whole eggs, in their shell
- 4 large tomatoes, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Spicy zhug sauce, for serving
How to make it
- 1Knead the flour with the salt, sugar, and lukewarm water until you get an elastic, smooth dough.
- 2Let the dough rest, covered, for at least an hour at room temperature.
- 3Divide the dough into four and roll out each piece extremely thin, almost see-through, on an oiled surface.
- 4Brush each sheet generously with melted clarified butter, then roll it up tightly, like a snail shell.
- 5Arrange the rolls in a heavy greased pot, together with the whole eggs, still in their shells.
- 6Cover the pot tightly and bake at a very low heat for twelve hours or overnight.
- 7Serve warm, torn apart by hand, alongside chopped tomatoes with garlic and spicy zhug sauce.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
