Honey
Honey is a bee-made food from floral nectar or honeydew; breads use it in dough or as a syrup served with cooked griddle breads.
Modern adaptation
Bint al-sahn (Yemeni layered bread with honey)
بنت الصحن · bint as-sahn · bint al-sahan
Bint al-sahn is a Yemeni celebration and home bread built from thin, egg-rich yeast dough layers brushed with ghee or butter. This source-specific version makes one round cake, baked until golden and served warm with honey.
A Yemeni layered home bread
Sheba Yemeni Food describes bint al-sahn as a rich, flaky bread made at home and served warm with honey and melted ghee. The page’s method builds a single round cake from yeast dough: each portion is stretched thin, brushed with fat and stacked over the previous sheet. An egg-yolk wash and black cumin or sesame seeds finish the top.
The source identifies the dish with Yemen but does not name a city or region for this formula. It also notes that some cooks call a similar preparation sabayah in parts of Yemen. This recipe keeps the source’s bint al-sahn name and does not claim one exclusive regional version.
Sources for this section
Dough and layers
The dough combines bread flour, eggs, yeast, salt, fat and water. The posted ingredient list calls for melted butter or ghee in the dough, but a comment by the recipe author clarifies that softened butter is used in the dough and melted butter is used between layers. The comment does not resolve the ghee alternative, so this record states that uncertainty instead of assuming the same texture. The author kneads for 10–15 minutes, adds water gradually to reach a soft consistency that does not cling to the hands, then covers the dough for a short rest.
The source gives an 8–10-piece range and then directs the cook to repeat the layering process for ten layers. This version chooses ten portions, a count within that range. The layers are brushed with additional melted fat between them, while the top is finished with egg yolk and seeds instead. The author says bread flour stretches more easily than regular flour and that the extra water amount changes with local climate.
Sources for this section
Baking and serving
The recipe uses a greased 14-inch round cake pan and a preheated 400°F oven. Katherine allows 18–20 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown. The thin layers take practice; the headnote describes the bread as best fresh and warm. The page does not state a storage duration, a honey quantity or a measured internal temperature, so this record supplies none.
The method is one home recipe rather than a standardized bakery specification. The stated pan sizes, dough rest, number of portions and visual bake cue belong to this formula; they should not be treated as universal requirements for every Yemeni bint al-sahn.
Sources for this section
Food handling
Flour is raw and eggs may carry harmful bacteria. Do not taste the uncooked dough; keep raw ingredients and tools away from ready-to-eat foods and clean hands and equipment after mixing. Follow the source's baking method; its golden colour and time are not presented here as a measured safety limit.
Use oven protection for the hot pan. Honey is served with the bread, but CDC guidance says not to give honey to a child younger than 12 months because of infant botulism risk.
History
The cited home recipe page is dated 2012 and updated in 2013. It describes bint al-sahn as a Yemeni dish often made at home, but does not establish an earliest attestation or a specific locality for the dish.
Ingredients
Yield 1 14-inch layered bread · Scaling: source batch only
946 mL4 cup as recorded
Source quantity; no weight is supplied.4 large
Source does not give a size.WaterUse this portion to dissolve the yeast.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Add up to about 1/4 cup more gradually, as needed for a soft, smooth dough that does not stick to the hands; the source says climate affects the amount.Ghee or butterWork into the dough. The posted list says melted, but the author clarifies in a comment that softened butter is used in the dough; she does not clarify the ghee alternative.
177 mL¾ cup as recorded
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
YeastDissolve in the first 1/4 cup water.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
The source does not specify yeast type.Additional melted ghee or butterMelted; the author clarifies that melted butter is for the layers.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
The source does not give a separate amount for each layer.Egg yolkBeat and brush on the top layer.
1 yolk
Black cumin seeds or sesame seeds (optional)Sprinkle over the egg-washed top.
Amount not stated
The source gives no amount.Honey (optional)Serve with the warm bread.
Amount not stated
The source describes honey as an accompaniment but gives no amount.Method
Risks and precautions
Raw flour and egg
Flour is a raw food and uncooked eggs may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste the dough.
Hazard sourceHot oven and pan
The pan and bread are hot when removed from the oven.
Hazard sourceHoney for infants
Honey may cause infant botulism and must not be given to children younger than 12 months.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough; keep raw flour and egg away from ready-to-eat foods, clean hands and utensils after mixing, and bake the bread through until golden as the source directs.
Control sourceUse oven protection when handling the hot pan.
Control sourceDo not serve honey to a child younger than 12 months.
Control sourceContains wheat and egg; also contains dairy if made with ghee or butter.
Honey is an accompaniment; do not serve it to children younger than 12 months.
- Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup water. In a large bowl, mix the bread flour, eggs, salt and yeast mixture with the dough fat. For the butter option, use softened butter: the recipe author clarifies in a comment that softened butter is for the dough, although the posted ingredient list says melted. The author does not clarify whether the ghee alternative should be melted or softened. Knead by hand or with a mixer for 10–15 minutes. Add the remaining water gradually, stopping when the dough is soft and smooth but does not stick to the hands; the source used about 1/4 cup extra, with the amount varying by climate.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10 portions, choosing the upper end of the source's 8–10-piece range. Shape each into a smooth ball, coat lightly with oil, cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Grease a 14-inch round cake pan. Take one ball at a time and toss it by hand or roll it on a clean surface until the sheet is very thin and nearly see-through. Lay the first sheet in the pan and brush or drizzle it with some of the additional melted ghee or butter. Repeat with the remaining balls, brushing each sheet except the top one.
- Brush the top sheet with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with black cumin or sesame seeds.
- Bake in a preheated 400°F (about 204°C) oven for 18–20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- Serve the bread warm with honey. The source gives no honey quantity or storage duration.
Conditions
Yield1 14-inch layered bread
Temperature204.4°C
Places
Yemen
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe source identifies the dish as Yemeni but does not locate this method in a specific region or city.
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Sources
Sheba Yemeni FoodYemeni identity and home context · Complete dough formula and layered oven method · Serving context
Bint Al SahnThe author describes bint al-sahn as a Yemeni dish, a rich flaky bread most often made at home and served fresh and warm with honey and melted ghee.
The dough ingredients are 4 cups bread flour, 4 eggs, 1/4 cup water plus about 1/4 cup more as needed, 3/4 cup melted butter or ghee, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp yeast; another 1/4 cup melted fat is listed for layering, with egg yolk and black cumin or sesame seeds for the top.
Dissolve the yeast in water; knead the dough 10–15 minutes, adding water gradually until smooth and non-sticky; rest 10 minutes; divide into 8–10 balls, coat lightly with oil, cover and rise 30 minutes.
Stretch or roll the portions very thin, layer them in a greased 14-inch round pan with melted fat between all but the top layer, brush the top with egg yolk and sprinkle seeds; bake at 400°F for 18–20 minutes or until golden.
The page says the amount of additional water varies with climate and recommends bread flour because it stretches more easily. Its headnote gives no honey quantity.
The author's August 2012 comment clarifies that, for the butter option, softened butter goes into the dough and melted butter is used between layers; this conflicts with the ingredient list's use of 'melted' for the dough fat. The comment does not specify the state of ghee.
Cited in: A Yemeni layered home bread; Dough and layers; Baking and serving
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationRaw flour and egg safety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFlour is raw, uncooked eggs may carry harmful bacteria, and raw dough or batter should not be tasted; cooking is required for flour-containing food.
Cited in: Food handling
National Health ServiceHot pan and oven hazard
Burns and scaldsHot items can burn and hot liquids or steam can scald.
Cited in: Food handling
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionHoney safety
Foods and Drinks to Avoid or LimitHoney must not be given to children younger than 12 months because it may cause botulism.
Cited in: Food handling