Iraqi samoun
Iraqi diamond-shaped yeast breads topped with sesame and baked in a home oven.
Iraqi khubz tannour (home oven)
Khubz il-Tannour · Khubuz Mei · Iraqi khubz · Iraqi tannour flatbread
A soft, water-only Iraqi wheat flatbread adapted for a domestic oven with parchment and a preheated baking stone or inverted sheet.
Iraqi water bread
Khubz il-tannour, also called khubuz mei, is a leavened Iraqi flatbread made with wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. This measured home batch follows Nawal Nasrallah's adaptation in Delights from the Garden of Eden. She developed it for a regular oven using parchment to shape and move the wet dough, with a preheated stone or inverted baking sheet.
A household oven does not reproduce a tannour. In a tannour, dough is slapped onto the hot inner wall, where it bakes against the clay surface in the oven's intense heat. The home method bakes on a horizontal stone or sheet at 450°F (230°C), then moves the bread to an upper shelf to brown. It can make blistered flatbread, but the heat path, contact surface, and speed differ.
Sources for this section
Mix and rise
The batch uses 20 cups (5 lb/2.27 kg) flour, 9 cups (2.25 L) warm water, 3 tablespoons dried yeast, and 2 tablespoons salt. Nasrallah suggests a flour blend of one part whole-wheat flour to three parts bread flour. The soft, somewhat wet dough is handled with wet hands; do not add extra flour to make it dry.
Dissolve yeast in the warm water for 5 minutes. Mix salt into flour, make a well, and stir the liquid through. Knead lightly for about 6 minutes, wetting hands as needed. Cover and rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes; punch down and knead lightly halfway through.
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Shape with parchment and bake
Prepare parchment rounds slightly larger than the breads; use a product specifically rated for at least 450°F (230°C), and trim edges close to the dough. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) for 15 minutes with a stone on the lowest shelf, or use an inverted baking sheet. Follow the oven maker's guidance before putting a stone on the oven floor. An inverted sheet on an upper rack provides a second browning surface.
Divide the dough into 8 portions for 15-inch (38 cm) breads or 15 portions for 9-inch (23 cm) breads. Gather each into a ball on a surface dusted with semolina or wheat bran. With the dough on parchment over a flat support, press it thin with wet fingertips, leaving their marks. Rest each disc 5 minutes. Slide parchment and dough onto the hot lower surface; after about 5 minutes, move the bread on its paper to the upper shelf, where it browns in about 4–5 minutes. Each bread takes less than 10 minutes total. Peel the paper off and cool on a rack without stacking while hot. Keep parchment from touching elements or flame and watch it closely for charring, especially after moving it to the upper rack.
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Handling and serving
Bake the dough before eating and do not taste it raw. Wash hands and equipment after working with raw flour and dough. Use oven mitts and a stable support when moving the hot rack and parchment-supported bread.
Serve warm. Nasrallah recommends bagging cooled breads to prevent drying and freezing those not used within 2 or 3 days. That is household advice; no validated shelf-life limit is established here. Use parchment rated for the oven temperature and trim its edges; paper ratings vary and exposed edges can char.
Sources for this section
History
Nawal Nasrallah describes khubz il-tannour/khubuz mei as Iraqi flatbread, traditionally baked on a tannour wall, and gives a domestic-oven adaptation. The inspected source does not establish a dated first attestation.
Ingredients
Yield 8 large flatbreads, or 15 smaller flatbreads · Scaling: source batch only
44 mL3 tbsp as recorded
Warm waterComfortably warm to a dipped finger.
2.13 L9 cup as recorded
2.25 LFlourUse about one part whole-wheat flour to three parts bread flour.
4.73 L20 cup as recorded
5 lb / about 2.27 kgSaltSea salt preferred.
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
Semolina (optional)For dusting the work surface and trays.
as needed
Wheat bran (optional)Alternative to semolina for dusting the work surface and trays.
as needed
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Uncooked flour and dough can carry harmful germs; do not taste the dough before baking.
Hazard sourceHot oven and baking surface
Moving a wet dough disc to a hot surface and moving the rack can cause burns.
Hazard sourceParchment paper at high heat
Parchment temperature ratings vary; some products are rated below the recipe's 450°F oven setting, and exposed edges can char.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough; wash hands and utensils after handling flour and dough, and bake the bread as directed.
Control sourceUse a stable support and oven mitts when moving racks and hot baking surfaces.
Control sourceUse parchment whose manufacturer rating covers at least 450°F, trim exposed edges close to the dough, keep it away from elements or flame, and watch for charring, especially on the upper rack.
Control sourceA horizontal stone or sheet in a domestic oven does not reproduce the tannour's hot inner wall, heat path, or rapid wall-baking cycle.
Only place a stone on an oven floor when the appliance maker permits it.
Do not taste unbaked dough.
Parchment is not interchangeable across brands: use only a product whose stated oven rating covers 450°F, trim its exposed edges, and watch it closely for charring.
- Stir the dried yeast into the warm water and leave it in a warm place for 5 minutes.
- Put the flour in a deep bowl and mix in the salt. Make a well, pour in the yeast water, and stir until the flour is incorporated.
- Wet your hands with warm water and knead lightly for about 6 minutes, wetting your hands again when the sticky dough becomes difficult to handle. The dough should stay soft and somewhat wet. Smooth its surface with wet hands, cover the bowl, and leave it in a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes. Halfway through, punch it down and knead lightly with wet hands.
- Fifteen minutes before baking, heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Put a baking stone on the lowest shelf of an electric oven; use an oven floor only if the appliance maker permits it. If using no stone, place a large inverted baking sheet on the lowest shelf and another sheet on the upper shelf.
- Punch the dough down lightly with wet hands. Dust trays or a work surface with semolina or wheat bran. Divide the dough into 8 portions for breads about 15 inches (38 cm) across, or 15 portions for breads about 9 inches (23 cm) across. Gather and tuck each portion into a ball, keeping your hands wet, and rest them on the dusted surface.
- Use parchment specifically rated by its manufacturer for at least 450°F (230°C), and trim it close to the dough so exposed edges do not extend into the oven. Put a dough ball on a parchment circle laid over an inverted tray or other flat support. With wet fingertips, press it outward in quick strokes into a thin disc of the chosen size; leave the fingertip marks and keep your hands moist. Rest each disc for 5 minutes.
- Slide the lower oven rack partly out and transfer a disc, still on its parchment, to the hot stone or inverted sheet. Watch the paper closely; stop using it if it chars, and do not let it touch an oven element or flame. Flatten the next disc while the first bakes. After about 5 minutes, move the first bread on its parchment to the upper shelf to brown. Bake the second on the lower surface. Continue in sequence; each bread takes under 10 minutes in total. Remove each when its bubbles are browned, peel away the paper, and cool on a rack without stacking while hot.
- Serve warm. Once cool, keep in a bag to prevent drying; freeze what will not be used within 2 or 3 days.
Conditions
Yield8 large flatbreads, or 15 smaller flatbreads
Fermentation0.75 h
Temperature230°C
Temperature controlMulti-stage
Places
Iraq
Traditional preparation · Country evidenceNawal Nasrallah identifies khubuz tannour/mei as Iraqi flatbread and documents an oven adaptation; no narrower location is established.
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Sources
Nawal Nasrallah / Delights from the Garden of EdenRecipe · Method · Geography · History
Delights from the Garden of Eden — BreadNames khubuz tannour/mei as Iraqi flatbread made from flour, salt, yeast and water, traditionally baked against the tannour wall; points to a measured recipe and domestic oven method in the cookbook.
Cited in: Iraqi water bread; Mix and rise; Shape with parchment and bake; Handling and serving
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFood safety
Raw Flour and DoughUncooked flour and dough can carry germs; do not taste raw dough; clean hands and equipment after handling raw flour and dough.
Cited in: Handling and serving
King Arthur Baking CompanyFood safety · Equipment
Parchment & MatsOne manufacturer's parchment product is rated to 450°F; parchment ratings vary, so the recipe must name a minimum product rating rather than imply any paper is suitable.
Cited in: Shape with parchment and bake; Handling and serving