Jachnun (Yemenite Jewish overnight pastry)
Jachnun is a rolled, butter-layered wheat pastry baked covered for hours at very low oven heat and served warm, often with grated tomato and schug.
Yemeni malawah
A Yemeni layered wheat bread made by stretching an unleavened dough thin, folding butter or ghee through it, and baking it on a very hot stone.
The Yemeni oven version
Sheba Yemeni Food describes malawah as a layered bread eaten in Yemen, especially at restaurants in Sana'a, Aden, Hodeidah and elsewhere. The author notes that her home version is smaller than the restaurant bread and uses a pizza stone instead of a tanur. It is an unleavened wheat dough folded around butter or ghee, then baked at high heat until thin areas crisp and thicker areas remain chewy.
The recipe lists black seeds but gives no amount or timing for them. They are optional here and their use is identified as an editorial completion. The flour-to-water ratio may need a small adjustment for local flour and climate, but the source gives no quantity, so none is prescribed.
Related breads with similar names
Yemenite Jewish malawach is a related layered bread, but JIMENA’s recipe is pan-fried and belongs to Yemenite Jewish foodways. This entry preserves Sheba Yemeni Food’s Yemeni oven-baked formula rather than combining the two methods.
Somali malawah is different again: My Somali Food’s recipe is a pourable wheat batter with egg, milk, water and cardamom, spread thinly in a pan and cooked on both sides. It is a crepe, not the butter-layered Yemeni dough described here.
History
Sheba Yemeni Food describes malawah as one of the breads eaten in Yemen and presents a smaller home-oven interpretation of restaurant bread. The 2013 recipe page does not establish the bread’s first date.
Ingredients
Yield 2 malawah breads, about 30–38 cm (12–15 inches) each · Scaling: source batch only
Bread flour
473 mL2 cup as recorded
Water
177 mL¾ cup as recorded
The author says small hydration adjustments may be needed for flour absorption and local climate but gives no added amount.Salt
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Butter or gheeMelt. Use the listed amount for coating and folding the dough; the source also coats the balls with a little butter before resting.
79 mL⅓ cup as recorded
Choose butter or ghee.Black seeds (optional)
Amount not stated
Listed by the source without a quantity or a step specifying when to add them.Cornmeal (optional)Dust the pizza peel.
Amount not stated
Amount not specified by the source.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Uncooked flour may carry harmful germs; do not taste the dough before baking.
Hazard sourceHot baking stone and oven
The source uses a 260°C oven and hot stone, creating burn risk during loading and removal.
Hazard sourceBake the dough before eating and wash hands, utensils and work surfaces after handling raw flour or dough.
Control sourceUse an oven mitt and a suitable pizza peel when loading and removing bread from the hot stone.
Control sourceDo not taste raw dough. Use an oven mitt and keep hands away from the 260°C stone and oven interior.
- Mix the flour, water and salt. Knead for about 15 minutes until smooth. The dough should feel soft and smooth without sticking heavily to the work surface; the source allows small hydration adjustments for different flour and climates but gives no measured adjustment.
- Divide the dough into two equal balls. Coat them lightly with some of the listed melted butter or ghee, cover and rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Stretch each ball into a very thin rectangle by pressing and pulling the dough, tossing it between your hands, or using a rolling pin. Brush both sides with melted butter or ghee. The source lists black seeds but gives neither a quantity nor placement; if using them, scatter them over the buttered dough before folding.
- Fold the sheet into a rope-like strip. Tie it into a knot, tie once more, and tuck in loose ends to form a rough ball with air pockets. Cover and rest for another 20 minutes.
- As the second rest begins, heat the oven and baking stone to 260°C (500°F). Let the stone preheat for at least 30 minutes before baking. Stretch each rested ball again into a broad, uneven round about 30–38 cm (12–15 inches) across; thinner areas bake crisper and thicker areas stay chewier.
- Dust a pizza peel with cornmeal. Place one round on the peel and check that it slides when the peel is gently shaken. Transfer it to the hot stone and bake for 4–5 minutes, until browned on top. Use the peel to remove it carefully and serve immediately. Bake the second round the same way.
Conditions
Yield2 malawah breads, about 30–38 cm (12–15 inches) each
Temperature260°C
Places
Yemen
Documented use · Country evidenceSheba Yemeni Food describes malawah as eaten across Yemen and served in restaurants in Sana'a, Aden, Hodeidah and elsewhere. The recipe does not establish a birthplace.
Related
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Sources
Sheba Yemeni FoodInspiration · History · Geography
Yemeni Malawah BreadYemeni bread context, smaller home interpretation, formula, kneading, two rests, butter lamination, 500°F stone preheat, 12–15-inch shaping and 4–5-minute bake.
JIMENAHistory
MalawachYemenite Jewish malawach is described as a fried breakfast pastry; its recipe is cooked in a skillet. Used to distinguish the related Jewish form from this specific Yemeni home-oven method.
My Somali FoodHistory
Malawah: Somali CrepesThe Somali preparation is a thin batter containing egg and milk, rested briefly and cooked on both sides in a pan; it is distinct from this laminated dough.
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour may carry harmful germs; do not eat raw dough and clean after handling flour.