Ancient Sun Bread

Name: Ancient Sun Bread (Aish Shamsi)
Cuisine: Egyptian
Ingredients: 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups plus 2 tbsp) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting; 25 g (1 oz/3 tbsp) wholemeal (whole wheat) flour; 2 tbsp (50 g/1¾ oz) active sourdough starter; 2 tsp salt

Aish Shamsi

Preparation info

Makes
2
loaves

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Egypt

By Suzanne Zeidy and Rawah Badrawi

Published 2026

About

Shamsi, or “sun” bread, is an ancient Egyptian leavened bread made with a natural sourdough starter and proofed in the sun. Though the dough is quite wet and tricky, this recipe adapts the tradition for home bakers.

Ingredients

For the Pre-Ferment

250 g (9 oz/1¾ cups) strong white bread flour
50

Africa
Egypt
Luxor
Starter
Low fat
Mediterranean
Vegan
Bread

Method

For the pre-ferment stage, in a medium bowl mix the flours, sourdough starter and 300ml (10½fl oz/1¼ cups) water to thoroughly combine. Cover with a towel and leave to rest for 12 hours or overnight at room temperature.

The next day, in a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the dough with the pre-ferment and 175ml (6fl oz/¾ cup) water and mix until smooth - this is easiest using a w