Sesame Ring Pastries

Name: Sesame Ring Pastries (Kaak)
Yield: Makes about 16 rings
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon salt; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 envelope active dry yeast; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; ⅔ cup milk; ½ cup sesame seeds; 1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water; 1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water; ½ cup lukewarm water

Kaak

Preparation info

Makes about
16 rings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Saffron Shores

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2002

About

All over the Middle East, street vendors display these savory bread rings on long poles. Called kaak, or semit, these can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack with cheese. Tunisian Jews make a slightly sweet and salty version of the pastries, which are also called kaak but don’t use a yeast-based dough.

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅔ cup <

Snack
Pastry
Vegetarian
Mediterranean
Breakfast

Method

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the milk over low heat until bubbles form around the edge. Add the butter and let cool to lukewarm.

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and water. Stir to dissolve. Let set until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to the milk mixture, and gradually stir into the flour mixture. Mix well to make a soft