dabo

Ethiopian Honey Bread

for Shabbat and Celebrations

photo credit: lilith.org

Dabo

Ethiopian honey bread

for shabbat and celebrations

When you think about food for Shabbat, is challah the first thing that enters your mind? After all, what’s Shabbat without making HaMotzi over challah?

But everyone’s traditions are not the same. To the Jews of Ethiopia, dabo is the bread that one bakes for Shabbat. It’s sweet with honey and flavorful with sweet spices.

Dabo bakes in a pot, rather than on a baking sheet. A Dutch oven is the perfect size and shape.

One of the great things about dabo, besides its taste and its texture, is that you can bake it either in the oven or on the stove top. Got too much going on in the oven? Do it stove top! Too many pots on too many burners? Do it in the oven!

In the early 1990s, thousands of Ethiopian Jews (thought to be one of the lost tribes) emigrated to Israel, and now this bread is popular among Israelis. Why not give it a try? I suspect that if you make it once, you will make it again.

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups all purpose flour (780 grams)

  • 2 tablespoons yeast

  • A pinch of sugar

  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds

  • ½ teaspoon ground fenugreek

  • ¾ teaspoon ground coriander

  • ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

  • 3 cups very warm water (120°—130°)

  • 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing

  • ¼ cup honey

 

Method:

  • Spoon the yeast into a large mixing bowl. Add the pinch of sugar. Slowly stir in the warm water. Allow the mixture to sit for 3—5 minutes so that the yeast can bloom.

  • Stir in the olive oil and the honey. (it will be easier to mix in the honey if you warm it slightly.) Stir in the flour with the salt and spices, and keep stirring until you have a soft, sticky dough.

  • Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and allow the dough to rise until double in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  • Punch the dough down and knead it a bit by hand, still in the bowl. Then allow the dough to rise for a second time, uncovered, again until it has doubled in size. This will take about 30 minutes.

 

If you’re planning to bake the dabo in the oven, have the oven preheated to 400°.

  • Prepare the pot as follows while the dough is rising. Put the pot on a piece of parchment paper and trace the bottom, then cut out the circle. Repeat so that you have two circles. Then turn the pot on its side and trace out a long strip. Grease the inside of the pot and line it with the parchment (reserving one circle), then lightly grease it again.

  • When the dough has risen a second time, gather it into a ball and place it in the prepared pot. Use oiled hands to press it down to fill the pot to the sides and smooth the top. Place the second parchment round over the top. Cover the pot loosely.

  • Slide the pot into the center of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then raise the oven temperature to 425°.

  • After 30—45 minutes, the bread should have risen to push away the top of the pot. Remove the cover, remove the top round of parchment, and allow the dabo to continue to bake uncovered until the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes or so.

  • Allow the bread to cool in the pot for a few minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before transferring it to a round serving dish.

 

If baking stove top:

  • Lightly grease the pot and transfer the dough to the pot, pressing it down to fill the pot to the sides and smoothing the top. It’s best to do this with oiled hands.

  • Place the pot, uncovered, on a large burner and turn the heat on to low. Let the dabo bake for about 30—35 minutes, turning the pot every now and then to make sure it’s baking evenly.

  • Then remove the pot from the heat and turn the dabo out onto a parchment lined plate. Invert the plate and return the dabo to the pot, with what was the top now on the bottom. Continue to cook over low heat for another 30—35 minutes until the dabo is baked through and the bottom is golden brown.

  • Then turn it out onto a cooling rack (you may need to loosen the sides with a knife) and allow it to cool completely before transferring it to a serving plate.