Markouk is a traditional Palestinian recipe for a classic flatbread that's rolled very thin and cooked on one side only on a hot domed surface. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Palestinian version of: Markouk.
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Shrak, also known as markook (Arabic: مرقوق، شراك) is a type of flatbread that's very popular in the countries of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. This bread is usually rather large, almost 60cm in diameter, and has a very thin thickness, practically translucent. The procedure to prepare it is very similar to that of other breads of the nature where the dough is stretched with the intention that it remains very thin.
Markook bread (Arabic: خبز مرقوق, romanized: khubz marqūq), also known as khubz ruqaq (Arabic: رقاق), shrak (Arabic: شراك), khubz rqeeq (Arabic: رقيق), [1][better source needed] mashrooh (Arabic: مشروح), and saj bread (Arabic: خبز صاج), is a kind of Middle Eastern unleavened flatbread common in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. It is baked on a convex metal griddle (a saj) or in a tannour.
Markook was mentioned in the tenth-century cookbook of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq under the name ruqaq. He describes it as a large and paper-thin, unleavened bread.
Ingredients:
250g wholegrain flour, sifted
300g plain (all-purpose) white flour, sifted
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
75ml (5 tbsp) olive oil
300ml lukewarm water (or more) at 36°C
Method:
In a bowl, mix the yeast and the sugar, then pour over 120 ml of lukewarm water at 36°C. Mix and let the yeast activate for 15 minutes, until the mixture is frothy.
Combine the remaining ingredients (except the water) in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the yeast, the using the dough hook, knead for 1 minute on medium speed, gradually incorporating the remaining lukewarm water.
If the dough seems too dry and difficult to form into a smooth ball, it needs a little more water. In this case, add a little lukewarm water very gradually and then knead for 10 minutes, until obtaining a smooth and soft dough that comes off the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise for an hour in a warm place, away from drafts, until it doubles in volume (about 60 minutes).
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, roll them out and place them on a floured work surface, away from drafts. Cover them and let them rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat a saj (convex metal hotplate) or place a conical wok upside down on high heat.
On a floured work surface, roll out a ball of dough until you have a very thin, circular, sheet of dough.
Place the dough on the hot saj or wok and bake on one side only (you only cook on one side).
It takes about 2 to 3 minutes for the bread to bake. Meanwhile, roll out another ball of dough and keep it ready.
Repeat the process with all of the remaining balls of dough.
Once the markouk are ready, arrange them on top of each other and immediately cover them with a cloth so that they do not dry out.
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