Jachnun is a Yemeni-Israeli rolled pastry that is baked for 12 hours the day before Sabbath. The pastry dough is rolled out thin so thin light passes through it , it is then buttered, rolled up tightly and placed in a tin with a tight fitting lid. Raw eggs are sometimes placed on top of the pastries and after 10-12 hours in a low oven they too come out perfectly cooked.
This recipe is adapted from Jamie Geller’s jachnun recipe: https://jamiegeller.com/recipes/homemade-jachnun-from-scratch/
Jachnun
Jachnun is a Yemeni-Israeli rolled pastry that is baked for 12 hours the day before Sabbath.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- jachnun tin
- oven
Ingredients
Pastry
- 8 C. all-purpose flour
- ¼ C. sugar
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2½ C. warm water
- ½ C. olive oil
- ½ C. butter, softened
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and honey.
- Gradually add the water to the flour mixture until it forms a shaggy dough. If the dough is too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough with your hands for a couple of minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough on a countertop and stretch and knead the dough for 5 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a layer of plastic wrap and a damp cloth and allow to rest for several hours or overnight.
- Use a kitchen scale and divide the rested dough into 10 balls.
- Take a piece of dough and tuck the edges of the dough under forming a ball with a tight and smooth surface.
- Liberally coat the dough balls with olive oil and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 225˚F/107˚C.
- Using your fingertips press the dough ball out into a disk, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out as thin as possible. You will want to be able to see your countertop beneath the dough and the final dimensions will be about 18 in. X 18 in./46 cm. x 46 cm.
- Take a tablespoon of softened butter and spread it all over the dough. Use a pastry brush to spread a layer of olive oil all well.
- Fold one third of the dough on the left side to the middle of the dough, repeat with the right side and you should have a long column of dough.
- Brush the pastry with olive oil. Start at the bottom and tightly roll the pastry.
- Coat the inside of the jachnun tin with oil and add layer of sandwich bread. Add a layer of oiled parchment.
- Place the rolled dough into the bottom of the prepared tin. Pack 5 rolls tightly next to each other in one layer. Cover the rolls with a layer of parchment and add another layer of 5 rolls.
- Add a final layer of oiled parchment and top with 4 raw eggs. Cover with the lid and place in a preheated 225˚F/107˚C oven for 12 hours.
- Serve the jachnun and eggs with grated tomato seasoned with salt.
Notes
Nutrition
Calories: 936kcalCarbohydrates: 153gProtein: 22gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 716mgPotassium: 232mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 391IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 58mgIron: 9mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
What size jochnun tin did you use and where did you get it from?
It’s 22 cm/8.66 inches in diameter and I purchased it on Amazon, but unfortunately it’s no longer available.
Thanks Emmy! Amazon has others but I needed to know what a “usual “ size would be. Love your videos/recipes! Have a great day!
This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it. One thing my family does is place each jachnun standing up on their ends directly into the pan so that the bottoms of each of them gets crispy and caramelised while the rest stays soft and buttery. You just pack them all in there. And if you want to go completely Yemeni with your breakfast you can add Hilbe (made from fenugreek seeds) to give it a truly middle Eastern flavour.
Cool pans on a rack for 15 minutes before inverting and removing pans. Remove parchment.