Go Back
Dabo, a special bread made by Ethiopian Jews for Shabbat
Print Recipe

Dabo

This is an Ethiopian wheat bread that Jews of the Beta Israel community typically eat on Shabbat. It is a "no-knead" bread, which rises twice before baking, and then a third time in the oven. The seasonings give it a unique flavor.
Cuisine: Ethiopian
Keyword: bread, Shabbat

Equipment

  • Round, lidded aluminum pot (In Israel, this is sold as a kubana pot. See notes at end.)

Ingredients

  • 1 kg flour (See notes at end.)
  • 1 Tbsp yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp nigella seeds
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground fenugreek
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 3 cups water approximately (See notes at end.)

Instructions

  • Put all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add oil.
  • Begin adding the water. Start with about 1½ cups and begin to mix thoroughly, using your hands. Gradually, as the ingredients mix and the dough gets wetter, add more water a little bit at a time. You may use the water to help get the dough unstuck from your hands. You are aiming for a consistency of dough that is wet and sticky, but not overly goopy. As you near the proper consistency, add small amounts of extra flour or water as needed. Work the dough inside the bowl for a few minutes.
  • Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rest and rise. It should take around 45 minutes until the dough approximately doubles in size.
  • Uncover the bowl and deflate the dough, pushing it down and remixing it by hand. Then recover the bowl and let it rise a second time, again until it approximately doubles in size.
  • Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F. Put baking paper around the inside walls of a round aluminum pot. You may secure the paper with clothespins. Prepare a circle of baking paper that is the size of the inside of the pot.
  • Gather the dough into a ball and place inside the pot. Remove the clothespins. Wet your hands slightly, and push down the top of the dough. Place the circle of baking paper gently on top, and loosely cover the pot with the lid.
  • Put the pot in the oven, on top of aluminum foil or baking tray to prevent any potential messes. After 5 minutes, raise the temperature to 218° C / 425° F.
  • The bread should rise above the top of the pot, pushing up the loose lid. After approximately 35-40 minutes it should have risen sufficiently, and will look nearly done. Remove the lid and circle of baking paper from the pot and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
  • After removing the bread from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes and then carefully remove it from the pot.

Video

Notes

  • The pot I used is 18 cm diameter by 11 cm high.
  • I used 80% whole wheat flour, but you can use any flour you like. It just might require more or less water to achieve the proper consistency. (You can see the desired consistency in the accompanying video.)
  • I started with about 1 1/2 cups of water, and then gradually added more, mixing as I went. At a certain point, I felt it had gotten too wet, so I then added in a drop more water.