Bint as-Saḥn (Yemenite Layered Pastry)
Bint al-sahn (Arabic: بنت الصحن), or Sabayah, is a layered pastry traditionally made in Yemen, and now popular in other regions. The procedure takes a long time.
Total
01:00
Yield
10
Ingredients
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 3 cups lukewarm water
- ¼ cups warm milk
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 6 cups white all-purpose flour
- 2 cups semolina flour
- ½ cup warm margarine (or melted butter)
- 2 tbsp black cumin (Nigella sativa)
- Sesame seeds (optional) (optional)
- Crushed almonds
- Crushed pistachios
- Total:
- 01:00
- Yield:
- 10
Instructions
-
1Combine the yeast and warm water. Stir in the warm milk.
-
2Stir the salt, sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs into the yeast mixture.
-
3Mix the flour and semolina into the above mixture. Knead well to make a dough.
-
4Cover dough and let it sit until dough rises.
-
5Divide the dough into pieces the size of your hand, and transfer to a flour-dusted surface to prevent sticking.
-
6Work each dough ball, stretching and folding the dough over itself multiple times. This stretching and folding process helps produce an airy and light-textured dough.
-
7Let dough balls rest for 10–15 minutes.
-
8Prepare a flat working surface by rubbing it with some margarine. Roll out one piece of dough into a very thin round.
-
9Brush the dough round with margarine, then lightly sprinkle with crushed almonds, pistachios, black cumin, and sesame seeds.
-
10Roll another piece of dough into a thin round. Stack on top of the first round, then brush with margarine and sprinkle with more almonds, pistachios, etc. Repeat this step, stacking the rounds, until all the dough is used up.
-
11Bake the stacked dough in oven. Serve with honey.
- Method
- Baking
Dietary Information
Kosher
Recipe Attribution
Printed from recipe.exchange
https://recipe.exchange/recipes/wb-415433
Printed on October 30, 2026