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Shurayk
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Shurayk

Sweet sesame ring bread

Shurayk is the bread that fills the bakery windows of Mecca and Medina in Ramadan and on Eid mornings: soft, golden rings, faintly sweet and fragrant with mahlab, crusted with sesame and nigella. Families break them open with white cheese, olives and a glass of milky tea after the dawn meal or on the first morning of Eid. The crumb is tender like a brioche but lighter, because it uses milk and a little ghee rather than lots of butter and eggs. A frequent mistake is letting the rings over-prove after shaping; the holes close up and the rings bake into puffy buns. Chef's tip: shape them with a generous hole about 4 cm wide, since it shrinks by half in the oven.

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