After a three-week school trip in Israel I’m finally back in the states! I hope that everything has been fantastic with you - I’ve missed reading your blogs and finding out what’s going on in your world. I’ve also greatly missed writing here and am beside myself with glee at having easy access to a computer again. Woohoo! The blog addicts among you understand yes?

I have much to share but this is going to be a relatively brief post because I have yet one more conference to attend and there’s a lot to get done before I head back to the airport. This time it’s only a four day trip, however, and within the United States at that. Most importantly I’ll be in the same time zone as my husband, which is far easier to manage than the seven hour time difference we juggled while I was in Israel. I’m leaving Sunday morning, but before I go I wanted to share some of my trip to Israel with you. Hence, this post is about two things: the Makhne Yehuda market I fell in love with in Jerusalem, and za’atar (זעתר), a delicious spice mixture.

There were many things I loved in Israel, but one of my favorites was the market on Makhne Yehuda street in Jerusalem. If you have never been to a middle eastern market before it is quite an experience, with crowds of people bustling, an amazing array of colorful items for sale, and fearless vendors shouting in Hebrew or Arabic. You can find pretty much anything your food-loving heart desires here: from exotic spice mixtures and enormously lush grapes to freshly caught fish and breads or pastries that have just been taken out of the oven. I loved visiting the spice stalls with all their vibrant colors and heady aromas, and was especially taken with the nut mixtures that Israelis add to their rice. (You can see an example of these nut mixes in the photos above.) Shoppers can also find clothes, kippot, and huge candy stalls covered from top to bottom in neon colored confections. (The colors are so bright you could say the shops glow.) My favorite item to buy here were chocolate bars that have ‘pop rocks’ added to them. These bars are so much fun to eat because not only is the chocolate scrumptious, but the crackling sound that engulfs your mouth can’t but bring a smile to your face. The bar is made by the Elite Candy Company, whose other chocolate bar varieties include: hazelnut, strawberry and the bubbly, aerated chocolate featured here. Needless to say, I brought back several bars of the pop-rock variety to share with my 5th grade students.

One of the many things you can find in the Makhne Yehuda market is za’atar, which is the green mixture you see in the first photo above. A combination of sumac, toasted sesame seeds and other spices such as thyme, it’s popular in Israel and throughout the Middle East. Technically za’atar is the name of a specific plant, which was the ‘original’ spice used in food. But over-exploitation nearly eradicated the herb so picking it is now against the law and herb mixtures are used instead. The Lebanese believe that za’atar makes the mind alert and the body strong, so children are often given a za’atar sandwich for breakfast before taking an exam at school.

I hadn’t realized this before returning to the States and researching za’atar online, but there is actually debate about what the “right” mix of ingredients is to achieve the “correct” za’atar. For instance, one site wrote:

In Arabic “zaatar” is used to describe not one plant but a family. It includes hyssop varieties, thyme varieties, etc. For example thyme is “zaatar romi” (roman zaatar), and oregano is “zaatar ach’dar” (green zaatar) and so forth. Zaatar can also be the name of hyssop or a varied mixture of herbs….The ingredient which gives the mixture it’s saltiness is “zaatar parsi” … a rare plant similar to wild thyme with purple flowers.

After much reading and comparing of recipes, I’ve concluded that the za’atar recipe listed here is the closest ‘from scratch’ approximation to what I brought back from Makhne Yehuda. Serving wise, za’atar is frequently served with olive oil as a spread or is used to flavor meat and vegetables. My favorite way to eat it, however, is spread over small rounds of pizza-like bread. Nearly everywhere you go in Israel you can find a baker who has mixed za’atar with olive oil, spread it over dough, then baked it to a golden brown color. The result is a light bread that’s delicious on it’s own or dipped in labne, a tangy yogurt made from goat or sheep’s milk. Indeed, I enjoyed this bread/spice combo so much that as soon as I got home I began trying different ways to recreate it. The first two attempts with different kinds of dough weren’t so spectacular, but then - success! Aside from the fact that I shaped my bread into a rectangle instead of small rounds, the recipe below is near exact replication of the baked goodness I enjoyed while wandering around the streets of Jerusalem. You can, of course, divide the dough into four smaller portions and create rounds before baking too.

Za’atar on freshly baked bread

Alright, I’m off to repack my suitcase. I suppose this entry wasn’t so brief after all eh?

Za’atar on freshly baked bread
Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• A pinch of sugar
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1/6 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cornmeal, for sprinkling
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Za’atar. Either premixed or made from scratch. (Instructions for making it from scratch here.)
  // Edit: Also, Saveur Magazine recently pointed out this website, which sells a few za’atar mixes.

Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the flour over the surface of the water. Stir until dissolved and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, place 2 tablespoons of the oil, salt, 1 cup of flour, and the yeast mixture. Whisk hard until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft, sticky dough that just clear the sides of the bowl is formed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and vigorously knead to form a springy ball, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking, about 3 minutes. The dough should be quite soft, smooth, and very springy.

Form the dough into a flattened ball and place in a greased deep container. (Grease it with about 1 tsp of olive oil.) Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until tripled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a small baking sheet (about 9 x 5 or half of a 17 x 11 inch sheet) and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use the heel of your hand to press and flatten the dough. Lift and gently pull the dough, stretching it to the baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, mix 1/6 cup of olive oil (half of a 1/3 cup measure) with 1 1/2 tablespoons of za’atar. Let sit 30 minutes at room temperature.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Using your knuckles or fingertips, gently poke indentations all over the dough surface no more than 1/4-inch deep. Brush the herbed oil over the dough, letting the oil pool in the indentations. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool in the pan.

The bread recipe in this post is slightly adapted from “Herbed Focaccia Bread” as listed in The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger.

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