The Breads of Egypt: Fayesh - فايش

In a previous post about Fino, I mentioned the different types of bakeries found in Egypt. The focus today is on one of the products found in the “afrangi“ style bakeries which is called Fayesh. It’s a crunchy bread made with an enriched dough, flavoured with turmeric and a unique sourdough starter. Some bakeries will sometimes omit the sourdough to save time and add crushed sesame seeds and mahleb instead to give it a distinct aroma. The sourdough however is the more traditional option and it gives the fayesh a unique flavour and aroma that is strongly associated with Egyptian bakeries; something you simply cannot substitute. It is also the preferred method in Upper Egypt (الصعيد) where traditions seems to be healthier and more prominent in daily life. Fayesh is also available in supermarkets, where the packaging can give some easy clues as to how it is made.

Commercially packaged Fayesh. The ingredients mentioned on the side of the box are flour, clarified butter/samna, milk, turmeric, chickpeas, sugar and corn oil

A traditional Upper Egyptian fayesh begins the day before baking, where split chickpeas (also known as Chana dal) are ground to a powder, mixed with boiling hot milk and left to ferment. Other popular options are sesame seeds, dried split fava beans or regular (whole) chickpeas. If chickpea flour is available to you, by all means go ahead and use it instead of grinding your own. The hot weather in Egypt can give you a fully fermented sourdough of sorts within twenty four hours but feel free to leave it longer if your kitchen is cool.

Once you have your sourdough, you have two options. If you use it at its peak and mix it with a portion of the flour to create a pre-ferment, it can be enough to ferment the full dough. However, if you find that the sourdough has collapsed in the jar, you can go ahead and mix it with all the remaining ingredients and add yeast to leaven the dough. The flavour and aroma of this unique sourdough are the main elements we are after; the leavening power can be considered a nice bonus. For the purpose of this recipe, the sourdough will be used together with commercial yeast to leaven the dough and give it the distinct aroma that characterizes fayesh.

Stages of fermentation: 1) Ground chickpeas mixed with hot milk. 2) Sourdough risen halfway. 3) Fully risen

Baking fayesh is a two step process, akin to Italian biscotti. The finished dough is shaped into long loaves which are baked until risen and nicely browned. They are then sliced and placed back into the oven to toast and thoroughly dry out. Some people cut the dough into many pieces before baking, tear them apart by hand and bake them again. That saves some knife work but I find that baking loaves and then slicing them before the second bake to be more efficient. Fayesh can be eaten as soon as it cools down to room temperature and, since it’s dry, can be stored in a box, plastic or paper bag for at least two weeks. Since it has quite a bit of flavour on it’s own, it makes for a nice light breakfast with something mild like a soft and creamy white cheese. It also works nicely with something earthy like sauteed mushrooms.

Estimated time:

Sourdough: 24-36 hours

Mixing and kneading: 15 minutes

Rising time: 2,5 - 3 hours

Baking: 1 hour

Ingredients:

50 grams dried, split chickpeas

200 grams milk, boiling hot

500 grams all-purpose flour

150 grams water

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt

2 teaspoons (10 grams) sugar

60 grams melted butter or clarified butter

Steps:

1- Grind the chickpeas as fine as possible and mix with the boiling hot milk in a clean glass jar with a tight lid. Close the jar and leave it to ferment at room temperature until fully risen and bubbly (see picture above).

Grinding the chickpeas

2- In a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough, the water, yeast, turmeric, salt and sugar. Mix everything until the sourdough is dissolved in the water and the liquid takes on a strong yellow colour from the turmeric.

3- Add the flour and melted butter or clarified butter and mix until no more dry flour remains. Knead for five to ten minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for at an hour and half and up to two hours at room temperature.

4- Lightly dust your counter with flour and turn the dough out. Divide it into two equal pieces and shape each piece into a log, about 20 cm long and 8 cm wide. Place the logs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover them and leave to rise for an hour.

Dough divided and shaped

5- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. When the dough has risen for an hour, place the tray in the middle of the oven and bake the loaves for 20 minutes or until puffed up and browned.

First bake completed

6- Lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees C. Slice the loaves into slices about 1 cm thick and lay them in a single layer on the baking tray.

Sliced and ready for the second bake

7- Bake for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until toasted and dried out. They will harden further as they cool down so make sure you don’t eat them until they are fully cooled.

Finished fayesh