DATE BREAD RINGS

Date bread rings, or Nawa’em.

The recipe of our favourite middle-east sweet treat.

Love at first sight.

That was it.

We were walking in a bustling street in Jerusalem, near Jaffa Gate, when we saw a seller offering us a flower-shaped, yellow donut.

We immediately fell for the soft, fragrant bread-like dough and the irresistible date filling, so we promised ourselves we would try to make it back at home.

The Nawa’em are a traditional middle-east sweet treat, very common in Palestinian bakeries. They go hand-in-hand with a powerful cup of Arabic coffee for the perfect afternoon break.

Our recipe is the result of few attempts and takes from the expert knowledge of Chef in Disguise. We converted all measurements into grams, and added our personal tips and suggestions.

The Process

We used a hand mixer for the steps 2-4 and then moved on to kneading by hand for step 5. 

You can use a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment for steps 2-4 and switch to a kneading hook for step 5, or knead by hand.

Prepare the date filling

If using pitted dates, grind them in a grinder, then knead them with the melted butter and spices to make a sticky and smooth paste.

If using the date paste, you can skip the grinding step.

Prepare the dough

1. In a bowl add the flour, sugar, yeast, turmeric and cardamom. Mix well the ingredients.

2. Add the melted butter and turn the mixer on; mix until the butter is completely blended into the flour.

3. Add the yogurt, vinegar and vanilla and mix again until the ingredients are completely absorbed by the flour mix.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until they are fully incorporated.

5. Put the mixer aside, add the milk and water (add water little by little as you see fit) and knead by hand for 5-10 minutes. If the dough ends up too sticky, add some more flour.

6. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with cling film or a wet towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (2-3 hours).

7. Gently deflate the dough by pressing on it with the palm of your hand.

8. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Make the date bread rings

1. Divide the dough into seven parts.

2. Roll out each part into a semi-rectangle on a lightly floured surface (tip: do not overdo with flour as you want your dough to be a bit sticky in order to be able to close the ring neatly).

3. Roll a part of the date filling to form a cylinder that is as long as the long side of your rectangle.

4. Place the date filling on the dough and roll the dough around it.

5. Join the two edges of the tube to form a ring, pinch the edges together (tip: cut one cm off each end before joining them, this gives you clean uniform edges that fuse together neatly).

6. Using a knife or kitchen scissors (scissors do a better job here), make 2 cm cuts  all around the dough ring.

7. Brush the dough rings with the egg coating.

8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

 9. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

10. Bake on the middle rack of a180°C fan oven (probably slightly higher if using a standard oven) for 15/20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Storage tip: we recommend to put the date bread rings in an airtight container to keep them soft for 2-3 days.

If you don’t eat them all before, of course.