Dabo is round and crumbly with a touch of sweetness. In Ethiopia the bread
was baked in a round clay pot over embers in a fire pit in the ground. It
was wrapped in banana leaves to prevent it from sticking to the pot and to
keep the bread moist. Upon moving to Israel, Ethiopian Jews changed their
baking technique. Now the bread is baked on a burner or in the oven, and the
bread is either wrapped in lettuce leaves, or in parchment paper, which
serves the same purpose as the banana leaves.
Dabo was always considered a festive bread, served on Shabbat and holidays,
as opposed to the better-known injera flatbreads, which are used for
everyday meals.
Photo
credit Vered Guttman
To break the fast on Sigd, Ethiopian Jews feast on lamb or chicken stew with
potatoes and eggs, all served with dabo. Dabo is also served during Shabbat
and holidays, and is considered a staple of Jewish Ethiopian Shabbat
breakfasts as well.
Ingredients
2¼ tsp instant dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
3½ cups (1¼ lb) all-purpose flour
(you can replace 1 cup with farina if desired)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp honey or sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp nigella seeds (optional)
Directions
Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup lukewarm water
mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar, stir and let stand 5-10 minutes, until
yeast foams vigorously.
Mix flour, honey and oil in the bowl
of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add yeast and the rest of the
water and knead for 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and nigella
seed (if using) and continue to knead on medium-high speed for 5
minutes. If dough is too stiff, add a couple of tablespoons of water
at a time. Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let
stand in a warm place for 2-3 hours, until dough doubles in volume.
Grease a tall oven-proof pot 7-8
inches in diameter, or layer it with parchment paper. Pour dough in,
cover with towel and let stand for 30 minutes more until it rises
again.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180
degrees C).
Put a round piece of parchment paper
on top of the dough, to prevent not from touching the aluminum foil.
Cover pot tightly with greased aluminum foil and top with a baking
sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Now flip the pot over onto the baking
sheet (so the bread is upside down) and bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove bread from oven, flip bread
out of the pot, let cool and serve warm or at room temperature.