Kahek, Sitto Naima’s Breakfast Biscuits
Sitto's Kahek
Years ago, one of my very favorite after-school snacks was Kahek. When I moved to the Midwest with my young family, I really missed this traditional Syrian biscuit. I wanted to try it now that I had my own children. So, I called Sitto and she gave me the recipe, in Arabic, using her typical ratios. Her generation always used these ratios: a pound of this vs. 3 pounds of that. A pinch of this or handful of that. It was confusing to me since I'd always prepared a recipe with precise measurements. I converted what she told me.
Kahek with Sesame Seeds
Even when I later put her recipes together for the first cookbook, I converted her instructions to these more typical conventional measurements found in every cookbook. And then one day, I read that a chef had recommended my grandmother's method of measuring. He said it was a much more reliable way of baking...which is an exact science, unlike cooking! After all those years, Sitto was right!
Kahek dough before rise
In any case, back to the Kahek! After I made my first few batches, I asked her why they weren't as crunchy as hers. She told me that she would bake them longer to get a firmer finish and to top that, she would run them under the broiler for a few minutes to give them a nice golden color. So, my thoughts are that, depending on your own likes, you may or may not want to keep them in the oven longer. Some families like a crunchy Kahek and others don't. So let the first batch be your personal guide. I have done them both ways and prefer them with a "bite' just like Sitto's version called Sitto Naima's Breakfast Biscuits, Kahek Min Sitto Naima.
I also did a half version for those of you who don't want to make mountains of Kahek dough and tweaked the shortening using butter instead of Crisco and margarine in her recipe. That's my Author's Breakfast Biscuits. So, you have a choice!