Khubiz, Syrian Bread — Sitto's Kitchen

There are days when I really miss my grandmother, my Sitto Naima. When this happens, I get busy making something Syrian. It seems to help bring back those happy memories in Sitto's kitchen.

One of the most delightful memories was the preparation and aroma of baking bread. I remember Sitto, with her Formica table full of little dough balls, rising on top of her baking sheets (they actually were old, laundered sheets, used only for baking).

My sister and I would light up when she asked if we wanted to help! We'd pick up those soft and plump dough balls and laugh and laugh. We'd remark that they felt like little babies’ cheeks!

Sitto would show us how to take the newly risen dough, pat them down to about 1/4" thick and about 6" in diameter. She told us they'd have to rest for about 45 minutes before we could bake them. We'd ask, "Sitto, why do they have to rest?" And she'd tell us in Arabic, so that they will be plump when they are baked.

It's memories like this that remind me of my heritage, of the love my grandmother had for our ancestors and how she wanted to impart that to us, the next generation. Now, many years later, I realize that It was even more satisfying than the first bite of that warm Syrian Bread!