Emirati Khameer | Khamir Flatbread from UAE

Emirati Khameer also known as the Khamir flatbread is a very popular flatbread in the United Arab Emirates. It is made with slightly sweet dough and is the softest ever flatbread that I have baked.

Almost nearing the end of week 1 and before I even start writing about this recipe, I have to tell you this. This Emirati Khameer is one of the softest oven-baked flatbreads that I have made for this A to Z International flatbread series.

I am saying oven-baked because I have another very soft flatbread coming up that is pan-cooked. The Emirati Khameer, which is a popular flatbread from the United Arab Emirates is so simple and quick to make.

It took me just 3 minutes per flatbread to bake in the oven and this is the first time I baked a flatbread on a cooling rack. This mega Marathon has taught me so much about flatbread and handling the dough.

This is the first time I am not using a pizza stone or baking sheet to bake bread. I was so worried that the bread would stick to the rack, but no...It was perfectly fine and came out beyond perfect. I wish there was a way to show how soft these flatbreads were.

Despite eating flatbread every other day (this is what happens when I don't plan ahead for month-long marathons), we still finished this bread in no time. My little one was fighting with my portion of the bread and trying to claim it.

I served this Khamir Flatbread after school with some honey to the boys and they said that this was the best combination they had eaten in a while. My neighbor has a bee farm and he sold us some local fresh honey.

The honey was so mild and delicious that even my honey-hating son (and add the mother too) ate quite a bit of honey with the bread. Hopefully, it will do us some good for the allergies. I will highly recommend trying this Khamir Flatbread as I am very positive that you will love it.

Preparation time - 15 minutes plus 1 ½ hours of resting time
Baking time - About 3 minutes per flatbread
Difficulty level - Easy
Recipe adapted from - Amira's Pantry

Ingredients to make Emirati Khameer - Makes 4 flatbread

• Bread flour (can be substituted with All purpose flour) - 2 cups
• Instant Yeast - ½ TBSP
• Sugar - 3 TBSP
• Salt - ½ tsp
• Baking Powder - ½ TBSP
• Milk - ½ - ¾ cup (warm)
• Olive oil - 2 tablespoon plus more to grease the bowl
• Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
• Saffron threads - ¼ tsp
• Sesame seeds - 2 tablespoon ( I used black and white)

Procedure to make Emirati Khameer

To Make the Dough

• I made my dough in the food processor. You could knead it by hand or use the stand mixer as well.

• In the bowl of the food processor, add the flour, Instant yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cardamom powder.

• Pulse the machine a couple of times to combine.

• Add the oil to the flour and mix once. Now slowly add the milk and make a soft dough. Add just enough milk to make a soft and slightly sticky dough.

• Bring the dough out and knead for a couple of minutes.

• Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half.

To Shape and Bake

• Preheat the oven to 500 F.

• Take about 3 tablespoon of warm milk in a bowl and add the saffron thread to it. Mix well and keep it aside

• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape them into a ball. Let the balls rest (covered) until the oven is preheating.

• Using a little flour to dust, roll each piece of dough ball into a ¼-inch thick circle. My flatbread was about 6 inches in diameter. Make sure to keep them ¼ inch thick and not to make them thin.

• Keep the rolled flatbread covered with a cloth to avoid drying out.

• Pick one piece of the rolled dough and flip it in your hand. Now place it on a cooling rack. The side that was touching the surface when rolling will be the top when baking.

• Brush the top of the dough with the saffron milk and sprinkle the sesame seed on the surface.

• Carefully place the cooling rack directly on the rack inside the oven. Let it bake for about 3 minutes. Check to see if the Khameer is evenly browned on all sides. I rotated the pan once in between the baking for even browning.

• Remove the khameer from the oven and let it cool. Repeat the same with the rest of the rolled dough. I always allowed the oven to heat for about 3 to 4 minutes before placing the next flatbread.

• I also used two cooling racks to alternate the baking, so one rack could cool to room temperature before placing the next flatbread.

• Serve the Emirati Khameer at room temperature or slightly warmed with cheese or jam. I served it with some fresh local honey, and it was the best thing we ate.

Other Flatbreads

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Recipe

Emirati Khameer | Khamir Flatbread from UAE

Emirati Khameer also known as the Khamir flatbread is a very popular flatbread in the United Arab Emirates. It is made with slightly sweet dough and is the softest ever flatbread that I have baked.

5 from 19 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Baking, Breakfast, Flatbread, Snack

Cuisine: UAE

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes

Resting time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 flatbread

Calories: 373kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

• ▢
  food processor
• ▢
  Oven

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Cups Bread flour can be substituted with All purpose flour - 2 cups
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Instant Yeast
• ▢ 3 tablespoon Sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Salt
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Baking Powder
• ▢ ½ cup Milk ½ - ¾ cup warm
• ▢ 2 TBSP Olive oil 2 tablespoon plus more to grease the bowl
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Saffron threads
• ▢ 2 TBSP Sesame seeds I used black and white

Instructions

To Make the Dough -

• I made my dough in the food processor. You could knead it by hand or use the stand mixer as well.
• In the bowl of the food processor, add the flour, Instant yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder and cardamom powder.
• Pulse the machine a couple of times to combine.
• Add the oil to the flour and mix once. Now slowly add the milk and make a soft dough. Add just enough milk to make a soft and slightly sticky dough.
• Bring the dough out and knead for couple of minutes.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. It takes about an hour to hour and a half.

To Shape and Bake -

• Preheat the oven to 500 F.
• Take about 3 tablespoon of warm milk in a bowl and add the saffron thread to it. Mix well and keep it aside
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape them into a ball. Let the balls rest (covered) until the oven is preheating.
• Using a little flour to dust, roll each piece of dough ball into a ¼ inch thick circle. My flatbread was about 6 inches in diameter. Make sure to keep them ¼ inch thick and not to make it thin.
• Keep the rolled flatbread covered with a cloth to avoid drying out.
• Pick one piece of the rolled dough and flip it in your hand. Now place it on a cooling rack. The side that was touching the surface when rolling will be the top when baking.
• Brush the top of the dough with the saffron milk and sprinkle the sesame seed on the surface.
• Carefully place the cooling rack directly on the rack inside the oven. Let it bake for about 3 minutes. Check to see if the Khameer is evenly browned on all sides. I rotated the pan once in between the baking for even browning.
• Remove the khameer from the oven and let it cool. Repeat the same with the rest of the rolled dough. I always allowed the oven to heat for about 3 to 4 minutes before placing the next flatbread.
• I also used 2 cooling racks to alternate the baking, so one rack could cool to room temperature before placing the next flatbread.
• Serve the Emirati Khameer at room temperature or slightly warmed with cheese or jam. I served it with some fresh local honey and it was the best thing we ate.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 756mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 49IU | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!