Thyme is considered a basic ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine and is widely used to flavor meat, soups and stews. It is used in both its fresh and dried forms.
In ancient times, thyme symbolized courage and strength, and maidens gave it to warriors and knights before battle. Some even placed thyme in coffins as they believed this assures passage to the afterlife.
With the advent of spring comes a wide variety of fruit and herbs including thyme. Whenever I go to the grocery these days and see those big bunches of fresh thyme I cannot resist coming back home without one! Half of that bunch goes for preparing these delicious fresh thyme biscuits bread while the other half I dry for later use.
Seriously, these small balls of fresh thyme biscuits are addictive! The flavor of the thyme in the bread is just amazing. The recipe is also very easy to make and kid-friendly. If you are looking for a way to engage the little ones in the kitchen in a fun activity, these small balls of flavor should be high on your list.
Fresh Thyme Biscuit Bread Recipe
Preparation time: 20 min Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons yogurt
¼ cup powder milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola, sunflower or corn)
1 ½ tablespoon dry active yeast
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ¼ cup warm water
1 egg whisked
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 cups fresh thyme, washed and dried well (best to wash it a day before preparing)
¾ teaspoon salt (for the thyme)
How to make Fresh Thyme Biscuit Bread:
- Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add the yeast. Mix well and set aside.
- Chop the thyme and rub it with the ¾ teaspoon salt.
- In a large bawl combine the flour, salt, yogurt, powder milk, oil, vinegar, whisked egg, and the yeast mixture. Knead until you have a uniformed dough. You will notice that the dough is somewhat sticky, that is fine and how it should be. However, if the dough is too sticky that you have large lumps on your hands and difficult to form into a ball, add a spoon or two extra flour but be careful not to add too much flour, the final dough must be reasonably sticky! I have found that the above measurements usually work well, but with different varieties of flour it can vary a bit.
- Add the Thyme to the dough and knead it until well incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel. I usually cover the bowl then with wet hands sprinkle water on the towel till half of it is covered with water droplets.
- Place the bowl in a warm place. I usually place it in the middle oven rack as the oven is warm due to the pilot flame. Leave for a few hours.
- Once the dough has risen to almost double the size (bottom left picture), knead it again and set aside for another half hour. This step is very important for getting a flaky dough!
- Grease 2-3 baking sheets with some vegetable oil.
- Rub your hands with a bit of vegetable oil and take half the dough and form small balls. To do that I hold the dough in the palm of my hand and squeeze small balls out between the opening of my thumb and pointer fingers (see picture below left). Take the other half of the dough and do the same.
- With your fingers press to flatten the fresh thyme balls. Set aside for 10 minutes. (see picture below right).
- Bake the thyme biscuits in a preheated oven at 350° for 20 minutes.
Enjoy your fresh thyme biscuit bread with a cup of milk or tea for breakfast or a yummy afternoon snack. Fresh thyme biscuits are also a healthy snack to include in your kids lunchboxes.
Hope you enjoyed today’s easy recipe: Fresh Thyme Biscuit Bread, a traditional Middle Eastern pastry. Bon appetite.
What is your favorite herbed biscuit bread?
اضغط الرابط لقراءة وصفة أقراص الزعتر الأخضر باللغة العربية
