SC - Khushkananaj (was: Ideal vs. practical)

[Cindy Renfrow]

>Khushkananaj
>al-Baghdadi p. 212/14
>
>Take fine white flour, and with every ratl mix three uqiya of
>sesame-oil[one part oil to four of flour], kneading into a firm paste.
>Leave to rise; then make into long loaves. Put into the middle of each loaf
>a suitable quantity of ground almonds and scented sugar mixed with rose
>water, using half as much almonds as sugar. Press together as usual, bake
>in the oven, remove.
>
>2 c white +1 c whole wheat flour	12 oz = 1 1/2 c sugar
>1/2 c sesame oil	1 T rose water
>6 oz almonds =1 c before chopping	3/4 to 7/8 c cold water or
>additional flour for rolling out dough	1/2 c water, 1/2 c sourdough starter
>
>"Leave to rise" is a puzzle, since the recipe includes neither yeast nor
>water. The recipe does not seem to work without water; perhaps the author
>took it for granted that making a paste implied adding water. We originally
>developed the recipe without leavening, but currently use sourdough, which
>is our best guess at what the original intended (and also seems to work a
>little better). The two versions are:
>
<snip>

Hello!

There is a footnote in A Baghdad Cookery Book for this recipe:
"Khushknanaj, From Persian khushk = dry, nan = bread."
Might this recipe also be interpreted to be making a long, *flat*,
cracker-like bread, filled with the almonds & scented sugar?

The bread recipes that follow this in the MS also do not call for water, so
your assumption seems valid. If you use *hot* water instead of cold water,
this becomes a type of hot-water crust pastry.  I'm looking at the recipe
for this in Mrs Beeton.  Her recipe requires a *rest* once the flour, fat,
& liquid have been kneaded together.  The rest makes the dough stretchy &
easier to work with. Could this be what your recipe wants us to do?

The  recipes that follow this call for the bread to be made "into shapes,
using an appropriate mould".  Any idea what these looked like?

Regards,

Cindy


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