Taboon bread, main component of musakhan | |
| Type | Flatbread wrap |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Middle East |
Taboon bread (Arabic: خبز طابون, romanized: khubz ṭābūn) is Levantine flatbread baked in a taboon or tannur 'tandoor' clay oven, similar to the various tandoor breads found in many parts of Asia. It is used as a base or wrap in many cuisines, and eaten with different accompaniments.[1]
Taboon bread is an important part of Palestinian cuisine,[2][3][4] traditionally baked on a bed of small hot stones in the taboon oven.[5] It is the base of musakhan, often considered the national dish of Palestine. Gustaf Dalman, a German orientalist, documented its making in Palestine in the early 20th-century, among other types of breads.[6] In Palestine, folded flat-bread was often filled with a spinach and onion mixture, or with cheese curds and onion mixture, or with raisins and pine nuts.[6] The ordinary taboon-bread was slightly smaller in size than the ordinary tannur-bread.[7] Over the centuries, bread-making in communal taboons played an important social role for women in Palestinian villages.[5]
In Israel, a popular flatbread known as laffa, Iraqi pita, or in Jerusalem ashtanur,[8] is typically baked in a tannur or taboon.[9][10] It is common at bakeries, and at food stands where it is mostly used to wrap shawarma or other food.
