Samoon | Iraqi Flatbread

Samoon is a popular flatbread from Iraq that has a beautiful crust. Made with whole grain and topped with sesame seeds, this is a great bread to be served with soup. 

Looking for a recipe to bake with the alphabet S for my A to Z International Flatbread series, I had quite a bit of options. What attracted me about this particular bread, Samoon | Iraqi Flatbread, is the shape of the flatbread. I loved the diamond puffy shape of the bread and thought this will be something the boys will like to eat with some soup.

I was looking to make this for dinner, but realized that we had music class at our place on that day and kids would be coming home. That is when I changed the plans and made the Samoon in the afternoon to serve the kids in the evening with some honey. I am so glad, that I made that decision. After the class, the kids were happy to eat the Samoon with drizzled honey and so did the parents.

Wheat bran is one of my new found love. I bought some for the first time to make Aish Baladi and then used some to make the Norwegian Crisp bread. This is the third recipe in this series that I am using the wheat bran and it was just perfect. I substituted half of the wheat flour in the recipe with wheat bran. If you don’t have any bran in hand or don’t prefer it, you can skip it and use wheat flour instead.

Shaping the Samoon was fun and something new that I learned. I sprinkled sesame seeds in half of the bread and made half of them plain. I have to say though that the ones with the sesame was everyone’s favorite. Even my ‘not so sesame loving’ son declared that he likes it only with the seeds.

My Other recipes in the A-Z International Flatbread Series –

A for Aish Baladi
B for Boulanee Katchalu
C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca
D for Dhal Puri
E for Emirati Khameer 
F for Fruit Focaccia
G for Gozleme
H for Himbasha
I for Indian Fry Bread
J for Janta Roti
K for Ka’ak
L for Lepinja
M for Mahjouba
N for Norwegian Crisp Bread
O for Onion and Poppy Seed Pletzel
P for Pol Roti
Q for Qutab
R for Roomali Roti

Preparation time – 15 minutes plus about 2 hours of resting time
Baking time – 15 to 18 minutes
Difficulty level – Easy
Recipe adapted from – Multicultural Kid Blogs

Ingredients to make Samoon | Iraqi Flatbread – Makes 6

• Whole wheat flour – 1/2 cup
• Wheat Bran – 1/2 cup (can be skipped and substituted with whole wheat flour)
• All Purpose flour – 2 cups
• Active dry yeast – 1 1/2 tsp
• Sugar – 1 TBSP
• Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil – 2 TBSP
• Yogurt – 2 TBSP
• Warm Water – 3/4 cup to 1 cup
• Milk – 2 TBSP (to brush on top)
• Sesame seeds – to sprinkle on top (optional)

Procedure to make Samoon | Iraqi Flatbread –

To make the Dough –

• In a bowl, heat the water. I always start with little less than a cup and then add more when kneading the dough. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and mix well. Cover it and let the yeast rise for about 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the yeast mixture should be bubbly and frothy. This shows that the yeast is active and working. If the yeast does not appear frothy, then start with a new batch.

• I use my stand mixer to knead the dough. Add the wheat flour, wheat bran and the all purpose flour to the bowl of the mixer. Add the salt and mix. Now add the yogurt, oil and the yeast mixture and start kneading the dough.
• If the dough appears dry, add more warm water to bring it to the right consistency. The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky.
• Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes and then place it in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. It took me about an hour when placed in the oven with the proof setting.

To shape and Bake the Samoon –

• Preheat the oven to 450 F. Player 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• Once the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down gently and divide it into 6 equal sized balls.
• Roll each piece into a smooth ball and then using both your palms, roll the two edges of the dough ball to elongate the edges while keeping the center thick. Refer to the picture to help you better understand.
• Now flatten the dough and stretch it while keeping the shape intact.

• Place it on the prepared baking sheet.
• Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Keep the dough ball covered for about 20 minutes or until slightly puffy.
• Brush the top of the dough with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

• Bake them for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the samoon is golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let it cool slightly on a rack.

5 from 7 votes

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Samoon | Iraqi Flatbread

Samoon is a popular flatbread from Iraq that has a beautiful crust. Made with whole grain and topped with sesame seeds, this is a great bread to be served with soup. 

Course Baking, Breakfast, Flatbread

Cuisine Asian, Iraqi

Keyword appetizer, Baking, Bread, flatbread, Iraqi flatbread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Resting time 2 hours

Total Time 33 minutes

Servings 6 flatbread

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Wheat Bran - 1/2 cup can be skipped and substituted with whole wheat flour
• All Purpose flour - 2 cups
• Active dry yeast - 1 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 TBSP
• Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 TBSP
• Yogurt - 2 TBSP
• Warm Water - 3/4 cup to 1 cup
• Milk - 2 TBSP to brush on top
• Sesame seeds - to sprinkle on top optional

Instructions

To make the Dough -

1. In a bowl, heat the water. I always start with little less than a cup and then add more when kneading the dough. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and mix well. Cover it and let the yeast rise for about 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the yeast mixture should be bubbly and frothy. This shows that the yeast is active and working. If the yeast does not appear frothy, then start with a new batch.
2. I use my stand mixer to knead the dough. Add the wheat flour, wheat bran and the all purpose flour to the bowl of the mixer. Add the salt and mix. Now add the yogurt, oil and the yeast mixture and start kneading the dough.
3. If the dough appears dry, add more warm water to bring it to the right consistency. The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky.
4. Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes and then place it in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in volume. It took me about an hour when placed in the oven with the proof setting.

To shape and Bake the Samoon -

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Player 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Once the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down gently and divide it into 6 equal sized balls.
3. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and then using both your palms, roll the two edges of the dough ball to elongate the edges while keeping the center thick. Refer to the picture to help you better understand.
4. Now flatten the dough and stretch it while keeping the shape intact.
5. Place it on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Keep the dough ball covered for about 20 minutes or until slightly puffy.
7. Brush the top of the dough with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Bake them for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the samoon is golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and let it cool slightly on a rack.

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