Kubaneh (Yemeni Pull-Apart Shabbat Bread)

Kubaneh is a rich, pull-apart bread that Yemeni Jewish families traditionally bake low and slow overnight so it is ready warm for Shabbat morning. The dough is layered generously with butter, which bastes the bread as it bakes into soft, buttery layers. It is traditionally served with grated tomato, hard-boiled eggs, and a spoonful of zhoug.

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft, divided
• Neutral oil, for shaping

Instructions

1. Make the dough
   In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water and mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
2. Knead until smooth
   Knead by hand or in a stand mixer for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
3. First rise
   Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until roughly doubled.
4. Divide and rest
   Divide the dough into 6 balls, rub each lightly with oil, and let them rest 15 minutes.
5. Layer with butter
   Flatten each ball into a thin round, spread generously with soft butter, then roll and coil it into a spiral. Nestle the spirals into a buttered round pan.
6. Second rise
   Cover and let rise another 30 minutes.
7. Bake low and slow
   Bake at 250F (120C) for about 2 hours, until deeply golden and the layers pull apart easily. Traditionally it bakes overnight at an even lower temperature.
8. Serve warm
   Turn out onto a plate and pull apart while warm, with grated tomato, boiled eggs, and zhoug alongside.

Leftover kubaneh toasts beautifully the next day, buttered layers and all.