Kubaneh isn’t just bread. It’s a festive Yemenite bake that fills the house with the smell of butter, garlic, and fresh herbs.
Soft dough gets generous layers of seasoned butter, then it’s rolled into spirals and baked side by side in one pan.
You can bake it the quick way in a regular oven. Or go for a slow overnight bake, the traditional way, and wake up to it on Shabbat morning.
Either way it comes out soft and deeply golden.
I serve it with grated tomatoes, tahini, schug, and a hard-boiled egg. A weekend breakfast that’s hard to stop eating.
One tip: keep the pan covered for most of the bake. Then uncover for the last 10 minutes to get that golden top.
Kubaneh is made from bread flour, instant yeast, honey, salt, and lukewarm water, layered with garlic herb butter. Knead 10 minutes, rise 1½ hours, roll 6 butter-spread spirals into a greased pan, and rise 45 minutes. Bake covered at 350°F (180°C) for about 45 minutes (or 6–8 hours at 210°F / 100°C overnight), then uncovered 10 minutes more.
Kubaneh with Garlic Herb Butter (Yemenite Shabbat Bread)
Ingredients
Method
- In a bowl, mix the flour, yeast, and honey. Gradually add the water while kneading, until the dough comes together.
- Add the salt and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic.
- Cover and let rise for about 1½ hours, until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, mix all the garlic herb butter ingredients in a small bowl until evenly combined.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls. Flatten each ball into a thin sheet and spread with a generous layer of the butter.
- Roll each sheet into a spiral and arrange them side by side in a greased 8-inch (20 cm) round pan.
- Cover and let rise again for about 45 minutes.
- Bake with the lid on in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for about 45 minutes. (For an overnight bake: 6–8 hours at 210°F / 100°C.)
- Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes, until the kubaneh is deep golden.
Notes
- Be generous with the butter. The layers are what make kubaneh special.
- You need a pan with a tight-fitting lid. If yours doesn’t have one, cover tightly with foil.
- The overnight bake at a low temperature gives a darker, more traditional result.
- Butter → ⅓ cup olive oil for a parve (dairy-free) version.
- Basil → chives or green onion.
- Schug → any spicy green chili sauce.
Frequently asked questions
Kubaneh is a Yemenite Jewish bread traditionally baked slowly overnight in a covered pot and eaten on Shabbat morning. The dough is layered with fat and rolled into spirals.
Yes. After the second rise, bake it covered for 6–8 hours at 210°F (100°C), then uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
Yes. Use ⅓ cup olive oil instead of the butter for a parve version.
Grated tomatoes, tahini, schug, and hard-boiled eggs. It’s a classic Shabbat breakfast.
Wrap well and keep at room temperature for a day, or freeze. Reheat covered in a low oven until warm and soft.
