Go Back
Yemenite Lahoh (Spongy Skillet Flatbread)

Yemenite Lahoh (Spongy Skillet Flatbread)

Soft, airy Yemenite lahoh full of bubbles, just like grandma's.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Breads & Rolls
Cuisine: Yemenite
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) semolina
  • About 1½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon (10 g) instant yeast
  • ½ tablespoon (9–10 g) salt
  • 4½–5 cups (1–1.1 liters) water, as needed

Method
 

  1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, semolina, baking powder, and yeast.
  2. Add the salt and mix again.
  3. Pour in the water gradually while whisking by hand, until you get a thin, smooth batter. It should look like pancake batter.
  4. Keep whisking until there are no lumps at all.
  5. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1¼ hours, until the batter puffs up and is full of small bubbles.
  6. After rising, stir the batter gently.
  7. Pour one ladleful of batter into a cold pan (this is very important!) and set it over medium heat.
  8. Don't flip the lahoh. It's ready when the top is dry and the bubbles have opened.
  9. After each lahoh, let the pan cool before pouring more batter, or alternate between two pans.
  10. As soon as each lahoh comes out of the pan, put it under a clean kitchen towel and cover it to keep it soft.

Notes

Tips for bubbly, spongy lahoh
  • Whisk the batter until completely smooth. Lumps mean uneven lahoh.
  • Always start with a cold pan. Two pans make the process faster.
  • Cook on one side only. The bubbles on top are the whole point.
  • Stack them under a towel right away so they stay soft.
Substitutions
  • Instant yeast → active dry yeast (same amount).