Shoreek - Egyptian Sweet Rolls

Shoreek - soft, ethereal, fluffy, sweet, light as air... it's hard to choose the best word to best describe these Egyptian sweet rolls! 

These spirals of pull-apart bread, sprinkled with sugar, while not well known in the rest of the world, are said to be very popular in Egypt. They're especially enjoyed by Christians in Egypt for Easter, and year-round by everyone else in the country (source: The Kitchn). 

They're often served with honey, honey butter, or even cinnamon sugar. I loved them warm from the oven on their own along with a milk and coffee. Leftovers are delicious re-warmed with butter and jam. 

Ingredient Check List:

_ Unbleached all-purpose flour. I'm sure bread flour would be fine too. I've also seen recipes that call for cake flour. I'm going to have to try it. 

_ Yeast. If you have it, you can use an osmotolerant yeast such as SAF Gold. It's meant for dough that is sweet, with the sugar being more than 5% of the total flour weight. If you don't have it, then a good instant yeast is my preference, such as Red Star Platinum or SAF Red. 

_ Baking Powder. You can skip this ingredient, especially if you are a bread purist. I've never baked with both yeast and baking powder in the same recipe... I wanted to give it a try to see if it would work with an enriched dough, because the bread made with an enriched dough can sometimes become heavy and stale a day later. I will say that these rolls were absolutely as light as air and stayed that way for two days. I am going to have to do some comparison baking to see. 

_ Pantry Ingredients. Salt, pure vanilla extract, and light brown sugar. I love the deeper flavor that the brown sugar adds. 

_ Egg. I used a half of an egg in the batter and the rest for brushing the shaped rolls. 

_ Milk. You can use whole milk or 2%. Don't use skimmed milk (non-fat). 

_ Vegetable oil. You can substitute melted butter if you like, or a combination of both. I used all vegetable oil. 

_ Sparkling sugar. For sprinkling over the shaped rolls before baking. Traditionally, these rolls are dipped or sprinkled with granulated sugar. You can use either. It's totally up to you. 

I was amazed when I pulled these rolls out from the oven and tranferred them to the cooling rack. They were unbelievably light compared to their size. 

Tips for Success:

When you are mixing this dough, it will seem way too sticky for bread. I added about 2 1/2 extra tablespoons while kneading the dough in the stand mixer, just enough for the dough to come together and very slightly clear the sides of the bowl. Resist the urge to add too much flour. The dough should be very "spongy."

This dough requires two bulk rises before shaping. While I made these rolls in one day, for the second rise, you can refrigerate the dough overnight. This may make the dough easier to shape. 

The dough will also seem way too sticky when you are ready to shape it. The trick to shaping the dough when it is ready is to lightly flour your work surface and your hands. Then handle the dough very gently. You'll be surprised at how lovely it will feel. 

While you can knead this dough by hand, it is so much easier to knead with my stand mixer. The Kitchen Aid Artisan or the smaller 4.5 quart tilt head mixer are both just the right size for kneading this smaller batch of dough. 

Storage:

These rolls are fabulous warm from the oven. You can keep leftovers stored in a plastic bag on the countertop for a day or two and it will still be soft. 

My favorite way to store these is to wrap each individually in plastic wrap and then place them in freezer bags to reheat later. Just mist them very lightly with water and reheat them for 10 to 15 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. 

This is where the sparkling sugar helps, as it won't dissolve in the freezer or the oven during reheating. 

I'm so happy with these rolls. 

They are subtly sweet, perfect for breakfast or tea. However, you could also serve them with ice cream, fruit curd, or vanilla whipped cream, fresh fruit, and chocolate sauce for a dessert, especially because their texture is so light and airy. 

More Recipes for Egyptian food:

Aish Baladi: It's probably the most iconic flatbread of Egypt. Aish actually means "life." 

Kushari: A very popular street food in Egypt that includes pasta, rice, lentils, tomatoes, crispy onions, and chickpeas. 

Sunday Funday Recipes for Egyptian Food:

• Culinary Cam: Hawawshi and Other Egyptian-Inspired Dishes 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Egyptian Borek (Cheese Filled Hand Pies) 
• Palatable Pastime: Baked Chicken with Baharat 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Salata Baladi 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Mahalabia
• Pandemonium Noshery: Molokhia
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Egyptian Cookies

Shoreek - Egyptian Sweet Rolls

Yield: 6 Rolls

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 4 H & 30 MTotal time: 5 H & 20 M

Shoreek - soft, ethereal, fluffy, sweet, light as air, ... it's hard to choose the best word to best describe these Egyptian sweet rolls!

Ingredients

• 280 to 308 grams (10 to 11 ounces/2 cups + more as needed) unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for your work surface.
• 71 grams (2 1/2 ounces/1/3 cup) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, whisked and divide in half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, plus 1/8 teaspoon for topping
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup warm (110 degrees F) milk
• Sparkling sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, salt, 1/2 egg (25 grams), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, oil, and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Mix on medium low speed for 10 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary. Start with 280 grams of flour and add an additional two tablespoons or so to bring the dough together if needed.
3. Place the dough into an oiled dough rising bucket or bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.
4. Deflate the dough, form it into a ball, cover, and let rise until doubled again.
5. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
6. Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Divide it into six equal pieces.
7. Flour your hands and form each piece of dough into a 12 inch long rope and then form each rope into a coil and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, about 1 to 2 hours.
8. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Whisk 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla into the remaining egg and brush the mixture over the shaped and risen rolls. Sprinkle with the sparkling sugar.
10. Bake the rolls for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

280

Fat (grams)

12 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2 g

Carbs (grams)

53 g

Fiber (grams)

83 g

Net carbs

50 g

Sugar (grams)

13 g

Protein (grams)

9 g

Cholesterol (grams)

35 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2023/11/shoreek-egyptian-sweet-rolls.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

rolls, pastry, shoreek

Bread

Egyptian

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Recipe inspired from various sources, including Amira's Pantry, The Kitchn, Yummy Middle East, Life on the Nile, and lots of YouTube videos.