Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Ethiopian Honey Bread) #WorldBreadDay

Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories invited the Festive Foodies to join her for #WorldBreadDay. She wrote: "Preheat your oven. October 16 is World Bread Day. In honor of the day, please bake any bread of your choice using yeast or sourdough. New posts only. Here's more info about the day. https://anydayguide.com/calendar/3377."

Honestly, that woman is bread-making genius. So, I wasn't sure I wanted to join in; her beautiful breads are seriously intimidating. But, then I realized, my bread baking is never going to improve if I don't bake bread. Makes sense, right? So I put on my thinking cap and let the boys do some reseaching, too, since they were on Fall Break. Before I get to my pick, here's our global bread basket...

• Bao Buns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheesy Garlic Sourdough Focaccia from Cooking with Carlee
• Chocolate Babka from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Chocolate Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Rye Bread from Caroline's Cooking
• Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Dinner Rolls from Cooking for My Soul
• White Chocolate Mocha Braid from The Baking Fairy
• Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Ethiopian Honey Bread) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla 

Yemarina Yewotet Dabo 

(Ethiopian Honey Bread)

We were inspired by this recipe. It's a simple, delicious bread and I love that Ethiopia is the leading African country in the production of beeswax - and in the top 10 worldwide. This is a recipe a somewhat uncommon bread called Yemarina Yewotet Dabo. The three words mean: Yemar, honey; yewotet, milk; and dabo, bread in Amharic, one of the main languages of Ethiopia. As far as my honeys went, I used a local-to-me honey from Carmel and, for serving, some honey that a friend gave me from her travels in Spain.

This is slightly adapted from the original recipes I found. I added more spices and reduced the butter. Also, just to clarify, the first rise was in a stainless bowl; the second rise - and the baking - was done in a stoneware bowl.

Ingredients

• 1 T active, dry yeast
• 1/2 C warm water
• 2 T honey + 1/2 C (I used a local honey)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 T ground coriander
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground cardamom
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1 t salt
• 1 C milk, warmed
• 6 T butter, softened
• 5-1/2 C flour + more for kneading
• oil (I used canola oil)
• butter and honey for serving (I used a honey from Spain)

Procedure

Place warm water and 2 T honey in a mixing bowl. Whisk to dissolve honey, then add the yeast and let bloom for 10 minutes. The mixture should be foamy.

Whisk the egg, 1/2 C honey, spices, and salt together in a small bowl. Gently stir in the yeast mixture and then add the warm milk and butter.

Stir 2 C flour into the mixture. Add flour 1/2 C at a time while mixing with a wooden spoon. Adjust the flour: if you feel that the dough is wet and sticky, continue adding 1/2 C flour until the dough is smooth. The dough will be scraggy.

\

Lightly flour the counter or work space and knead the dough until it is it is smooth and elastic, approximately 10 to15 minutes.

Place in a lightly oiled stainless bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let it rise until doubled in size, approximately 60 to 90 minutes

Punch the dough down. Form the dough into a loaf or whatever shape you like. I simply place it in a stoneware baking bowl and covered it with a towel for a second rise, approximately 45 minutes

During the last 30 minutes of the rise, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake at 325 for an hour until the bread is firm and nicely browned on the top.

Invert the bread onto wire rack or cutting board. Eat by itself or - as we chose to eat it - with butter and more honey.