The Art of making a Mushaltat

An overcast sky and light drizzles make an ideal time to dig your teeth into a Mushaltat. It was more by accident that design than we ended up stopping by at a pastry shop which infact makes 'customised' mushaltats to suit your craving for the day.

As the owner of the shop explained to me, mushaltat is originally an Egyptian snack but is very popular in Dubai. Its like a cross between the pizza and paratha, a flat bread made of refined wheat and stuffed with your choice of stuffing including cheese, sausage, chicken, za'atar or honey.





The refined wheat flour is first kneaded and rolled out into thin cakes. The skilled baker that wakes this flour cake in thin air to stretch it into a very thin sheet (see image above) which forms the base for the mushaltat. This act is performed like he is almost in a trance!.



It is then laid out across the table and is now ready for the fillings. We opted for the simple 'Kraft' cheese with a topping of honey. The paper thin sheet is that folded into a small square shape and ready to hit the oven. The owner swears by his decades old brick oven and stays clear of the new modern electronic ovens. The mushaltat is baked for about 5 minutes after which it got a fair helping of honey sprinkled over it.

So the next time you feel the urge for a quick snack, head out to the local bakery or pastry shop and try out the Mushaltat.