It’s been a little while since my last Baking Journalist video, but that doesn’t mean I’m not working on the next one–Egyptian Fino bread!
(If you’re looking for the recipe I end up using, click here!!)
I hope you like it, and please subscribe on YouTube, and to my e-mail list.
After the Irish Gingerbread video with a story from my reporting in Ireland, I really wanted to offer a story from my brief time in Cairo in 2012, one that isn’t in the reporting itself. In short, I’ll explain why I ended up leaving my audio equipment with a bathroom attendant at the pyramids. (Interested to hear more, right?!)
To pair with the story, I looked for an Egyptian bread to bake. There are a lot of flat bread recipes and guides, but I wanted to stick to a bread with yeast for this series. I came across Fino bread, which looks like a hoagie roll or fluffy breadstick.
The problem, of course, is I don’t know how to make this bread, and had never tried. So I began a search for recipes and guides. I did find a recipe, but I couldn’t be sure it would be good or be totally traditional. So I also looked for video tutorials, and found one in English and one in Arabic.
I really tried to dive into the process, and used basic translation programs and repeated viewings to try to glean insights into how the experts make this bread.
The big difference with this bread, it seems, is that milk and butter seem to take the place of most water. Also, the mixing is done in a pot, which warms the milk and butter. The bread also takes a long time to rise. (Which is why my first attempt looked a little small.)
I’ll have a full episode and more thoughts on this bread soon. I just wanted to get an update posted in case you’ve wondered what’s taking so long!
***This is another video in a series of vlogs meant to help me work on video editing, and my amateur bread baking. It’s not perfect, but I hope I show some improvement over time. Thanks for being with me as I try to improve myself, and hopefully add some interesting content to the world***