Musafan — Cheese and Jam Pie

Musafan bread is a great addition to any breakfast or brunch spread. The pillowy layers of bread, oozing with jam and cheese, reveal their deliciousness with each slice. Here I’m using similar dough to that used for the cheese and sumac bites (page 265), with minor adjustments. It creates the perfect base for this treat. If you want to get ahead, you can prepare the dough a day in advance and store it in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before rolling, stuffing and baking. 

Serves 6-8

For the Musafan:

1-½ tsp fast-acting (instant) dried yeast 

1-½ tsp granulated sugar 

¾ cup plus 1 tbsp / 190ml lukewarm water 

2-½ cups / 11-¼  oz / 320g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 

1 tbsp milk powder (optional) 

1 tbsp sweet baharat (see below) 

1 tsp ground turmeric 

2 tbsp za’atar 

Salt

2 tbsp / 30ml olive oil, plus more for greasing 

1 egg 

2 tbsp milk or water 

1 tbsp white sesame seeds 

1-½ tsp nigella seeds

For the filling: 

⅔ cup / 200g strawberry jam, or any flavor of jam you like

6 oz / 170g feta cheese, crumbled (1-¼ cups)

1. First, make the dough. Put the yeast, sugar and water into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes, until the mixture has frothed. 
2. Put the flour, milk powder, sweet baharat, turmeric, za’atar and ¾ teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook in place. Mix for 1 minute, just to combine, then add the yeast mixture and the oil. Work on a low speed for about 2 minutes, to bring everything together, then increase the speed to medium. Continue to mix for 4 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic. It should feel very soft and almost sticky, but this is how it should be. 
3. Tip the dough on to a clean work surface and bring together to form a ball. Grease the bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil and return the dough to the bowl. Turn it a couple of times so that it’s completely coated in oil, then cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside somewhere warm for 1 to 1-½ hours, until it’s doubled in size. 
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a large circle, about 18 inches / 45cm in diameter. Spread the jam over evenly, leaving about ¾ inch / 2cm clear at the edge. Sprinkle the feta on top, then fold one side of the dough inward about 4 inches / 10cm. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough edges—you are looking for 6–8 folds in total (the pie should be a 6–8-sided shape). Pinch the center and the open side folds tightly together to seal. Transfer the pie to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes. 
5. Preheat the oven to 425°F. 
6. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the milk or water and egg-wash the pie all over. Sprinkle with the sesame and nigella seeds. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes, then bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pie is cooked through and the bottom is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
7. Once baked, the pie keeps well for a few days and freezes beautifully—you can warm it in the oven straight from the freezer.

Sweet Baharat

Baharat el Ka'ak

7 tsp/15g fennel seeds

4-½ tsp/8g anise seeds

2 tsp mastic

5-½ tsp/12g mahlab

Combine the fennel and anise seeds and dry-fry over medium heat, or until fragrant, shaking the pan every so often. Set aside to cool.

Put the cooled seeds into a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the mastic and mahlab, and grind well, until super-fine. Store in an airtight jar. It keeps for a couple of months.

[Note from Andrew: I've linked to Curio Spice, my go-to source for high-quality mastic and mahlab. If you cannot find them, simply make the baharat with fennel and anise alone.]

Reprinted with permission from Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2025. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”

Photograph copyright © 2025 by Issy Croker.