Origins of Bread with #SafinstantGulf – Story of Markook Shrek Bread

Markook Shrek is a traditional and ancient Arabic bread that has been prepared at home for centuries.

It is a type of flat bread common in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. This bread is usually large, about 60cm in diameter and thin, almost translucent. Baking procedure is like the making other flat breads, the dough is flattened and kept very thin.

History of Markook Shrekmark

There are no records to show where exactly this bread originated from but is thought to be of Levantine origin. Historians who have attempted to trace its source have discovered several references that show the Levantines having eaten this bread for centuries.

Markook was also mentioned in the tenth-century cookbook of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq under the name Ruqaq. He describes it as large and paper-thin, unleavened bread.

How its prepared?

Markook Shrek is a type of saj bread. The dough is unleavened and usually made with only flour, water, and salt, and after being rested and divided into round portions, flattened, spread across a round cushion until it is thin, then flipped onto the saj.

It is often folded and put in bags before being sold.

Markook bread is also known as Khubz Ruqaq, Shrak, Khubz Rqeeq, Mashrooh.

In some Arab countries, such as Yemen, different names are given for the same flatbread, such as khamir, maluj and ṣaluf, depending on the regional dialects.