Khubs & Arabic Bread

It has a circular shape, is about 8 inches (20 cm) long, and 1 inch (3 cm) thick. It is characterized by the air bubbles that appear on its surface during baking.

Etymologically, khubz means bread in Arabic, and tannour refers to the clay oven in which it is traditionally baked. It is also called khebez tannour, khobz or khubz mei, this last one meaning “water bread”, which stems from the absence of oil in its composition.Khubz tannour has always been present in the Middle Eastern culinary culture. It is a key element of any meal, and serves as a link between each course and between the different flavors.

Historians have traced back the consumption of flat bread such as khubz to the Sumerian civilization, one of the oldest in Mesopotamia. Some records have even shown that more than 300 types of bread existed at the time. Nowadays, this region covers most of Iraq, which is why khubz is mostly considered to be an Iraqi dish.