Masry bread (Egyptian bread) is one of the traditional types of bread baked as a part of the traditional diet. . Its main components are flour, yeast, water, and salt.

Process of making it:

  1. Al-‘Agn (Kneading): The flour is first sifted twice to get rid of any impurities. Flour, yeast, water, and salt are added together in a bowl, they are mixed together, while adding water bit by bit until the desired elasticity is achieved. While kneading, the dough should be raised, letting the air in,  and then dropped along with the air, a process known to cooks as Tab al-Ageena (Knocking the dough), because of the knocking sound that is produced. The purpose of the Tab is to create elastic but firm dough through controlling the porosity of the dough.
  2. Al-Takhmeer (Leaving the dough to rise): The dough is left to rise in a warm environment for about one hour and a half.
  3. Al-Taqrees (Shaping/Cutting the dough): The dough is cut to small pieces and shaped in round shapes, and then put on a Maqares that are covered with Raddah (Bran) to prevent it from sticking. Maqares are specifically made discs to put the dough on. The dough is covered with cloth and left to rise until its size is doubled.
  4. Al-Tasweyah (Baking): The oven is heated to a very high temperature, then the dough is put using the Matraha (A circular tool with short or long handle that is made of wood or palm leaves, used for throwing the bread in the oven). The baking takes about five minutes, and it is essential to watch over the bread over during baking.  When it is cooked and taken out of the oven, the bread is covered with cloth to remain soft.

The bread making is the responsibility of the women of the house with the help of children, and it shows the level of cleverness of each lady. The more skill she has, the more uniform the bread is, in terms of size and shape.

Reference:
Samih Abd al-Ghaffar Sha’lan, Bread in folklore, A study in Folkloric Atlases, Ain for human and social studies and researches.