Homemade Sabich with homemade bread and homemade raw tahini

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade bread ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the lukewarm water and olive oil and Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, pliable and doesn't stick to your hands.

   BowlStand mixer

   💡For yeast dough, use the windowpane test: a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing, and that's the sign the kneading is done. Add flour only by the tablespoon, and only if the dough is still sticky after a few minutes: too much flour makes a tough dough.
3. 3
   Cover and Let rise about an hour in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size.

   Plastic wraporKitchen towel

   💡Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot. The dough is ready when it has doubled, and a gentle finger press leaves a dent that fills back slowly; if it springs right back, wait longer.
4. 4
   Shape the dough into an oblong loaf and place it in loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

   Loaf pan

   💡Shape a tight loaf the length of the pan: it fills the pan evenly, and the bread rises tall instead of spreading sideways.
5. 5
   Cover and Let rise 30 minutes, until the loaf has risen.

   Plastic wraporKitchen towel
6. 6
   Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
7. 7
   Bake 35–40 minutes, until the loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

   OvenLoaf pan

   💡Tapping the bottom of the loaf is the test: baked bread sounds hollow; if the sound is dull, put it back in the oven for a few more minutes.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
8. 8
   Turn the loaf out of the pan and let cool on a rack before slicing.

   Cooling rack

   💡Bread left in the hot pan sweats, and its crust softens: turn it out right away and cool it on a rack.

For the Tahini sauce

1. 9
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
2. 10
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. 11
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic.
4. 12
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is smooth, pale and pourable.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.

To assemble

1. 13
   Sprinkle the salt over the eggplant slices, leave for 30 minutes and squeeze out their liquid.

   Colander
2. 14
   Heat the oil in a deep pot and fry the eggplant slices in it until golden, and drain on paper towels.

   StoveSlotted spoonCandy/oil thermometerDeep pot for frying

   💡Fry eggplant for sabich until golden and completely soft, and drain well: it soaks up oil, and the paper draws out the excess.

   💡Keep the oil at 170–180°C: too cold, and the food soaks up oil; too hot, and it browns outside before the inside cooks. Without a thermometer, dip the tip of a wooden spoon in the oil: when medium bubbles form around it right away, the oil is hot enough.

   💡Don't overload the oil: every piece that goes in cools it down. Fry one piece as a test, then the rest in several batches, and transfer to paper towels.
3. 15
   Open the pitas and spread the hummus inside.
4. 16
   Arrange the eggplant and slices of hard-boiled egg in the pita.
5. 17
   Add the amba and salad and tahini sauce on top.