Shrak Bread

Medium·35 min active + 25 min resting

Jordan's signature Bedouin flatbread — paper-thin dough stretched over a hot domed metal griddle (saaj), creating a flexible, lightly-crispy bread that's the universal Jordanian-Bedouin staple. Eaten with mansaf, used as a wrap, dipped in olive oil and za'atar.

Flour

Salt

Water

Shrak (also called markook) is the Jordanian-Bedouin traditional flatbread of the Levant and Arabian Peninsula. This style of paper-thin unleavened bread is ancient — it is recorded in the 10th-century cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, where it is called 'ruqaq' and described as bread thin as paper made without leavening. The dough is made with just flour, water, and salt (no yeast — it is unleavened; some cooks add a little yeast or olive oil, but the traditional version omits them). The saj (a convex metal griddle, like an inverted wok, 50-100 cm across, heated over fire or coals) is the traditional cooking surface. The dough is stretched paper-thin (about 0.5-2 mm) over a round cushion (kara) before being flipped onto the hot saj. The bread is almost translucent, can be folded and stored for weeks, and is the universal Bedouin staple. It is essential to mansaf — the bread layer absorbs the jameed broth. Modern Amman streets sell shrak freshly-baked; Bedouin women's cooperatives in Jordan preserve the tradition.

Tear a piece of shrak — paper-thin, soft, slightly speckled, faintly chewy. Bite: because it is unleavened, there is no yeasty tang — just the plain, clean flavor of wheat, with a tender chew. Dip in olive oil and za'atar: the spice-and-olive-oil combination is the Levantine snack experience. Wrap around a piece of grilled lamb: the bread folds easily, melding with the meat. Used as the base of mansaf, it absorbs the jameed broth and becomes an integral part of the dish. With laban or Arabic mint tea, this is the Bedouin tradition — bread that has fed the Levant for centuries.

Stretching paper-thin (vs rolling) creates the characteristic flexible-yet-crispy texture. Cooking on one side only preserves the bread's pliability. The convex saaj surface (vs flat) allows the dough to spread without sticking. Storing in cloth keeps the bread supple.

Variations

Shrak with sesame on top. Shrak with za'atar dough. Mini shrak for appetizers. Modern Amman bakeries with sourdough variations.

On the Palate

Where Shrak Bread sits in the Jordanian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

500 gFlour

1 tspSalt

300 ml warmWater

How it's made

10 steps · 35 min active + 25 min waiting

1
40 min
Make dough: combine 500 g all-purpose flour + 1 tsp salt + 300 ml warm water; knead 8 min until smooth. Rest 30 min covered.
2
2 min
Divide dough into 8 portions; roll into balls.
3
3 min
Heat a saaj or large convex cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
4
32 min
On a lightly floured surface, stretch each ball into a paper-thin round 30-35 cm wide.
Watch out
Stretch each ball until you can almost see through it and it stops shrinking back — this thinness is what makes shrak flexible instead of tough.
5
1 min
Drape the thin round over the hot saaj (or onto the dry skillet). The dough should cling to the surface.
6
1 min
Cook 30-45 seconds until bubbles form and the bread is lightly speckled. Don't flip — shrak is cooked from one side only.
Watch out
Pull it off after thirty to forty-five seconds, the instant bubbles rise and it speckles — and don't flip it; shrak cooks one side only.
7
1 min
Remove with two hands or a wooden spatula; stack in a clean kitchen towel.
8
6 min
Repeat with remaining dough.
9
5 min
Shrak can be eaten immediately or stored for up to a week in an airtight container; lightly mist with water and warm in a pan to refresh.
10
2 min
Serve with: mansaf (as the base layer), grilled meats (as wraps), olive oil and za'atar for dipping, eggs for breakfast.