Cuisine

Ben Siman-Tov, best known as BenGingi, the “YASSS” man on social media, has brought a baking revolution to the digital world with his legendary 60-second recipe recap videos. Selftaught and well-traveled, this native Israeli baker has taken on the challenge of showing home bakers how even the most complex pastry can be made at home. Using the highest quality ingredients, Siman-Tov prides himself on finding and producing the most eclectic treats from all over the world. His slogan? “We Are All Bread.” In his eyes, bread is not only a life-saving meditation, but also a global peacemaker.

For more info and recipes, visit bengingi.com.

Ingredients

For the matbucha

1 kg (2 lb) tomatoes 1 head of garlic 1 green chili 20 gr (1 tbsp) salt 42 gr (3 tbsp) olive oil

Preparation

Start with the matbucha

Bring a pot of water to boil. Score an X-shape at the bottom of each tomato. Boil the tomatoes, a few at a time, for 10 seconds. Remove from the water.

Peel the head of garlic and slice the cloves as thin as you can.

Slice the chili thin.

Peel the tomatoes.

Heat up a pan with the olive oil; add the garlic and the chili. After about 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and salt. Cook the sauce until it gets thick, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool down before filling the pita.

Optional: BenGigi says: I like to add some canned fish, capers, or olives to the filled pita. My favorite combo would be matbucha and sardines, which gives me the filling of a Chraimeh sauce. For the pita 500 gr (3 cups + 2 tbsp) flour (half white flour, half whole wheat) 10 gr (2 tsp) dry yeast 25 gr (2 tbsp) sugar 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) lukewarm water 10 gr (2 tsp) salt

Mix the pita

In a bowl, combine the flour with sugar and yeast. Mix well. Add the water and mix all ingredients until there is almost no flour remaining in the bowl. Add salt.

Move the dough to a work surface and knead by hand for about 7 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. If the dough is dry, wet your hands and the flour will absorb easily.

Form the dough into a round and place in a bowl. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest until nearly double in volume.

Divide the dough into eight pieces; roll each out to ½-inch thickness. Place a tablespoon or two of matbucha filling in the center of one pita and cover with another pita. Seal the edges.

Heat a large, heavy pan over medium heat for 3–5 minutes. Cook each pita for about 1–2 minutes, until golden brown, turning occasionally. Remove cooked pitas and place in a basket or bowl covered with a towel to keep them from drying out.

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