Knafa Bjoz

Knafeh equipment

The round tray for baking knafeh at home, the Antakya künefe tray, and the great griddle where the threads are made.

By Knafa Bjoz editorsPublished

Also known as: knafeh tray, künefe tepsisi, صينية كنافة

At home: a round tray

Knafeh is traditionally round. Anissa Helou bakes hers in “a round baking dish which is the traditional shape”, about 22.5 cm across.[1]

Antakya künefe: a shallow round tray, cooked on both sides

The registered recipe for Antakya künefe uses a shallow, wide, round tray of tin-lined copper or aluminium. Its size depends on how many portions are made.[2] The künefe cooks over a low flame until the bottom browns, then is turned over to cook the other side.[2]

Making the threads: the great griddle

Kunafa threads are made on a large heated plate.

  • In the 19th century, according to Edward Lane’s dictionary, the batter was poured from a vessel with holes in its bottom, moved in circles over a large round tray of tinned copper with a fire beneath.[3]
  • In Egypt today, makers swirl batter “round and round on the drum-like surface of a huge round oven”.[4]
  • In Antakya, the plate itself turns: a domed, heated metal sheet rotates while the batter flows in a string from a spouted pot, from the centre outwards. The threads dry in 15 to 25 seconds.[2]

Sources

  1. 1.Anissa Helou. my favourite breakfast: ka'ket k'nafeh. anissas.com.
  2. 2.Antakya Künefesi, geographical indication registration no. 101. Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), 2008. In Turkish.
  3. 3.Edward William Lane. An Arabic-English Lexicon, entry "kunáfah". Williams & Norgate (1863–93), online edition.
  4. 4.Hend El-Behary. Konafa creations: The sumptuous sweets of Ramadan 2016. Egypt Independent, 2016.