Name: Ba’ba Ta’mar (Date Filled Pastry)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 12 Servings
Ingredients: All Purpose Flour: 1 KG; Water: 2 luckeworm cups; Vegetable Oil: 200 ml; Butter: 50 grams; Sugar: 1/2 a cup; Dry Yeast: 10 grams; Kosher Salt: 1/2 teaspoon; Date Paste: 500 grams; Large eggs: 1, beaten; Sesame Seeds: 100 grams

Coffee break? Just pull a couple of Ba’ba Ta’mar out, pop them in the toaster for 2-3 minutes, and you’ve got a great snack.

Features:

Ingredients

Dough
1 KG All Purpose Flour
2 luckeworm cups Water
200 ml Vegetable Oil
50 grams Butter
1/2 a cup Sugar
10 grams Dry Yeast
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Filling
500 grams Date Paste
Garnish
1, beaten Large eggs
100 grams Sesame Seeds

Directions

This pastry is a part of my childhood.
Usually made for Purim (a Jewish holiday) by Jewish Iraqis.
My grandmother made these date-filled pastries occasionally: she prepared the dough, the filling, and when the dough was ready, divided it and stuffed it before baking. I love them.

A great advantage of the Ba’ba Ta’mar pastry: If you don’t eat all of them right away you can freeze them.

Steps

1 Done	Prepare the Dough In a large bowl mix the flour, dry yeast, oil, butter, sugar, salt, and water. Knead well (about 10 minutes).
2 Done	Let Rise Move the dough back to the bowl, lubricate the dough with 4 tablespoons of oil, cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
3 Done	Prepare the dates paste In a microwaveable bowl, place the date paste along with 3 spoons of vegetable oil. Microwave for about 2 minutes. The paste should come out nice and soft. * You can also soften the paste in a saucepan on a low flame for about 5 minutes. * Check the paste after 1 minute in the microwave and mix it a bit. * Make sure not to burn yourself! If left too long the paste will get extremely hot!
4 Done	Prepare the Ba’ba Ta’mar It was easy until now... Divide the dough into ping-pong-sized balls (about 30 grams each) and place on a floured surface. Fill each ball with a teaspoon of the date paste by holding the ball in one hand and using your thumb to create a hole in the dough. Fill with the date paste, close, and place back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin, carefully flatten the paste-filled balls into small pita-like discs. * Now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
5 Done	Baking Place the discs on a lined baking sheet. Brush the Baba with the beaten egg. Sprinkle an abundance of sesame seeds on top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Caution! Do not try the Ba'ba immediately after you remove them from the oven. Cover with a clean towel and let cool. If you enjoyed the recipe or have any questions - please leave a comment.