It was the pattern that first caught my attention — just like the pattern on the wooden mold in my kitchen from which I have made numerous ceramic paperweights.

The article’s header photo featured a platter of this patterned bread. I immediately clicked on the link to learn more. With Jordan’s decline from the region’s breadbasket to a mostly white flour importing country, the article spotlights Al Barakeh Wheat, an initiative to harvest and mill locally grown whole wheat. Their community outreach encourages families and schools to participate at the time of harvesting and to use the whole wheat for baking at home.

I knew of taboon, shrak and other breads noted in the article, but I didn’t know of the sweet(ish) “stamped” bread. A quick search online and I was reading about Hourani bread and its origins in Houran — a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan and historically was an important place of agriculture and trade.

I have a set of wooden molds of various sizes and designs which I use for making ma’amul. For the larger molds I didn’t know what to bake with them, so I was excited to learn about Hourani bread. I found a few varied recipes online, and called my Jordanian and Syrian friends to ask how they made it at home. I couldn’t find an all whole wheat recipe and the one I tried was too dense, so I experimented a few times and landed on a version that I found to be quite tasty. Hope you enjoy making this recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you!

Every time I knead the dough and inhale the aromatic ground anise, fennel, and mastic, it conjures a nostalgic memory of home. The most satisfying part is pressing the dough into the mold and slowly removing it to reveal the decorative design. The beauty of the glistening bread with nigella and sesame seeds amidst the turmeric-tinted pattern is a feast for the eye. My baking and clay-making worlds have intersected, feeding my body and soul.