flipManna Flatbread (Coriander and Honey)
Manna Flatbread (Coriander and Honey)
Why this dish? Manna is the daily food of Moses' people during the forty years of wandering: gathered each morning with the dew. The Bible describes it as white, fine like coriander seed, tasting of honey cakes. This flatbread is an evocation of that memory.
A small tender flatbread flavored with coriander and bound with honey, which seeks to give an idea of the taste attributed to manna: sweet, delicate, almost sugary like a honey waffle. To eat upon waking, as it was gathered at dawn.
Listen, you who are hungry. In the morning, when the dew rose, the desert floor was covered with a fine white thing, round like coriander seed. We gathered it each according to his eating, and on the palate it had the sweetness of cake kneaded with honey. I teach you to make a memorial of it with this flatbread, so that you never forget that bread was given to you from on high.
- •Spelt or wheat flour — two handfuls (base)
- •Honey — a spoonful (binder and sweetness)
- •Crushed coriander seeds — a pinch (flavor (reminder of manna's appearance))
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (softness)
- •Spring water — as needed (hydration)
Manna Flatbread (Coriander and Honey)
A small tender flatbread flavored with coriander and bound with honey, which seeks to give an idea of the taste attributed to manna: sweet, delicate, almost sugary like a honey waffle. To eat upon waking, as it was gathered at dawn.
Why this dish? Manna is the daily food of Moses' people during the forty years of wandering: gathered each morning with the dew. The Bible describes it as white, fine like coriander seed, tasting of honey cakes. This flatbread is an evocation of that memory.
Listen, you who are hungry. In the morning, when the dew rose, the desert floor was covered with a fine white thing, round like coriander seed. We gathered it each according to his eating, and on the palate it had the sweetness of cake kneaded with honey. I teach you to make a memorial of it with this flatbread, so that you never forget that bread was given to you from on high.
Ingredients (period version)
- Spelt or wheat flour — two handfuls (base)
- Honey — a spoonful (binder and sweetness)
- Crushed coriander seeds — a pinch (flavor (reminder of manna's appearance))
- Olive oil — a drizzle (softness)
- Spring water — as needed (hydration)
Ingredients
- Spelt flour — 150 g (base)
- Liquid honey — 3 tbsp (binder and sweetness)
- Coriander seeds — 1 tsp, crushed (flavor)
- Olive oil — 2 tbsp (softness)
- Water — 5 to 7 tbsp (hydration)
- Salt — 1 pinch (balance)
Method
- Coarsely crush the coriander seeds in a mortar to release their lemony fragrance.
- Mix the flour, salt, and coriander, then incorporate the honey and oil.
- Add water little by little until you get a soft dough, without kneading for long.
- Form small flat discs the size of a palm.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side in a very hot dry pan, until lightly golden.
- Serve warm, optionally with an extra drizzle of honey.
How it was made : No one knows what manna really was; some see it as the sugary secretion of insects on tamarisks in Sinai, which hardens into small edible grains. The biblical text emphasizes two features: appearance (coriander seed, white) and taste (honey cake). This recipe does not claim to recreate manna, but offers a tasty evocation.
The contemporary twist : Stacked as mini pancakes sprinkled with toasted coriander seeds, served like "desert pancakes" for breakfast.
Sources : Book of Exodus, chapter 16 · Book of Numbers, chapter 11 · Nathan MacDonald, What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? (2008)
Moses · Charactorium