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Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread)
Long oval rings of soft, yeasted bread thickly coated in toasted sesame and baked until crusty, eaten warm with za'atar, olive oil and baked eggs.
Palestinian · medium · serves 5
prep 30 min · cook 18 min · plus 1 h 45 min hands-off time
~919 cal · 23g protein · 128g carbs · 35g fat · 9g fiber · 4g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ka'ak al-Quds, "Jerusalem ka'ak", is the sesame bread of the Old City, where street vendors sell it to residents and visitors alike, and many Palestinians consider it a must to take a bag home when they leave the city.
Palestinians bake ring-shaped ka'ak in many towns, but the Jerusalem one is known by its long, open oval shape, its simple lightly sweetened dough and its heavy coat of sesame. Some bakers dip the shaped rings in water sweetened with a little sugar or molasses before rolling them in sesame, which helps the seeds stick and colour.
It is torn open and eaten with and olive oil, with an oven-baked egg or a slice of akkawi cheese, or with labneh. It freezes well and comes back to life in a hot oven or toaster.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 5
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) warm water
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 6 cups (about 750 g) all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup milk, for brushing
- 1 1/2 cups (about 225 g) toasted sesame seeds
- to taste and olive oil, to serve
Instructions
- 1Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the yeast water and the olive oil, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes into a smooth, soft dough.
- 2Oil the bowl and the dough, cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled.
- 3Divide the dough into 5 pieces, roll each into a ball, cover and rest for 15 minutes. Roll each ball into a rope about 50 cm long, join the ends and pinch them firmly, then stretch the ring into a long oval about 30 cm long.✎ Chef’s noteIf the dough springs back as you roll, leave it a couple of minutes and come back to it.
- 4Spread the sesame on a tray. Brush each ring with milk, lay it in the sesame and press lightly, then turn and coat the other side. Set the rings on baking trays lined with parchment, cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 230C (450F).
- 5Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden and crusty, swapping the trays halfway. Cool a little on a rack and eat warm, torn and dipped in olive oil and za'atar, with eggs or cheese if you like.
Jerusalem (Old City) bakery and street tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
West Bank. The West Bank is terraced hill country where olive oil, za'atar, and sumac define the table. Musakhan, sumac-stained onions and roast chicken on taboon bread, is the dish most tied to Palestinian identity, alongside maqluba and mounds of fresh mezze.
🗺️
Palestine. Maqluba is old enough to appear in thirteenth-century Baghdad cookbooks, so the upside-down turn is not a recent trick. Several dishes compete for the title of national dish here, which is why it is better to say a dish is often considered one than to declare it. Za'atar, the thyme-sumac-sesame mix, is made at home and differs family to family.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Palestine
MusakhanSumac-and-onion roasted chicken over olive-oil-soaked taboon bread, showered with toasted pine nuts, Palestine on a platter.
Labneh with Za'atarThick strained yogurt swirled with olive oil and za'atar, scooped with warm taboon bread.
MaftoulHand-rolled Palestinian couscous simmered with chicken and chickpeas in a warmly spiced broth, a warming village dish.
Browse all Palestine recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread)?
Long oval rings of soft, yeasted bread thickly coated in toasted sesame and baked until crusty, eaten warm with za'atar, olive oil and baked eggs.
Where does Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) come from?
Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) is a Palestinian dish from West Bank, Palestine.
Can Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ka'ak al-Quds (Jerusalem Sesame Bread) take to make?
About 2 h 33 min in all: 30 minutes prep and 18 minutes cooking, plus 1 h 45 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 5.
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