Bey Route Kaake Café in Oakville is bringing Lebanese handbag bread to the GTA

Metro Morning's food guide Suresh Doss joins the program every week to discuss one of the many great GTA eateries he's discovered.

This week, he's bringing us to Bey Route Kaake Café in Oakville.

Below is a lightly edited transcript of Doss's conversation with guest host Jill Dempsey.

Suresh Doss: Good morning Jill, have you heard of Kaake?

Jill Dempsey: No. 

Suresh Doss: This is a very popular, albeit hard to pronounce type of sesame bread. Picture a very soft bread that is smothered with sesame seeds, full of air pockets with a crunchy crust. It's also shaped like a tear drop with a hole in the centre of it. You could also say it sort of looks like a lopsided bagel. 

Jill Dempsey: And it's popular in Lebanon?

Suresh Doss: It's popular in Jordan, Palestine, Syria — and especially in Lebanon. In Beirut, the country's capital city, you're likely to see bakers wheeling carriages with this kind of bread hanging on a long pole. So you can imagine why this kind of bread is also referred to as purse bread or handbag bread. It's a quintessential memory for many people in the Lebanese community. People of all ages are often found stopping by a cart and grabbing a loaf — or two. It's traditionally smeared with zaatar and a spreadable cheese. It's very difficult to find in the Greater Toronto Area. But at Bey Route Kaake Café in Oakville, owners Ellie Najem and Rosy Kariakos are taking creative license and playing with the beloved bread, expanding into the world of Kaake sandwhiches. 

Jill Dempsey: So why is it so rare? Is it difficult to make?

Suresh Doss: It's a simple composition but it comes down to technique. This kind of bread is composed of flour, water, yeast, salt and some sugar which does it give a slight hint of sweetness. From there, the dough is made, relaxed and brushed with a glaze and the smearing of sesame seeds. After that, essentially a cookie cutter is used to create the hole. It's then left to proof and is cooked on high heat for 10 minutes. Traditionally it would be made in a wood fired oven, kind of like bagels  — dozens of them laid out on long wooden paddles. When they come out of the oven, they are wonderfully soft and airy. It's at this point that you slice them and start stuffing. 

Jill Dempsey: What are some of the different ingredients the owners of Bey Route are trying out with their kaake? 

Suresh Doss: You can get it simply with some zaatar sprinkled with some olive oil. There's also labneh kaake where dried strained yogurt is smeared on the bottom with some mint, which is very aromatic and comforting. If you like Halloumi, there's one where the cheese is covered with a spread of Zaatar and olive oil. And then there are even more elaborate versions. 

 

Jill Dempsey: It really does sound delicious. 

Suresh Doss: I have two favourites, when it comes to the more elaborate versions. There's the breakfast kaake sandwhich with a creamy stack of scrambled eggs that are rested on a bed of black bean and cheddar sauce and then crowned with thin slices of avocado. I also can't get over how good the brisket sandwich is, which of course involves brisket that's been marinated overnight and then cooked for a few hours on low heat. It's then covered on both sides with a spread of hummus, red onion, turnips and a wondeful sauce that's a mixture of tahini and garlic sauce. 

Jill Dempsey: I have to ask, what do they do with the little nubs they cut out?

Suresh Doss: So this is the best part. Here's dessert for you. Rosy recommends that you try the baked nubs with some Nutella or halwa. If you're a fan of those bite sized fried dough confectionery at your favourite franchise, you will like these. Nothing beats these warm little bite-sized bits as you have the halwa and Nutella melting all over it. 

Jill Dempsey: Thanks so much Suresh. 

Suresh Doss: Thank you Jill.