Tabun oven

The tabūn oven has historically been used to bake flatbreads, and has been in widespread use in the greater Middle East for centuries. References to () can be found in the writings of medieval Arab geographer al-Maqdisi, which is described as an oven buried into the ground and spread with pebbles, where bread as by placing dough on the pebbles. ==Usage==

Unlike other ovens, the tabūn is a large, overturned earthenware bowl and covers over completely the heated place (usually a bed of smooth stones, upon which a fire is built). After dying out, the ashes are removed and dough is spread out over the smooth stones. Since the tabūn is built with an opening at its top that can be sealed with a ceramic lid, allowing it to be completely smothered over in ashes, dough that is spread out over the stone-lined bottom is quickly baked into bread. In some cases, in addition to the hole at the top, there is a second side opening called the "eye of the oven", used for stoking the fire and clearing away the ashes, and which is closed by a detachable door. Bread dough was spread out on the pebbled floor of the tabun oven's interior, with hot coals and embers scattered with ash piled on top of the exterior shell, along with dried cattle dung. Fuel Many types of fuel or a combination of fuels can be used to heat a tabun. Dried animal dung, dried bird droppings, chopped and dried tree branches or tree trimmings, wood chips, charcoal, dried tree leaves, fabrics, and other materials are potential fuels. Firing The top opening is covered and a layer of fuel (usually dried manure) is spread on the outside of the shell and lid. Once the fire takes hold, the fuel is covered with a layer of ash. Baking When the smoke stops, the lid is removed and chunks of dough are hand flattened and placed directly on the limestones. ==Taboon bread==

. Taboon bread () is Levantine flatbread baked in a taboon clay oven. It is used as a base or wrap in many cuisines, and eaten with different accompaniments. Prior records from 1530 to 1598 also list the prices of Ṭabbūni and Tannūri breads. Gustaf Dalman, a German orientalist, documented its making in Palestine in the early 20th century, among other types of breads. In Palestine, folded flatbread was often filled with a spinach and onion mixture, or with cheese curds and onion mixture, or with raisins and pine nuts. Over the centuries, bread-making in communal taboons played an important social role for women in Palestinian villages. traditionally baked on a bed of small hot stones in the taboon oven. The hot stones give the bread an uneven texture and prevent the formation of bubbles in the bread due to the expanding water vapor, which facilitates adding toppings to it, but also prevents the formation of an inner hollow pocket like pita. It is the base of musakhan, often considered the national dish of Palestine. ==Construction==

Shell Made of yellow pottery clay soil. The best is from Aaroub or Al Aaroub. The soil is wetted and made into a thick clay mixed with chopped stubble and straw from harvested wheat. The clay is hand-formed to make the dome-shaped shell. It can be as much as in diameter at its base, about high, with an open top, approximately in diameter. In some places, the shell may be as high as 2 feet and 2 feet wide. The shell wall is about 2.54 cm (1 in) to 5 cm (2 in) thick. The shell is sun baked for weeks, before it is fired. Foundation The earthenware shell is placed over an impression in the earth, usually about to in diameter and about to in depth. This impression is usually filled with sand and gravel, or Suwan stones (flint stones) are carefully embedded. Lid The lid is made of clay or a sheet metal piece large enough to cover the top opening. Process In a sheltered area, usually a clay hut or a cave, the foundation is dug in the ground filled and compacted. The shell is placed, wider side down, on top. A layer of clean smooth limestone pebbles about 2.54 cm (1 in) in diameter is spread on top of foundation inside the shell to form a clean baking surface. ==See also==