What do you eat to break the Yom Kippur fast? Most Jewish grandmothers (and dietitians) agree that it’s best to break a fast slowly, with just a sweet drink and a pastry, and to wait a while before eating a full meal.
Ashkenazi Jews do this with a cup of tea and slice of lekach (honey cake); Persian Jews make a quick faloudeh out of grated apples, rose water and a bit of sugar, covered with ice. Iraqi Jews drink pepitada, a homemade almond- or melon-seed drink, alongside baba b’tamar, a date-filled cookie.
My friend Delphine Gamburg remembers how, as a young girl in Paris, her Algerian-born aunt would give her a boulou, a sweet roll filled with raisins and nuts, in a small bag to take to synagogue at the end of Yom Kippur. Delphine kept the boulou deep in the pocket of her coat, making sure it was safe. As the shofar was blown, marking the end of the fast, the little hungry girl would take the first bite right there in the synagogue, savoring the sweetness of this simple treat. She still remembers that sense of happiness and relief.
Tunisian, Libyan and Algerian Jews break their fast with bollo (or bolo or boulou, depending on their origin). This lightly sweetened small roll or cookie is dotted with raisins, fennel seed, sesame seeds, and sometimes nuts and nigella seeds. Libyan and Algerian Jews prepare theirs with yeast, making their bollo more like challah. They shape it into an oval roll or small oval loaf that’s then sliced and served. The Tunisian version is made with baking powder and is more like an oval cookie; some make it as a loaf and then slice it into cookies, similar to mandelbrot.
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Bollo means “bun” in Spanish and Ladino, and indeed Sephardi communities around the world have dishes similar to this version from North Africa. In “The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews,” Edda Servi Michelin describes how Jews in her little town of Pitigliano would serve il bollo to break the fast, next to some sweet vermouth. Her version of il bollo uses yeast, so it’s similar to the Libyan version, and is spiced with fennel seeds. It was likely brought to Italy with immigrants from Spain after the Inquisition.
When Little Delphine arrived back home, the family had more of the boulou with a cup of coffee. Then they’d take a break and, later, they’d sit down for a meal of couscous with vegetables and chicken, just like other Jewish communities did at the same time around the world.
Notes:
- I highly recommend using SAF instant yeast; it’s available online and can keep for months in the freezer. When using instant yeast (see Direction 1), you should skip the process of proofing the yeast; if you’re using active dry yeast (see Direction 2), start the recipe by proofing the yeast and continue as usual.
- The rolls will keep at room temperature in a cloth or paper bag for up to three days. They can be frozen, thawed at room temperature and eaten once thawed or covered with aluminum foil and reheated in a 325°F oven for 10 minutes.
- You can swap out the nuts and dried fruit according to your taste.
What would the actual substitutions be for the Tunisian version with baking powder instead of yeast?
Hi Sid,
The Tunisian version requires a different recipe altogether, although the flavorings (raisins, nuts, orange, etc.) are the same. Rachel at The Nosher.
My mother made a bollo quite similar. She called them biscochos. I plan to make this without nuts,raisins, but I will use anise seeds to get the flavour of her rolls. Also I will use the yeast rather than baking powder.
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