Manna Bread with Coriander Honey
This bread helps recreate a simple scriptural meal.
Standard bread allergens — wheat, possible honey for children under 12 months. People with celiac disease should substitute a tested gluten-free flour blend (works less well — gluten matters for structure here). Honey is part of the flavor; don't skip unless you must.
About this recipe
*And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.* So Numbers 11 describes the substance the Israelites ate in the wilderness — the texture of coriander seed, the colour of bdellium gum, the taste of fresh oil. Whatever the actual phenomenon was, the verse leaves us with three ingredients to honor it: coriander, olive oil, honey. This bread is the table-scale meditation on that text — flatbread sweetened with honey, scented with coriander, finished with olive oil. Best made together, eaten warm, broken with someone.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (complex carbohydrate)
- 1 tsp active dry yeast (saccharomyces)Bread leavener
- 1 tsp sea salt (electrolytes)Mineral and electrolyte — supports Respiratory & Breathing · Skin
- 2 tbsp raw honey (polyphenols)Antimicrobial vehicle — supports Respiratory & Breathing · Digestive · Immune & Defenses · Skin
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (ancient lipid)
- 3/4 cup warm water (~110°F)
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seed (linalool)Digestive calm — supports Digestive · Liver & Detox
- 1 tsp whole coriander seeds for finishing
- Flaky salt for finishing
Method
- 1 In a small bowl, dissolve honey in warm water; sprinkle yeast on top; rest 8-10 min until foamy.
- 2 In a larger bowl, whisk flour, salt, and ground coriander.
- 3 Add olive oil and the yeast mixture to the flour; mix to a soft dough.
- 4 Knead 5-7 min until smooth and elastic.
- 5 Cover and rise in a warm spot 60-90 min until doubled.
- 6 Punch down; divide into 6-8 portions; roll each into a thin oval.
- 7 Sprinkle with whole coriander and flaky salt.
- 8 Bake at 475°F on a preheated stone or sheet pan for 5-7 min until lightly golden and puffed.
- 9 Brush with olive oil while warm; eat the same day.
What you'll notice
- A simple flatbread for sharing at the table
- Coriander and honey — the biblical seasoning
- 2 hours from start to warm bread
- Pair with olive oil for dipping
- Best eaten same day, broken with others
Tips & storage
Eat the bread the day it's baked. Tear it rather than cutting. Pair with a small dish of olive oil and salt for dipping — itself the scriptural pairing. Best at a meal that pauses for a moment of attention.
Wrap leftovers in cloth, eat next day; doesn't store well after.