Don't expect to see a large signboard; the bakery is a tiny spot with white wooden doors but famous among the locals. Just ask around. We were welcomed by the magnetic smell of fresh bread that takes over the area. Inside this little shop that oozes life, Elias welcomes while busy baking some bread in an old yet huge oven. The long bread loaves are first sent for half a bake then brushed with water to give them a crunchy envelope and sent again for a couple of more minutes.
The smell is different; the colors are different; everything makes you want to eat more and more. Bread, Moshtah, or Korban, each is delicious. The recipe for Moshtah is simple. Elias uses yeast, flour, salt, and water to create bread. Two different sizes and shapes. The Moshtah is a piece of oval bread around 1 cm thick. It has a dozen holes running through it, which makes it airier. The bread or sandwiches are large with a crunchy envelope and a rich condensed core. Hot, they taste like heaven. After that, I decided to have a piece of Korban in which they added a bit of sugar, mahlab, and rose water to the recipe: these are different from the ones distributed in Beiruti churches, which are more condensed, sweeter and surely taste more commercial. I just imagined filling one of those with cheese, giving it a quick toast, and enjoying a tasty creation.
- Korban brioche: LBP500 each
- Seven mochtah in a bag: LBP1,500
- Three sandwiches for LBP1,000
Do you feel like going to Zahle and discovering some real authentic food? Bou Elias is a place to visit.
